word of the day- Weird

[threadwalker]

Weird

originally wyrd, from wer (German) to turn or wind (later meaning change, like turn into- think were-wolf). The original meaning of wyrd is "fate" or one of the Fates, Wyrds or Norns (the Triple Goddess of fate

Comments

[whiskeypants]

"fate" is not, actually, the original meaning of "wyrd," it's just the closest modern english can come to the sense of it.

[threadwalker]

*smiles* I agree. But in this case I didn't elaborate much. The sense I get is the connections between things, the turning of the wheel, the way things play out, the roles that all people and things play. Better?

I would love to hear you elaborate on this one :)

[whiskeypants]

fate is something that is inevitable, something we absolutely cannot escape. the feeling i get from "wyrd" is that it is something like the telling of a story. yes, "wyrd" is what happens to your characters in the story--why? because you say so--in that way it is more like fate. but wyrd is also what your characters do because they are who they are, and while there are other choices they could make, they could not make the same choices and be the people they are. wyrd is also not the end of the story, or even necessarily a major chapter in the story. it just is.

wyrd seems to me much like a process, as you say, the turning of the wheel. it's what makes us what we are, and seeking out our wyrd and seeking out the things we need to do in life seems to be about the same thing to me.

[threadwalker]

I could not agree more. In the last few years I've thought a lot about the descisions we make and positions we take because if we did otherwise we would not be us.

[anemone]

wer- is also the root of wrath, wreath, and writhe, which makes "wraith" (also a wer- root) a particularly good choice for the name of Nazgul (twisted & angry) in Lord of the Rings.

[threadwalker]

yes *grins* I like that part of the interview with the linguist in the expanded set.

[anonymous]

I was taught that the "were" in werewolf comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "man". Because their poetry alliterated, and was very manly, they needed a large number of words meaning man and beginning with a wide variety of different letters.

On the other hand, the OED casts doubts on that etymology. But they don't seem to offer any alternatives...