\Val*kyr"i*a\, n. [Icel. valkyrja (akin to AS.
w[ae]lcyrie); valr the slain + kj[=o]sa to choose. See
{Valhalla}, and {Choose}.] (Scand. Myth.)
One of the maidens of Odin, represented as awful and
beautiful, who presided over battle and marked out those who
were to be slain, and who also ministered at the feasts of
heroes in Valhalla. [Written also {Valkyr}, and {Walkyr}.]