Meanings
- archaeologyA bog body found preserved in peat on the Jutland peninsula, Denmark, in 1938; the naturally mummified body of a woman believed to have died approximately 280 BCE, during the period characterised in Scandinavia as the pre-Roman Iron Age.
Elling Woman from Denmark was also hanged with a leather belt that left a deep scar around her throat.
2016, Dennis William Harding, Death and Burial in Iron Age Britain, Oxford University Press, page 2162 more examples
The Elling woman from the same large bog as Tollund man, and similarly hanged, had long plaited hair which had presented problems to the executioner, who had wound it up and round itself to remove its contact with the rope.
1996, D. Brothwell, “European bog bodies: current state of research and preservation”, in Konrad Spindler, Harald Wilfing, Elisabeth Rastbichler-Zissernig, Dieter ZurNedden, Hans Nothdurfter, editors, Human Mummies, Springer, page 169Sleeping near the Tollund Man for centuries is the Elling Woman, whose body was discovered in 1938 about 60m (200 ft.) from where the Tollund Man was later discovered.
2009, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, Frommer's Denmark, Wiley, page 356
Origin
After 1978 (see note below).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French femme d’Elling
- femme d’Ellingbog woman discovered in Denmark in 1938
German Frau von Elling
- Frau von Ellingbog woman discovered in Denmark in 1938
Cite this entry
Elling Woman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Elling%20Woman
“Elling Woman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Elling%20Woman. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Elling Woman,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Elling%20Woman.
Source: Elling Woman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.