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skulden

Skulden is a term that can refer to several related but distinct concepts in Germanic-language contexts. In standard modern Dutch, the word for debt or guilt is schuld, with the plural schulden; skulden is not a common or correct modern form and is typically encountered only as a misspelling or in some archaic or dialectal uses. In other Nordic and Germanic languages, the root form skald or skuld appears with related meanings connected to debt, obligation, or fate.

Etymology and mythic associations

The root derives from Proto-Germanic *skuldō, meaning debt or obligation. In Norse mythology, Skuld is the name

Modern usage and cognates

In Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish, words derived from this root appear in everyday terms for debt

See also

Schuld, Schulden, Skuld (Norn), Norse mythology, debt.

of
one
of
the
three
Norns,
the
female
beings
who
shape
fate.
Skuld
the
Norn
is
most
often
associated
with
the
future,
reflecting
a
link
between
obligation,
destiny,
and
what
is
yet
to
come.
This
mythic
sense
has
influenced
later
literary
and
cultural
uses
of
the
name
and
its
cognates.
or
obligation
(for
example
Icelandic
skuld,
Norwegian
skuld,
Swedish
skuld).
These
forms
are
cognate
with
each
other
and
with
the
mythic
Skuld,
though
their
meanings
are
primarily
practical
rather
than
religious.
In
Dutch,
the
standard
term
for
debt
remains
schulden,
while
skulden
may
appear
only
in
nonstandard
spellings
or
historical
texts.
The
name
Skuld
also
appears
in
popular
culture
as
a
reference
to
the
mythic
Norn
or
as
a
symbolic
figure
representing
the
future.