Wraith (spirit)
The word wraith is a word of English origin, of use little running in France. According to OED, the word wraith is of obscure origin . It appears in 1513, with the significance of Fantôme or spectrum, i.e. the appearance of people deceased. With the eighteenth century it is associated in Scotland with the spirits of water, while in England it takes a metaphorical direction. If the appearance is an alive person, this sign is considered as annociator of its imminent death.
The word could be of Scottish origin, possibly from old Scandinavian the vörðr , which means guard , and in relation to Irish arrach , meaning appearance . Some also claim that it could emanate from the verb to writhe , meaning to twist or to twist . Tolkien revival the use of this word in England with its famous ringwraiths or Spectra of the Ring. Of this fact it is now mainly used by the authors of Fantasy to indicate a misty appearance or a spirit of another world.
According to a legend of the Cornouailles, the hamlet of Polbreen Mine would be haunted by a wraith name of Dorcas.
The word wraith is also the name of people the extraterrestrial ones in the universe of Stargate Atlantis.
| Random links: | List birds of fiction | USS Culgoa (AF-3) | Variola | Adventures with water | Enki and the order of the world | Funny World & Balloon Servant boy | Un_esprit_analogue |