Talk:Beowolf/@comment-25936766-20170912030425

So, fun fact.......Beowulf means Bear. Or more literally, Bee-Hunter.

It's basically an example of overly-complicated semantic wordplay, because Norse Skalds had a fetish for describing simple things with overly-complex chains of metaphors, often to the extent that no one would understand, and if they do, no one would find remotely reasonable. The more stupid it sounds, the better the Skald.

Basically, it's like this: Bears like honey. They "prey" on it. Bees make honey. Wolves are predators, hunters. Bears are "like wolves" to the bees. Therefore, "Bee-Wolf", semantically Bee-Hunter, either case referring to Bears.