We often say things like:
“That meeting was a nightmare,”
or “I had a nightmare of a day.”
But have you ever paused to wonder where this word came from?
Long ago, in Old English and Norse folklore, a “mare” wasn’t a dream - it was a dreadful spirit.
People believed that this dark figure would visit at night, sitting on their chest while they slept, making them feel trapped, breathless, and afraid. What we now understand as sleep paralysis was once blamed on this shadowy intruder.
Over time, “night” and “mare” fused to describe these disturbing experiences.
Eventually, the word evolved to mean any bad dream… and today, even a bad day.
It’s fascinating how language holds echoes of the fears, beliefs, and imaginations of the past.
So the next time you say something was a nightmare, remember.. it once meant more than stress or frustration. It was literally the stuff of legends.
hashtag#WordOrigins hashtag#LanguageStories hashtag#CommunicationMatters hashtag#SoftSkills hashtag#LinkedInLearning hashtag#FunWithWords hashtag#DidYouKnow
hashtag#LifelongLearning
“That meeting was a nightmare,”
or “I had a nightmare of a day.”
But have you ever paused to wonder where this word came from?
Long ago, in Old English and Norse folklore, a “mare” wasn’t a dream - it was a dreadful spirit.
People believed that this dark figure would visit at night, sitting on their chest while they slept, making them feel trapped, breathless, and afraid. What we now understand as sleep paralysis was once blamed on this shadowy intruder.
Over time, “night” and “mare” fused to describe these disturbing experiences.
Eventually, the word evolved to mean any bad dream… and today, even a bad day.
It’s fascinating how language holds echoes of the fears, beliefs, and imaginations of the past.
So the next time you say something was a nightmare, remember.. it once meant more than stress or frustration. It was literally the stuff of legends.
hashtag#WordOrigins hashtag#LanguageStories hashtag#CommunicationMatters hashtag#SoftSkills hashtag#LinkedInLearning hashtag#FunWithWords hashtag#DidYouKnow
hashtag#LifelongLearning
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