Word of the month: Doppelgänger

 

They always says things like we look like our cars, our pets, or our spouses. Do we look like these things because we spend so much time with them or are we drawn to the things that are most like ourselves?

I have met a couple of nice, normal fellas from the dating site. Two of these meetings have been a dog walk. I told J that Coe has black fur with gray.  That well, we both do. When I tell people Coe’s age, I really want to lie. I don’t have this vanity about myself, but I do for my dog. When I tell people her age, I always quickly follow it with “but she doesn’t know it.” In our move, we found a new vet. The doctor said her favorite comment in Coe’s chart was “she’s aging gracefully.”  I’d like to say the same for myself.

As a kid, my parents were older than my friend’s parents and my siblings are so much older than I am.  I think this is why I’ve always been a terrible judge of age. I remember mothers when I was a kid, and they were old. People tell me I don’t look my age. I certainly try not to act my age.  Neither Coe nor I act our age. She may look her age a little more than I do. 

I think Coe may be my doppelgänger. Lula Harp certainly is.

 

Merriam-Webster defines Doppelgänger as

: a ghostly counterpart of a living person
: double
: alter ego

 

Oxford English Dictionary gives us this:

Etymology: German doppelgänger or Dutch dubbelganger double-goer.

The apparition of a living person; a double, a wraith.

1830   Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft 178 (note) ,   He..may probably find it to be his own fetch or wraith or double-ganger.

 

This is the first time I feel like the OED isn’t really complete. This is the original definition, while the more modern use doesn’t have the negative or evil connotation. MW touches on the more modern use of the alter ego or double, as does the Urban Dictionary.  I found the Urban Dictionary the most entertaining definition.

Someone that looks the exact same as another person. yet not a twin. ghost identical to living person: an apparition in the form of a double of a living person

yo i saw someone that looked just like u…could have been your doppelganger

 

When I was trying to come up with this month’s word, I asked a couple people what it should be. My physical therapist suggested this word. This topic had been rolling around in the back of my mind for awhile, not necessarily this word. Eric had sent the art a week before and I thought David’s suggestion was just right.

Do you have a doppelgänger?