Götterdämmerung

[ got-er-dam-uh-roo ng, -ruhng; German gœt-uh r-dem-uh-roo ng ]
/ ˌgɒt ərˈdæm əˌrʊŋ, -ˌrʌŋ; German ˌgœt ərˈdɛm əˌrʊŋ /

noun

German Mythology. the destruction of the gods and of all things in a final battle with evil powers: erroneous modern translation of the Old Icelandic Ragnarǫk, meaning “fate of the gods,” misunderstood as Ragnarökkr, meaning “twilight of the gods.”
(italics) See The Ring of the Nibelung.

Origin of Götterdämmerung

1875–80; < German, equivalent to Götter, plural of Gott God + Dämmerung twilight

Example sentences from the Web for gotterdammerung

  • Possibly the "Gotterdammerung," and even Siegfried's "Tod," would pass these people unmarked, like the wind.

    From the Easy Chair, vol. 1 |George William Curtis

  • The three gentlemen rotated in the pool breast high, after the fashion of the nymphs in Gotterdammerung.

    A Room With A View |E. M. Forster

British Dictionary definitions for gotterdammerung

Götterdämmerung
/ (ˌɡɒtəˈdɛməˌrʊŋ, German ɡœtərˈdɛmərʊŋ) /

noun

German myth the twilight of the gods; their ultimate destruction in a battle with the forces of evil Norse equivalent: Ragnarök