Alps

Yesterday when Rob, Stephanie and I were driving back to Munich via Italy and Austria, Rob offered up an interesting tidbit. He said that in German, Alptraum means nightmare. So, I know that in German "traum" means to dream, so does "alp" mean "bad" or "evil?" This afternoon I did some research on the roots of the word, and here is what I have learned. Some scholars think the "alp" comes from "albus," meaning "white," or "altus," meaning "high." Both these definitions say the word comes from the 16th century French and Latin. Websters 1828 dictionary offered this:

ALP, ALPS, n. [Gr. white; L. albus] A high mountain. The name, it is supposed, was originally given to mountains whose tops were covered with snow, and hence appropriately applied to the mountains of Swisserland; so that by Alps is generally understood the latter mountains. But geographers apply the name to any high mountains.

I thought the most interesting interpretation came from wikipedia. There, alps are related to elfs, and the female version of an alp is a mare. You can read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_(folklore). I think I like the wiki version best.