The long history of the word 'weird' | Hacker News Reader

The long history of the word 'weird'

mentalfloss.com

17 pointsdrdee18 comments

They really skipped over the actual original use of the word, which was not witchcraft, but "wyrd", the Anglo-Saxon word for "fate", although according to commentaries on Beowulf it was less "inevitable because of (divine) decree", but more towards "inevitable due to the consequences of our actions". "Wyrd" was the the Anglo-Saxon spelling for the Norse "Urd", the well that Odin dropped his eye into in exchange for a draught of its waters of wisdom.

The "wyrd sisters" would be Norns, the three women who were the Norse "fates". In a Christian context, of course, trying to access the future as a tool to benefit oneself is forbidden, so someone with access to the wyrd would be a witch. But I would assume different from satanic witches, because source of the knowledge is not demons but a pre-Christian access to the waters of the Well of Urd, the Well of Wyrd. In any case, Shakespeare's wyrd sisters are probably representing the Anglo-Saxon Fates (or "fate" collectively), rather than any modern conception of witches.

Way off topic, but my journey to learning the New Zealand accent started when I realised that the word "bread" must be pronounced to rhyme with the word "weird".

I don't like the way this feels, face contortions

That's all part of it though. Saying it like that gets your face and mouth muscles ready for the contortions of the rest of the language.

My favorite weird use of weird is 'Weird' numbers.

>In number theory, a weird number is a natural number that is abundant but not semiperfect. In other words, the sum of the proper divisors of the number is greater than the number, but no subset of those divisors sums to the number itself.

There's a lot of amusement to be had reading through all the esoteric buckets number theorists have come up with to categorize numbers through over the years.

I'm torn between thinking the oddest (or maybe weirdest) use of the word is Herbert's Dune - the weirding way - which I assume is a coinage

But, that in my mind competes with Bill Waterson's line from Calvin and Hobbes - "Verbing weirds the language."

https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/01/25

"Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding"

Just glorious.

>I'm torn between thinking the oddest (or maybe weirdest) use of the word is Herbert's Dune - the weirding way - which I assume is a coinage

Frank Herbert was just riffing on the original witchy definition. From the Dune glossary:

WEIRDING: idiomatic: that which partakes of the mystical or of witchcraft.

It seems somewhat ironic that the people that have spent the last few years telling us what words we must use to avoid causing offence seem to be the same ones delighting in weird which has traditionally been used to marginalise eccentrics, the neuro-divergent and other vulnerable people.

(Pagan words ahead, tread lightly):

Spelling

Weird

Wyrd

Word

HollyWood.

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Spelling, casting a spell, to weird, as in "The Word" "And God Said, In a Sound Voice 'Let There Be Light' <-- which is a poor translation of what was being conveyed)

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If you have read a lot of esoterics from Rosicruicians, Masons, MAyans - All Pagan/Wiccanism - (a history thats being erased) -- The incantation of voice, thought into reality 'Weirding' etc - its all abotu manifesting vibration from aether to reality.

The word 'HollyWood' refers to the spell casting of the pagan druids. There is a reason we call it all 'programming' and it comes from 'hollywood' -- Its programming the frequency and vibration of thought.

you may not believe in Kabbalah, Spells, Paganism, Druidism, Black Magick etc... but there are a lot of people in power who do. And use ignorance of it against you.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=history+of+holywood+spells+...

https://www.academia.edu/49708883/Holy_Wood_Sacred_Symbol_To...

Read about Weed:

https://www.arosicrucianspeaks.com/bio.htm

And his books are great... (They are HQ in San Jose BTW)

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But we wont get into Moloch and Bohemia here.

Let's say for a minute that what you're saying is true, that is, there are people in power that are aware of the etymology of words, and name things with symbolic insight, what are you hoping to accomplish by sharing this here?

Well, for one, I appreciate the way you've crafted your reply.

The spelling forth through etymology of the spoken word is a part of our nature and for me to speak about it hear prevents me from forgetting. Thoughts are things.

Also, I'm a fan of Cymatics, 3/6/9, vibratory thought.

What are you hoping to accomplish by implying that I shouldnt discuss such natural innate part of Humanity than the nature of why etymology of symbolism of what actually is, in my Sound and Perfect Voice?

I Am That I Am.

In Lak'ech - I am another Yourself.

You'd like Hunbatz Men, You might like The Mayan Factor, by Jose Arguilles - there is some particularly vibratory content in that book.

https://zoboko.com/download-epub/x54q044d/the-mayan-factor-p...

https://i.imgur.com/PksWTtm.png

Have you seen the Washington DC License Plate:

Funny how the most famous Secret Society Fremason's family crest is the red shield of the ancient Toltec Mayan number 13 - and the symbol number of the universe - and how 13 is the primary vibratory frequency by which the US is founded.

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But surely, Im grabbign at straws. Also - have you had the pleasure of visiting the nine levels of the George Washington Masonic Tower?

Also, you'd like this other HNer - and a few of these comments:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41204622

Specifically, have a look at the Google Drive Link I have in that thread, it might be up tonal frequency https://i.imgur.com/BiQE7fh.png

It was a genuine question. Any implications are either below my conscious awareness and unintentional, or creations of your own.

Since you didn't answer, I'll make a guess: you are expressing what is true, using written language as the best representation of what you've come to know through your life as an offering, a present to those other beings who are able to hear the divine words behind the coarse letters of the English language. Perhaps by speaking what is true, you help bring forth more of it into the physical world?

What say you?

I'll check out those links later.

You might be amused to learn my personal website is iamthatiam [dot] org

> but there are a lot of people in power who do. And use ignorance of it against you.

How can someone use a word against you that you don't understand the meaning or history of? if I make up a word, and starting using it in some discreet and secret way, what have I achieved? if my word is derived from an older word with a forgotten meaning, what still have I achieved? finding connections between things doesn't necessarily give those connections meaning except in your own interpretation.

Funny enough, as a neurodivergant person, I feel like we've taken the slur weird and turned it into something we revel in. Much like homosexuals did with 'gay' decades ago. I'll happily refer to myself as weird just before I info-dump about my latest obsession.

It's current use in the political arena has been effective for one main reason IMO: those being hit with the label consider it a slur because they use it as a slur. Much like the adjective 'cis' is viewed as a slur because it's opposite, 'trans', is used a slur.

The very idea of being associated with one of these marginal groups is too much for some folk.

It has long been commercialized too: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Austin_Weird

There’s also “Keep Portland Weird” and “Keep Weed Weird.”

The fact that the word is working in politics right now is just silly but the way it’s getting under the orange man’s skin is entertaining.

I don't think weird ever rose to the level of bad-words or slurs though it's too normal of a word that doesn't single out people the same way actually policed words did.

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