"one of the race of giants in Scandinavian mythology," 1804, a word revived by scholars from Old Norse jotunn "a giant," from the common Germanic word (see ettin).
Entries linking to jotun
ettin n.
an old word for "a giant," extinct since 16c., from Old English eoten "giant, monster," from Proto-Germanic *itunoz "giant" (source also of Old Norse iotunn, Danish jætte), perhaps "immense eater," or "man-eater," from suffixed form of PIE root *ed- "to eat."
*ed-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to eat," originally "to bite."
It forms all or part of: alfalfa; anodyne; comedo; comestible; eat; edacious; edible; escarole; esculent; esurient; etch; ettin; fret (v.); frass; jotun; obese; obesity; ort; postprandial; prandial.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit admi "I eat;" Avestan ad- "to eat;" Greek edo "I eat;" Latin edere "to eat;" Lithuanian ėdu "I eat," ėdžioti "to devour, bite;" Hittite edmi "I eat," adanna "food;" Armenian utem "I eat;" Old Church Slavonic jasti "to eat," Russian jest "to eat;" Old Irish ithim "I eat;" Gothic itan, Old Swedish and Old English etan, Old High German essan "to eat."