Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

What is the origin of the word `nightmare'?

(L. Srinivas, Hyderabad)

Dreams can be pleasant or unpleasant. Nightmares, on the other hand, are always unpleasant. A frightening dream is usually called a nightmare. When you've had a nightmare, you wake up gasping for breath. The `mare' in `nightmare' has nothing to do with a female horse. The word comes from Old English `mare' meaning `incubus'. An incubus, people believed, was an evil spirit which sat on a person's chest while he slept — hence, the feeling of suffocation.

"Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're going to catch you in next."— Franklin P. Jones

S. UPENDRAN

upendrankye@gmail.com

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail