Reconstruction:Old English/nihtmare

This Old English entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Old English

Alternative forms

• *næhtmare, *neahtmare, *niehtmare, *nyhtmare, *nehtmare

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *nahtmarā. Equivalent to niht +‎ mare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnixtˌmɑ.re/, [ˈniçtˌmɑ.re]

Noun

*nihtmare f

1. mare (evil spirit thought to torment people in their sleep)
2. nightmare

Declension

Weak n-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	nihtmare	nihtmaran
accusative	nihtmaran	nihtmaran
genitive	nihtmaran	nihtmarena
dative	nihtmaran	nihtmarum

Descendants

• Middle English: nyghtmare, niȝthe-mare, niȝt-mare, nytmare, nyghtesmare (London), nyȝhte mare, nyghte mare (Promptorium Parvulorum)
  • English: nightmare
    • → Scots: nichtmare, nichtmeer