i was just curious about something compleatly random.
i was talking to my cousin on msn messenger and we started talking about nightmares. then i started thinking about how its a compound word and all, and i wondered what the mare in nightmare means. i know that a mare is like a horse or something. does that maybe have anything to do with it?
2007-05-20 15:03:59 · 10 answers · asked by double you tee ef (the answerer) 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Nightmares were once considered to be the work of demons or incubi, who were said to sit on the chests of sleepers. In old English the being in question was called a mare, or maere (from a proto-Germanic maron, related to old High-German and Norse mara), hence comes the mare part in nightmare.
2007-05-20 15:15:34 · answer #1 · answered by fuck off 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
mare is also the large dark plains on the moon. Maybe that is where the connection comes in more so than a female horse. Night time and the moon were really mysterious thoughts for the people of the dark ages.
2007-05-20 15:12:34 · answer #2 · answered by The PENsive Insomniac 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not compound.
Wikipedia says:
"...nightmares were widely considered to be the work of demons and more specifically incubi, which were thought to sit on the chests of sleepers. In Old English, the being in question was called a mare or mære (from a proto-Germanic *marÅn, related to Old High German and Old Norse mara), whence comes the mare part in nightmare."
So it translates more accurately to "Night demon", or "night spirit", which makes sense, I guess.
2007-05-20 15:08:08 · answer #3 · answered by drink_more_powerade 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The mare in night mare actually comes from an old english word refering to a goblin. So it's basically a monster that comes in your sleep (at night) and gives you bad dreams.
2007-05-20 15:08:50 · answer #4 · answered by steveie42 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mare is also some kind of a demon that gives you nightmares.
Also the dark areas on surface of the moon or Mars.
2007-05-20 15:53:05 · answer #5 · answered by Maus 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because bats ony appear at night. the mare may be an evil creature with the head of a bat and a body of a hourse.
2007-05-20 15:27:52 · answer #6 · answered by Mimi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think mare might mean bad dream, so maybe in the daytime, instead of a daydream, you can have a daymare.
2007-05-20 15:08:30 · answer #7 · answered by hectik340013 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
[Middle English, a female demon that afflicts sleeping people : night, night; see night + mare, goblin (from Old English; see mer- in Indo-European roots).]
2007-05-20 15:07:25 · answer #8 · answered by Allan E 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mare=female horse...
Hmmmm, interesting question...
2007-05-20 15:08:07 · answer #9 · answered by russiancatsima 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i asked my mom. she and i have no idea. good question. and its ok i always think of weird things like this.
2007-05-20 15:07:14 · answer #10 · answered by ?love spell? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋