Initially appearing to be little more than the first name of the antagonist of Star Wars: A New Hope -- even Obi-Wan Kenobi treated it as such -- Darth became established was an honorific adopted by Sith Lords. But what does the word actually mean?

According to the 2017 book Star Wars Made Easy, Darth "loosely translates to 'Dark Lord,' and all Sith Lords use it." Despite this official, simplistic definition, the word has a more complicated place in Star Wars history, and Legends, which have drastically different interpretations of the title.

According to George Lucas, Darth was originally a variation of the word "dark," while Vader was an alternate for "father." Darth wasn't originally connected to Sith Lords either, as Lucas was still fleshing out their lore upon Darth Vader's introduction in A New Hope. "So it’s [Darth Vader] -- basically Dark Father," Lucas told Rolling Stone in 2005.. "All the names have history, but sometimes I make mistakes – Luke was originally going to be called Luke Starkiller, but then I realized that wasn’t appropriate for the character."

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Star Wars Sith feature

The history of "Darth" in Legends is even more turbulent, as most early Sith Lords did not use the title. Darth Andeddu is the earliest known Dark Lord of the Sith to carry the name. However, multiple successors, such as Marka Ragnos, Freedon Nadd, Exar Kun and Tulak Horde, did not use the honorific. Darth Naga Sadow adopted the title sometime around 5000 BBY, right before leading the new Sith Empire into its first official war against the Republic. The title disappeared for centuries following Sadow's defeat, and reemerged upon Darth Revan and Darth Malak's descent into the Dark Side. Following the Jedi Civil War, Darth became associated with numerous Sith Lords, such as the Sith Triumvirate, consisting of Darth Traya, Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion.

Legends book Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force suggests Darth was a corruption of the word Daritha, the Rakatan word for emperor. It further posits that its adoption by the Sith Empire came at the hands of Revan and Malak, who reestablished contact with the Rakata Empire before the events of Knights of the Old Republic. Although the Rakata Empire made contact with the old Sith world of Korriban thousands of years before their rediscovery, it is unknown if they introduced the concept of Daritha to the planet, as the Sith species called their rulers Sith Kings. The word Daritha would eventually spread to other corners of the galaxy, with the Cronese people adopting the phrase to mean Ruler of Worlds, while Xim the Despot anointed the title onto himself.

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Before the reign of Sadow, a powerful Sith Lord known as Darth Vitiate, also used the title. Although Vitiate adopted many names during his 1,500-year manipulation of the galaxy, all of the members of his Dark Council used the name Darth. Throughout the New Sith Wars, several Sith Lords used the title. However, Skere Kaan attempted to abolish it upon his formation of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Kaan discarded the title out of his desire to create equality among the Sith's ranks, but his views were extremely divisive, leading many to question his leadership. The Brotherhood of Darkness would eventually succumb to constant infighting, which weakened their ranks and led to Kaan's ultimate defeat at the hands of the Jedi. Darth Bane would eventually destroy the Brotherhood of Darkness from within, establishing the rule of two and the Sith's formal adoption of the Darth title in the process.

Darth is often synonymous with the mystique of the Sith, but its canonical definition downplays the term's interesting history, which was well developed in Legends. Due to its simplistic definition, the Darth title is due for a more in-depth examination in Star Wars canon.

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