D&D General The word "Dweomer" by Gygax

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

The one that makes me raise an eyebrow is how "glamer" has changed to "glamour" in 5e (e.g. glamoured studded leather). I mean, I know "glamour" is the UK spelling of "glamor" and that "glamer" is a variant of that word, but I wouldn't expect Americans to deliberately use the British spelling of a word. Wonders will never cease, I suppose!

We also spell Gygax's setting as Greyhawk instead of Grayhawk. I guess using the British spellings in certain circumstances seems more "formal" or "unique," I guess.

 

[J.Quondam]

It was many, many years before I realized that "dais" does not rhyme with "geas", and neither rhymes with "Prius."

 

[EzekielRaiden]

It just came to me out of the blue that "dweomer" hasn't been used in D&D since...what, 2nd edition? Ist? I thought Gygax invented it, but a quick Google search says

Borrowed from Middle English dweomer, from Old English dwimor, from Proto-Germanic *dwemrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to whisk, raise dust, fume”).
I always thought having a magical name for "magic" in D&D fit in perfectly. Why was this edited out from the lore in later editions? Genuinely just curious.

It's a good word, but it's also pretty obscure. My assumption is that they cut down on words that were weird seemingly only for the sake of being weird. "Dweomer" is further hampered by being hard to look up. Even with ready access to the internet, common dictionaries don't define it. None of Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster, and Collins Dictionary give a definition. And several of the extant definitions/uses today clearly only came about because D&D used it (most places that define it explicitly reference "games" as a usage context).

 

[pukunui]

We also spell Gygax's setting as Greyhawk instead of Grayhawk. I guess using the British spellings in certain circumstances seems more "formal" or "unique," I guess.

True!

 

[James Gasik]

It was many, many years before I realized that "dais" does not rhyme with "geas", and neither rhymes with "Prius."

I still don't know how to pronounce that word...but I'm from the Midwest, we don't know how any words work.

 

[J.Quondam]

I still don't know how to pronounce that word...but I'm from the Midwest, we don't know how any words work.

I'm I can sympathize about word thangs things.

 

[James Gasik]

I'm from Texas, so I can sympathize about word thangs things.

I have to be careful not to call a "front room" a "frunchroom". It's sad when communicating with my friends from other parts of the world.

 

[Charlaquin]

The one that makes me raise an eyebrow is how "glamer" has changed to "glamour" in 5e (e.g. glamoured studded leather). I mean, I know "glamour" is the UK spelling of "glamor" and that "glamer" is a variant of that word, but I wouldn't expect Americans to deliberately use the British spelling of a word. Wonders will never cease, I suppose!

British spelling makes words feel more fantastical to us. I’m only half-joking; if I’m honest, this is exactly why I insist on using fae and faerie instead of fey and fairy.

 

[Charlaquin]

We also spell Gygax's setting as Greyhawk instead of Grayhawk. I guess using the British spellings in certain circumstances seems more "formal" or "unique," I guess.

Grey just looks more like how I say the word than gray and accordingly I consistently “misspell” it that way. I’d assume this was particular to where I’m from, but Colorado is in fact where the “neutral” American accent comes from, because it was determined to be the most understandable over the radio.

 

[James Gasik]

Grey just looks more like how I say the word than gray and accordingly I consistently “misspell” it that way. I’d assume this was particular to where I’m from, but Colorado is in fact where the “neutral” American accent comes from, because it was determined to be the most understandable over the radio.

That's a nice fact to know! I have a friend from New England who doesn't see to know what an "r" is, and another from Minnesota...and I have no idea what she's saying half the time!