Weird

Have you seen the TV commercials for eggs in which someone is eating a snack made with eggs? “That’s weird,” says one person watching the other eat.
 
“What’s weird?” replies the person eating.
 
“Eating eggs for a snack…”
 
“That’s not weird. You’re weird for thinking it’s weird.”
 
Do you ever encounter something that seems strange, eerie, creepy, mysterious, unnatural, peculiar, uncanny—you know, something that seems weird? Have you ever called someone a ‘weirdo’? Have you ever said that you were ‘weirded out’ by something?
 
Weird comes from an ancient Proto-Indo-European (PIE) word wer that simply means to turn or bend or become. What’s weird about that?
 
We use phrases such as ‘as the world turns’ or ‘it’s your turn’ or ‘do someone a good turn’ or ‘let’s see how things turn out’. Again, what’s weird about that?
 
The word weird comes to us from Old English word wyrd (meaning ‘that which comes’) which in turn has its origins in PIE wer and related Germanic and Norse words meaning fate, chance, and destiny. The three goddesses of fate in Germanic and Norse mythology, called the Norns, were also called the ‘weird sisters’ or the ‘sisters of fate’. They represent the past, present, and future.
 
In medieval times, the word weird was used to describe someone or something that had the power to control fate. There was still an uncanny or mysterious sense that ancient mythic gods and goddesses controlled human fate.
 
Even now we still carry a mysterious sense of things being ‘predestined’ or ‘written in the stars’ or ‘meant to be’. Have you read a horoscope lately?! Even now, something strange or unexpected happens and we exclaim, “Boy, that was weird!” And, how often have you heard someone say that something was or is ‘weird and wonderful’?
 
Given that a person’s fate includes both positive and negative elements, how did the word weird get to have such a dark side? This appears to have happened relatively recently. For example, in some popular 19th century productions of Macbeth the three sisters were portrayed as malevolent and frightening witches.
 
Now when we say we have a ‘weird feeling’ about something, we have an ominous sense of foreboding. Somehow the three sisters have got something in for us. Watch out.
 
Isn’t it weird how the meaning and use of the word weird has changed over the years?
 
Anyway, time to go have an egg snack.
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Image: https://skjalden.com/norns/

Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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