Meanings
kraken1
Kraken2
alternative rare krake · alternative kraken
- Norsehuman sciencesA colossal sea monster that attacks ships and sailors, often portrayed as a giant octopus or squid.
alternative rare krake · alternative kraken
- abbreviationuncountablebiologyShort for Kraken variant (“SARS-CoV-2 virus variant XBB.1.5”).
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*krankaz“crooked”
- Old Norsekraki“crooked dead tree, wooden drag/grapnel”
- Norwegiankraken
- EnglishKraken
Borrowed from Norwegian kraken (Bokmål entry; Nynorsk entry), definite singular of krake (“crooked dead tree, wooden drag/grapnel”) (Bokmål entry; Nynorsk entry), both from Old Norse kraki (“crooked dead tree, wooden drag/grapnel”, literally “crookie: something with crooks/hooks”), from Proto-Germanic *krankaz (“crooked”).
More words from Norwegian, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 克拉肯, 挪威海怪
- 克拉肯Sea monster
- 挪威海怪 (Nuówēi hǎiguài)Sea monster
Danish Kraken
- KrakenSea monster
Dutch kraken, kraak
- krakenSea monster
- kraakSea monster
Finnish kraken
- krakenSea monster
French kraken
- krakenSea monster
German Krake
- KrakeSea monster
Greek κράκεν
- κράκεν (kráken)Sea monster
Irish cráca
- crácaSea monster
Italian Kraken
- KrakenSea monster
Japanese クラーケン
- クラーケン (kurāken)Sea monster
Korean 크라켄
- 크라켄 (keuraken)Sea monster
Māori rātāmoko
- rātāmokoSea monster
Norwegian Bokmål kraken, krake
- krakenSea monster
- krakeSea monster
Polish kraken
- krakenSea monster
Portuguese Kraken
- KrakenSea monster
Russian кра́кен, морско́е чудо́вище
- кра́кен (kráken)Sea monster
- морско́е чудо́вище (morskóje čudóvišče)Sea monster
Spanish kraken
- krakenSea monster
Swedish Kraken
- KrakenSea monster
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with kraken
Anagrams
Cite this entry
kraken. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kraken
“kraken.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kraken. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kraken,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kraken.
Source: kraken on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.