In connection with the new release of Nosferatu (2024) it might be said:
The word “nosferatu” gained tremendous circulation based on the title of the 1922 film based on ideas of Albin Grau and directed by F. W. Murnau. It has once more risen to common parlance due to the recently released film by Robert Eggers making use of the same title and general vision and plot of the 1922 film, which is widely thought to be one of the greatest films of all time. But not many have stopped to think about where the word comes from and what it means. Sadly, we can offer not definitive answer to this question, but it turns out that many people have tried to figure it out in the past. The word first appears to have come into usage in English based on the 1885 article by Emily Gerard entitled “Transylvanian Superstitions.” This was without any serious doubt the source of Bram Stoker’s use of the word in his 1897 novel Dracula. Gerard’s article was also his source for the important element explaining how Dracula became a vampire in the first place— due to his dealings with a diabolical school of black magic called the Sholomance (German spelling: Scholomance). This was a legendary location in the Transylvanian mountains near the city of Hermannstat (today: Sibiu). I make more references to this aspect in my book Gothick Meditations at Midnight. But as regards the very word nosferatu, Gerard cites it as a Romanian word for “vampire.” Earlier German-language references to the word nosferatu indicate that it is a foreign, non-German, word. Given the location in question and the general linguistic context of the narrative, it appears most likely that this is thought to be a Romanian word. The word nesuferit appears in Romanian meaning an obnoxious or unbearable person, but its etymology remains difficult. The ultimate origin may be the Greek word nosophoros, referring to the idea of being “disease-bearing.” This certainly fits with a major theme of the story of Nosferatu. This word may have entered Romanian indirectly through Old Church Slavonic. Romanian, being a Romance language, does not have a great number of Greek connections, but as we know, words frequently float into languages indirectly. In any event, the word was used by German-speaking folklorists in the 19th century and entered into English through the work of Gerard and form there into Stoker’s novel. It should always be remembered that Stoker did not use Dracula as the title to his novel, nor was the character named that until the very last minute: In the original draft, he used the “name” Vampyr. This fact is also strong evidence against him every having used the history of Vlad the Impaler as any sort of inspiration.
Further regarding the film Nosferatu and its origins, legacies and various versions, I will have more to say on an esoteric level in connection with the thoughts of its deep-level creator: Albin Grau.