What is the exact meaning of the word “Dracula”?
What is the feminine form of the word? If there is no feminine form, what is closest?
I think it’s Romanian.
What is the exact meaning of the word “Dracula”?
What is the feminine form of the word? If there is no feminine form, what is closest?
I think it’s Romanian.
It comes from Vlad Dracul, the man also known as Vlad the Impaler.
From this site:
Since the word means “son of” perhaps a Romanian speaker can tell you what ending means “daughter of” for the feminine.
Oops, well the first link’s good anyway.
Feminine form?
We appreciate your thanks.
You have them Exapno Mapcase, albeit unspoken.
Just a nitpick. Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes) is Vlad Dracula, AKA Vlad II. Vlad Dracul is Vlad I, his father.
Your nitpick is correct. I dropped the a.
Now to nitpick you.
Vlad II is usually referred to as Vlad Tepes or Vlad Tsepech, meaning Vlad the Impaler. Because of the connection with his father, he picked up the name Dracula.
So his proper nomenclature is Vlad Tepes Dracula, though he is often called Vlad Dracula.
The more I type Dracula, the more incorrect it looks.
Perhaps that is because it is, in fact, incorrect. The correct Romanian spelling is “Draculea.”
Hah! I pick a nit, as well!
Touche Exapno. Between the two of us, we’ll get all the details out there. ^__~
Terrifel --do you know the correct feminine ending for the name?
Bosda, I spoke with my husband (who is Romanian) and he looked at me like I was nuts. He said the name “Dracula” was an American invention, and his “real” name was Vlad de Tepesh. He said there is no feminine form of the name. I thought maybe they did that same as the Russians and added an “a” to the end of the name to denote a female, but alas, no they do not.
AFAIK, Dracul and Dracula are legit but Nosferatu is an invention.
Cuckoorex, I think Dracul is legit (it means “Dragon”) but not any of the others you mentioned. My husband isn’t here right now to ask him, but I can check if you’d like?
If the “a” or “ea” ending means “son of”, then it is hard to imagine that the son of Vlad Dracul, definitely a real figure, would not be known as Vlad Dracula.
Dracula as a vampire is a different thing altogether, to be sure, but it’s not American. Bram Stoker was British. Irish, really.
I do not, and suspect that there may not be one. The name “Draculea” is, I believe, the genitive for “Dracul,” and as such probably wouldn’t differ from male to female. If Vlad Jr. had been a girl, they may have called him the exact same thing; I think you might be asking for something similar to “the feminine form of O’Malley,” if you see what I mean. However, I do not speak Romanian and thus am perfectly willing to be corrected on this matter.
According to Treplow’s Vlad III Dracula, Vlad Dracula did indeed sign his name as Dracula. Treplow says on page 8:
“Vlad was called Dracula and signed his name as such in documents issued from his chancellory because he inherited the name from his father, who had been made a member of the Order of the Dragon by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg, a crusading order founded to halt the Turkish onslaught in Europe.”
In McNally and Florescu’s book In Search of Dracula there’s a picture of the Ochsenbach painting of Vlad that dates from the early 17th century. On the portrait his name is clearly rendered as VLADISLAVS DRACVLA.
.:Nichol:.
Thank you. Nichol, Mapcase, et al.