Dracula

[drak-yuh-luh]

noun

1. (italics),  a novel (1897) by Bram Stoker.

2. Count, the central character in this novel: the archetype of a vampire.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dracula¹

Origin uncertain; perhaps from Romanian Drăculea, a diminutive or patronymic of drăcul “the dragon,” and derived from a knightly order called the “Order of the Dragon” ( Ordo Draconum ), founded in 1408 by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund ( 1368–1437 ), then king of Hungary, to defend Christianity and the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. After Vlad II Dracul (c. 1395–1447 ) was admitted to the order around 1431, he wore the dragon emblem of the order. Later, when Vlad II was prince of Wallachia (now part of Romania), his coinage bore the image of the dragon, from which the name Dracula is derived. Vlad II’s son, Vlad III (Vlad Ţepeş “Vlad the Impaler,” c.1431–c.1476 ) is most likely the model for the Bram Stoker character. dragon

Example Sentences

Prior to “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” most were willing to brush clumps of cigarette ash off of cardigan sweaters and, at most, bail a lover out of jail.

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“Dracula” was birthed initially as a jokey response to his anti-commercial tendencies — as if Jude could ever make a conventional horror movie.

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But profitability has been a reliable bet more often than not — and Karloff’s “Frankenstein” and Lugosi’s “Dracula” still resonate through pop culture while most best picture winners of the same era are forgotten.

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He would then cast aside his Dracula cape to sing a personal theme song, “Sweet Transvestite.”

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If you were to dissect the pivotal memories that shaped Khondji’s creative mind, the array of touchstones would include a photograph of Christopher Lee as Dracula that his brother would bring him from London.

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