Darth

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In the fictional Star Wars universe, Darth is the traditional title of a Sith Lord, the first part of the new name they take on.

The term first appeared in the original script for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which bore little resemblance to the final release of the film. In it, a "Darth Vader" appeared as an Imperial official who would be renamed Grand Moff Tarkin in the final film, with Darth Vader becoming the name of the menacing black-armored villain.

Contrary to popular belief, the word "Darth" is neither a Dutch nor German word meaning "dark" (donker and dunkel, respectively), although "Vader" is Dutch for "father".

Another suggestion is that it is a combination of the words "dark" and "sith", hence: "Dark Lord of the Sith".

1 In-universe history
2 Film history
3 Cultural impact
4 Darth in other countries
5 Sith Lords
6 External links

[edit] In-universe history

In Star Wars, Darth Revan was the first known Sith Lord to use this title, though it is possible that he and Darth Malak were preceded by the mysterious Darth Andeddu. Unlike their successors, Revan and Malak prefixed the title to their own names instead of creating an alias, as did Zannah 3,000 years later.

The first Darth using an alias instead of her own name was probably Darth Traya, followed by her pupils Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion.

Because the first recorded Sith to use the title were Darth Revan and Darth Malak, the fact that they derived much of their power from the Star Forge, a creation of the long-extinct Rakata, has led some historians to suggest that "Darth" is actually a corruption of the Rakatan word Daritha, meaning "emperor". Others note another Rakatan connection: the words for "triumph" or "conquest" in Rakatan is darr, and the word for "death" is tah, leading to the theory that "Darth" is derived from darr tah and therefore means "triumph over death" or "immortal." Given the obsession of the Sith with discovering the means to live forever, this idea, on the surface, is not entirely without merit. But others point out that the true meaning of darr tah is "conquest through death," meaning the conquest of one's enemies.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Film history

Prior to the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999, the only known Sith Lord who carried the name "Darth" was Darth Vader. When Darth Sidious and Darth Maul were revealed in The Phantom Menace, the name took on its distinct association with the Sith, and has since appeared throughout all eras of Star Wars fiction.

In 1977, the year the first Star Wars film was released, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope seemed to indicate that Darth was a name unique to Darth Vader. That is, Obi-Wan Kenobi says to Vader:

"You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

It appears that Darth was a personal name, and the use of it as a title is something only adopted in the prequels. However, Kenobi may have been addressing Vader in a formal or even a mocking tone, however, there are no other references of a Sith being addressed only as "Darth" rather than "Darth" followed by a name.

In light of later material, however, it now appears possible Darth Andeddu was the first Sith Lord named Darth, and all subsequent "Darths" renamed themselves in honor of him.

[edit] Cultural impact

Due to the popularity of Star Wars, the term Darth has entered the popular lexicon as a term for evil. One such example is a group of conservative posters on several political message boards, most notably hannity.com, known as "Darths", thus called because of their "evil" conservatism and ruthless style of debate. Most references, however, are still associated with the Star Wars universe.

[edit] Darth in other countries

In some cases, the word Darth was changed for a variety reasons. In Italy, for instance, Darth Vader's name was changed to Dart Fener, probably for dubbing reasons. This is the only case where the word "Darth" loses its 'h'; every other Sith Lord retains the Darth adjective and doesn't have the name changed (e.g Darth Sidious, Darth Traya). Claudio Sorrentino proposed an online poll to decide whether to keep the name Dart Fener during the production of the new trilogy; 55.6 % of the voters chose "yes". [1] In France, the word "Darth" has changed to Dark, and this applies to all the Sith Lords (Darth Maul is known as Dark Maul and so on). In every other country, the word "Darth" remains unchanged.