by frithus forest

Created on: July 03, 2007

WYRD - A ONCE-SACRED WORD

Occasionally a word evolves that still echoes the tone and half-forgotten meanings from a distant past. "Weird" is such a word. For many it applies to what appears odd and unusual. For others it still suggests the perception of an unexpected contact with supernatural forces. Actually "weird" descends from the Anglo-Saxon word, wyrd. It is divested now of all its noble embodiments and their respected positions in an ancient world-view. Even so, weird still holds the power to affect even modern English users. Tinged by fear initially, it can move a person into realms that are eerie and unearthly. In the end, however, weird enters into the experience of the uncanny. It is the serendipitous impression an unprejudiced person has that what befell him was appropriate somehow. A glimpse at the roots of the word, weird - derivative as it is from early Germanic (and later Norse) culture, Teutonic (and Norse) mythology, and later Anglo-Saxon literature - may provide insights into its present mystery and reveal a profound universal plan.

To seek the origins of a word, such as "weird," is to look to its roots in a prehistoric language and culture. It also may be necessary to address how words and myths arise to fathom weird's deeper meaning. However, certain difficulties naturally reveal themselves in any attempt to research into the prehistoric past. Often the only evidence for the word is the word itself.

"Weird" derives from the Old English, wyrd. Wyrd is fate or destiny and "that which befalls one." Furthermore, it comes from the Indo-European base-root meaning "to turn, bend, to wind." It relates to meanings such as "turned toward" and "to move around a place." It also relates to "to turn into," and "to wind around." (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) Of course, any assertion for the word "weird" cannot base itself entirely upon the roots of the language alone.

Words are at once an individual and a shared human experience. In this way language is very similar to the development and understanding of myth. Prehistoric myth, too, was the common experience of a culture. However, there remained a lot of room for individual discovery and interpretation. Words, myths, and stories - as well as the meanings they seek to symbolize - can be touchstones. They are the means to approach an end that is not rigid in form but eternal in concept: the truth. There are various views on the origin of myth. Ernst Topitsch reveals how persons use

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