D&D's Origins in Gothic Fiction

Mark CMG

Creative Mountain Games

Oct 22, 2012

mmadsen said:
I love the way it means creature, demon, or child:

wight (n.)
O.E. wiht "living being, creature," from P.Gmc. *wekhtiz (cf. O.S. wiht "thing, demon," Du. wicht "a little child," O.H.G. wiht "thing, creature, demon," Ger. Wicht "creature, infant," O.N. vettr "thing, creature," Swed. vätte "spirit of the earth, gnome," Goth. waihts "something"). The only apparent cognate outside Gmc. is O.C.S. vešti "a thing." Not related to the Isle of Wight, which is from L. Vectis (c.150), originally Celtic, possibly meaning "place of the division."

It's little wonder fights often broke out when those who couldn't speak the same language met one another and began a discussion, throwing around words in an attempt to communicate.

My child needs medicine!

He's yelling about the small one being a demon! Kill them all!