nightmare
nightmare, n. [nahyt-mair, nīt-mār]
-In ancient Roman times, bad dreams were believed to be caused by demons called the incubus and succubus. The incubus (from Latin incubare 'to lie on,' which also gave us English incubate) was a male demon said to have sexual relations with women in their sleep which would cause what we now call nightmares. The notion that an incubus would lie on top of the women for the sex act was their explanation for the heaviness or suffocation a woman might feel during a bad dream. The female counterpart to an incubus, the succubus (from Latin suc, sub 'under' and cubare 'to lie') would slide underneath her sleeping, male victims to perform the sex act. Because of the vastness of the Roman Empire, these beliefs spread to many of the Germanic tribes in Europe, though they became a bit muddled in translation. By the Dark Ages, when there were actually laws against these demons whose existences were recognized by both the church and civil government, the female demon was the better known of the two but she was incorrectly labeled as an incubus. The word nightmare first appeared in the late 13th century to describe the female demon who gave people bad dreams (also called a nighthag.) Night is an obvious reference to the time of day in which most people are asleep and able to have bad dreams. Mare meant 'goblin, incubus (the incorrect translation)'and came from Old English mære, from Proto-Germanic maron 'goblin.' This is believed to have been derived ultimately from the prehistoric Indo-European base mer- 'to rub away, harm, seize,' which also influenced Old Irish Morrigain 'demoness of the corpses' but literally 'queen of the nightmare,' and Bulgarian, Serbian, and Polish mora 'incubus.' It wasn't until the mid-16th century that nightmare shifted from being a name for the demoness to that of the heavy sensation caused by the supposed sex act. The sense of 'a bad dream' is first recorded in 1829 CE, with 'a very distressing experience' coming shortly after in 1831 CE.
-In ancient Roman times, bad dreams were believed to be caused by demons called the incubus and succubus. The incubus (from Latin incubare 'to lie on,' which also gave us English incubate) was a male demon said to have sexual relations with women in their sleep which would cause what we now call nightmares. The notion that an incubus would lie on top of the women for the sex act was their explanation for the heaviness or suffocation a woman might feel during a bad dream. The female counterpart to an incubus, the succubus (from Latin suc, sub 'under' and cubare 'to lie') would slide underneath her sleeping, male victims to perform the sex act. Because of the vastness of the Roman Empire, these beliefs spread to many of the Germanic tribes in Europe, though they became a bit muddled in translation. By the Dark Ages, when there were actually laws against these demons whose existences were recognized by both the church and civil government, the female demon was the better known of the two but she was incorrectly labeled as an incubus. The word nightmare first appeared in the late 13th century to describe the female demon who gave people bad dreams (also called a nighthag.) Night is an obvious reference to the time of day in which most people are asleep and able to have bad dreams. Mare meant 'goblin, incubus (the incorrect translation)'and came from Old English mære, from Proto-Germanic maron 'goblin.' This is believed to have been derived ultimately from the prehistoric Indo-European base mer- 'to rub away, harm, seize,' which also influenced Old Irish Morrigain 'demoness of the corpses' but literally 'queen of the nightmare,' and Bulgarian, Serbian, and Polish mora 'incubus.' It wasn't until the mid-16th century that nightmare shifted from being a name for the demoness to that of the heavy sensation caused by the supposed sex act. The sense of 'a bad dream' is first recorded in 1829 CE, with 'a very distressing experience' coming shortly after in 1831 CE.