  in norse mythology, sif is a goddess associated with earth. sif is attested in the poetic edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the prose edda, written in the 13th century by snorri sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds. in both the poetic edda and the prose edda, sif is the wife of the thunder god thor and is known for her golden hair. in the prose edda, sif is named as the mother of the goddess ÃrÃºÃ°r by thor and of ullr with a father whose name is not recorded. the prose edda also recounts that sif once had her hair shorn by loki, and that thor forced loki to have a golden headpiece made for sif, resulting in not only sif's golden tresses but also five other objects for other gods. scholars have proposed that sif's hair may represent fields of golden wheat, that she may be associated with fertility, family, wedlock and/or that she is connected to rowan, and that there may be an allusion to her role or possibly her name in the old english poem beowulf. == etymology == the name sif is the singular form of the plural old norse word sifjar. sifjar only appears in singular form when referring to the goddess as a proper noun. sifjar is cognate to the old english sib (meaning "affinity, connection, by marriage") and in other germanic languages: gothic language sibja, old high german sibba, and german sippe. sifjar appears not only in ancient poetry and records of law, but also in compounds (byggja sifjar means "to marry").vigfusson (1874:526). using this etymology, scholar john lindow gives the meanings "in-law-relationship", scholar andy orchard provides "relation", and scholar rudolf simek gives "relation by marriage".lindow (2001:266), orchard (1997:138), and simek (2007:283). == attestations == === poetic edda === in stanza 48 of the poetic edda poem hÃ¡rbarÃ°sljÃ³Ã°, hÃ¡rbarÃ°r (odin, father of thor, in disguise) meets thor at an inlet of a gulf. the two engage in flyting, and hÃ¡rbarÃ°r refuses to ferry thor across the bay. among numerous other insults, hÃ¡rbarÃ°r claims that sif has a lover at home. in response, thor says that hÃ¡rbarÃ°r is speaking carelessly "of what seems worst to me" and also lying.larrington (1999:75&ndash;76).  in stanzas 53 and 54 of the poem lokasenna, after pouring loki a crystal cup of mead during his series of insults towards the gods, sif states that there is nothing loki can say only in regard to her. in response, loki claims that sif has had an affair with him: : then 
Earth_goddesses Thor Asynjur