story
Old Norse
Ragnarök
/ˈræɡnəˌrɒk/
lit. “fate of the gods”
The Norse end of the world — the gods fall in a final battle, and the world burns and is reborn.
Origin
Foretold in the Poetic Edda: the wolf Fenrir devours Odin, Thor kills the world-serpent Jörmungandr and dies of its venom, the sun turns black, and the earth sinks into the sea — before a new green world rises. Wagner's Götterdämmerung is the operatic version.
Modern usage
Used for any apocalyptic or world-ending event — a market crash, a relationship implosion, a final season. Familiar to gamers via God of War and to filmgoers via Thor: Ragnarok.
In the wild
Q4 was full Ragnarök for the ad market.— tech press
Tags
apocalypse
end-of-world