Doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (/ˈdɒpəlɡɛŋər, -ɡæŋər/; German: [ˈdɔpl̩ˌɡɛŋɐ] (listen)
, literally "double-walker") or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. In modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used.[1] The word "doppelgänger" is often used in a more general and neutral sense, and in slang, to describe any person who physically resembles another person.
The word doppelganger is a loanword from the German Doppelgänger (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔpl̩ɡɛŋɐ]), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns Doppel (double) and Gänger (walker or goer).[2][3] The singular and plural forms are the same in German, but English writers usually prefer the plural "doppelgangers". The first known use, in the slightly different form Doppeltgänger, occurs in the novel Siebenkäs (1796) by Jean Paul, in which he explains his newly coined word in a footnote; the word Doppelgänger also appears in the novel, but with a different meaning.[4]
In German, the word is written (as is usual with German nouns) with an initial capital letter: Doppelgänger. In English, the word is generally written with a lower-case letter, and the umlaut on the letter "a" is usually dropped: "doppelganger".[5]
English-speakers have only recently applied this German word to a paranormal concept. Francis Grose's, Provincial Glossary of 1787 used the term fetch instead, defined as the "apparition of a person living." Catherine Crowe's book on paranormal phenomena, The Night-Side of Nature (1848) helped make the German word well-known. However, the concept of alter egos and double spirits has appeared in the folklore, myths, religious concepts, and traditions of many cultures throughout human history.[6]
In Ancient Egyptian mythology, a ka was a tangible "spirit double" having the same memories and feelings as the person to whom the counterpart belongs. The Greek Princess presents an Egyptian view of the Trojan War in which a ka of Helen misleads Paris, helping to stop the war.[citation needed] This memic sense also appears in Euripides' play Helen, and in Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who is seen performing the person's actions in advance. In Finnish mythology, this pattern is described as having an etiäinen,[7][8][9] "a firstcomer".[10] The doppelgänger is a version[clarification needed] of the Ankou, which is a personification of death that appears in Breton, Cornish, and Norman folklore.[citation needed]
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