"nightmare" and "bugbear"

[Stefan Georg]

[ Moderator's note:
  The following quotation is from a post by JoatSimeon at aol.com dated 17 Oct.
  --rma ]

>In a message dated 10/17/00 1:41:16 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
>roz-frank at uiowa.edu writes:

><< In reference to the comparative studies, I would be most pleased to find
>  those that have examined the different phonological variants of this 'mare'
>  that are found in Germanic and Slavic. Celtic materials would also be most
>  welcome. >>

>-- the Germanic "mare" is a derived feminine of PIE *markos ('horse',
>possibly 'wild horse'), with the feminine ending, -ih(a), thus *markiha

Fine, but what does this have to do with "nightmare" ? Is it a horse
which haunts you at night ? Well, not me, I'm afraid. What does haunt
people in bad nights is a (Germ.) "Mahr" (G. /Nachtmahr/ is the
equivalent to e. /nightmare/). A /Mahr/ is a.k.o. demon, ghost
osthlth, OHG /mara/, OE /mare/, ON /mara/; this is also found in
Slavic, Czech /mu:ra/, russ. (kiki-)mora, and in Celtic, OIr
/morri:gain/.  IE sthl. *mora: "a k. o. ghost, malevolent spirit
othl.".

No horses here.

StG
--
Dr. Stefan Georg
Heerstraße 7
D-53111 Bonn
FRG
Tel./Fax +49-228-691332