The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction
This article deals with the analysis of the meaning and the origin of the proper name Dracula, belonging to the well-known vampire created by Bram Stoker, from an etymological point of view. Indeed, Dracula is not a fictitious proper name, but it is the epithet of Vlad III (“the Impaler”), ruler of...
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Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
2025
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| Mynediad Ar-lein: | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/159989 |
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| author | Fagiolo, Virna |
| author_browse | Fagiolo, Virna |
| author_facet | Fagiolo, Virna |
| author_sort | Fagiolo, Virna |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | This article deals with the analysis of the meaning and the origin of the proper name Dracula, belonging to the well-known vampire created by Bram Stoker, from an etymological point of view. Indeed, Dracula is not a fictitious proper name, but it is the epithet of Vlad III (“the Impaler”), ruler of Wallachia in 15th century. The reconstruction of the etymology of this name, which can be analysed as drac + -ul + -a, has triggered a great discussion among scholars, who gave two different meanings to this sobriquet: ‘the devil’ or ‘the son of the dragon’. The name Dracula appears to be a derivative from the sobriquet Dracul, which belonged to Vlad III’s father, Vlad II, a member of the Order of the Dragon. Therefore, discussed in a new light in this paper is the hypothesis that the sobriquets Dracul and Dracula are Latinisms from Lat. draco ‘dragon, (mythological) huge-sized serpent’ with the addition of the Romanian postpositive article -ul ‘the’ and, i n t he case of Dracula, t he addition of t he ending -a with the meaning ‘the son of’. An important role in this etymological inquiry is also played by extra-linguistic factors, such as textual and material sources and historical background. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-159989 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng ger |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego |
| publisherStr | Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1599892025-05-20T07:33:26Z The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction Fagiolo, Virna romance linguistics etymology Latin language Romanian language English literature thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies This article deals with the analysis of the meaning and the origin of the proper name Dracula, belonging to the well-known vampire created by Bram Stoker, from an etymological point of view. Indeed, Dracula is not a fictitious proper name, but it is the epithet of Vlad III (“the Impaler”), ruler of Wallachia in 15th century. The reconstruction of the etymology of this name, which can be analysed as drac + -ul + -a, has triggered a great discussion among scholars, who gave two different meanings to this sobriquet: ‘the devil’ or ‘the son of the dragon’. The name Dracula appears to be a derivative from the sobriquet Dracul, which belonged to Vlad III’s father, Vlad II, a member of the Order of the Dragon. Therefore, discussed in a new light in this paper is the hypothesis that the sobriquets Dracul and Dracula are Latinisms from Lat. draco ‘dragon, (mythological) huge-sized serpent’ with the addition of the Romanian postpositive article -ul ‘the’ and, i n t he case of Dracula, t he addition of t he ending -a with the meaning ‘the son of’. An important role in this etymological inquiry is also played by extra-linguistic factors, such as textual and material sources and historical background. 2025-05-20T07:33:24Z 2025-05-20T07:33:24Z 2023-12-18 chapter 9788323374787 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/159989 eng ger image/jpeg Attribution 4.0 International https://wuj.pl/en/book/onomastics-in-interaction-with-other-branches-of-science-volume-3 https://wuj.pl/the-meaning-of-the-name-dracula-and-dracul-and-its-reconstruction Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Onomastics in Interaction With Other Branches of Science. Volume 3. General and Applied Onomastics. Literary Onomastics. Chrematonomastics. Reports 10.4467/K7478.47/22.23.17737 10.4467/K7478.47/22.23.17737 b56389e6-bd6e-43b9-abc7-9af91c5afc6b c399a3f7-2b80-46ec-b511-77038f45ea82 9788323374787 247-259 open access |
| spellingShingle | romance linguistics etymology Latin language Romanian language English literature thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies Fagiolo, Virna The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction |
| title | The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction |
| title_full | The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction |
| title_fullStr | The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction |
| title_short | The Meaning of the Name Dracula (and Dracul) and Its Reconstruction |
| title_sort | meaning of the name dracula and dracul and its reconstruction |
| topic | romance linguistics etymology Latin language Romanian language English literature thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies |
| topic_facet | romance linguistics etymology Latin language Romanian language English literature thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies |
| url | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/159989 |
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