(Old Norse) and or (Old English) are terms for "blood sacrifice" in Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism respectively. A comparanda can also be reconstructed for wider Germanic paganism. A could be dedicated to any of the Germanic gods, the spirits of the land, and to ancestors. The sacrifice involved aspects of a sacramental meal or feast. Etymology The word is an Old Norse strong neuter noun (genitive ). The corresponding Old English neuter (genitive ) may be influenced by Old Norse; the Old English gospels have prefixed "sacrifice". The reconstructed Proto-Germanic form of the noun is "sacrifice, worship". Connected to this is the Proto-Germanic strong verb with descendants in Gothic (), Old Norse , Old English and Old High German , all of which mean "to sacrifice, offer, worship". The word also appears in a compound attested in Old Norse as "house of worship" and in Old High German as "temple". With a different nominative affix, the same stem is found in the Proto-Germanic noun "sacrifice" – attested in Gothic * (*) in () "worshipper of God" and Old High German "offering, sacrifice"). This stem is thought to be connected to the Proto-Germanic verb "to blow; to bloom, blossom", as are the words for "blood" (Proto-Germanic ) and "bloom" (Proto-Germanic ). Sophus Bugge was the first to suggest a connection between and the Latin (< *), and both words can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European stem * "to bubble forth; to mumble, murmur, blather". Rites and beliefs The verb meant "to worship with sacrifice", or "to strengthen". The written sources and the archaeological record indicate that in Old Norse religious practice the sacrifice of animals, particularly pigs and horses, played a significant part in the blót. More than just a simple sacrifice, the blót was central to all the ritual activities that took place in Norse sacral structures. Closer in conception to a gift, the blót usually involved killing animals, and sometimes humans, in ritual fashion with their blood being poured into bowls or onto stones. Twigs were dipped into the liquid and shaken, throwing a spray onto the onlookers and the buildings. At the temple-hall of Hofstaðir in northern Iceland, oxen were decapitated in seasonal rituals for many years. Osteological analysis of the bones shows that the animals were killed with blows to the neck by axe or sword. This method was intended to produce the spectacle of