A disturbing or unpleasant experience or anxious fantasy occurring while awake, similar to a nightmare but during the day.
Compound of 'day' + 'mare' (from Old English 'mare' meaning demon or goblin that causes nightmares). The term mirrors 'nightmare' but applies to waking anxiety.
The word 'mare' in nightmare and daymare comes from the same Germanic root as words meaning 'goblin'—ancient people literally blamed invisible demon horses for bad dreams, and that image was so good it stuck in English for 1,000 years.
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