Talk:Macabre

Prologue
This article was taken whole cloth from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. It needs to be rewritten and put into a larger context. Additional sources are much needed to flesh it out.blood_victory 06:09, 27 January 2006 (UTC)
 * But why is there a disputed-neutrality tag on it? No doubt, the 1911 article is in itself neutral, and this article simply needs expanding with recent themes and examples.--shtove 20:44, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree, it perhaps needs a new tag. It IS neutral, AND factual, but perhaps needs updating, and a comparison with the original meaning. It shouldn't be rewritten in it's entirety, but needs perhaps some minor updating. Dessydes 13:23, 4 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Why are there no articles in other languages? The italian interwiki seems to be wrong. --Diluvien 11:26, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

But just what is macabre?
There's a history topic and an etymology topic in the article, but nothing clearly defining what macabre is. Someone needs to write up a suitable introduction to the topic soon. (Edgeboy Max 10:17, 9 November 2007 (UTC))

Origin of Macabre
The most likely origin of the word is the Arabic maqaber - cemeteries. Therefore Dance Macabre = dance of the cemeteries. The Hebrew interpretation is unlikely, and in any case the Hebrew and Arabic interpretations have the common root qbr, meaning grave (qaber in Arabic, Kever in Hebrew). The single Hebrew word mikever (מקבר) would be closer to macabre while having the same meaning as the two words in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Arielh (talk • contribs) 18:08, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Pronunciation - UK verse US
I've had a lot of problems with the pronunciation of 'Macabre'. After over an hour of struggling, I discovered what the issue was. All the dictionaries acknowledge the French origin of the word, however, the dictionaries are in English, but not specifically American English. Though I'm used to hearing the word pronounced "mak-kahb," (living in America) every dictionary I came across that had an audio clip, pronounces it, "mak-kahb-ra."

I therefore would like to propose (because I don't know how to do it myself), the addition of two audio clips, one labelled as American, and the other UK, so that we can hear the difference in the pronunciation. I haven't located a French clip of the word yet, however, based upon my own studies of French language, it would sound similar to the British pronunciation than the American version, citing the pronunciation of 'quatre' as the basis of my theory.

Then again, maybe Americans just pronounce it improperly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DeNoel (talk) 07:59, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Macabre
The word very liklely is of Arabic origion مقابر which means tombs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.152.180.67 (talk) 14:28, 27 June 2017 (UTC)