The Nightmare, a famous 1781 oil painting by Swiss artist Henry Fuseli, depicts a menacing, spectral horse (see above). Most English speakers know mare as a word for a female horse or similar equine animal, but the mare of nightmare is a different word, ... History and Etymology for nightmare. The second meaning is from Old English mare (“nightmare, monster”), from Proto-Germanic *marÇ­ (“nightmare, … Rather, the word is derived from mara, a Scandinavian mythological term referring to a spirit sent to torment or suffocate sleepers. Mare has a double meaning, the first is English mare (“female horse”), from Proto-Germanic *marhijō (“female horse”). While some think that a “nightmare” took the form of a female horse, or that the evil spirit “mare” was somehow related to the horse, they actually developed separately. However, the etymology of the term has no actual link to horses… I would like to use the word mare for poetic purposes, but its meaning in the modern English is an adult female horse or the female of other equine species.. Is there any possibility to use the word maere, excluding the grapheme "æ", for nightmare? Possibly also connected to older shamanism and spirit-journeys. “Mare” was originally a horse of either sex; it soon became the female of any equine, including zebras, donkeys, and mules. However, there is something else that is called a mare that inspired the word. Rather, the word is derived from mara, a Scandinavian mythological term referring to a spirit sent to torment or suffocate sleepers. ... Nightmare. Interestingly enough, no, this is a common misconception that the word nightmare comes from the phrase, "Riding the night mare." And makes me think of the al-Buraq, which is a fun bit of hadith in Islam. Nightmare. Womp womp. Evil horse. Nightmare definition is - an evil spirit formerly thought to oppress people during sleep. The etymology of the word "nightmare", however, does not relate to horses. Rather, the word is derived from mara, a Scandinavian mythological term referring to a spirit sent to torment or suffocate sleepers. Etymology: From Night + Mare. However, it is thought that its presence in the painting is a visual pun. Etymology – the study of word origins – is a fantastically interesting discipline that yields some incredible facts about where the hugely diverse array of words that make up the English language come from. Middle English nyghte mare, from nyghte night entry 1 + mare mare entry 3. I did some research about word nightmare.In most cases this is what I've found: night + Old English mære "incubus.". Though the connection to horses in the actual entymology is interesting. As other answers said, the word “mare” comes from the word for “spirit” rather than associations with a female horse. It sounds as though it refers to a female horse, but in fact the “mare” part of the word “nightmare… But the etymology of the word “nightmare” does not relate to horses. The demonic horse leering through the parted curtains seems to provide a visual pun on the word ‘nightmare’. There's a lot of horse-riding in dreams (or dream-like horse riding said to be real) in folklore. Nightmare. The origin actually has little to do with horses, or any real animal for that matter. The etymology of the word "nightmare", however, does not relate to horses.

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