The Washington times., 1901-11-10
The NAMES OF ANIMALS.
Their Unique Origins Traced From
the Ancients.
How the Various Canine Breeds Re-
cefyed Cognomens-Crude rites
t;iyento Domestic Qundrupcds by
Mnn-DcsiEnating the Wild Bensts.

Mnn-DesiEnatins the Wild BEASTS.
The origin of the names now given
to our pet and domestic animals are in
teresting to trace To commence with
the canine species, it may be presuliieu
that dog is a contraction of the Ice
| landic "doggr." The Greek name ior
an animal of the canine species was
''knou'' which was evolved INTO the
Latin. "canis" the Gothic "hunds, the
Anglo-Saxon and modern German
humid and eventually into hound,
the modern English designation for n
sporting dog. A staghound Is houho
especially serviceable in stag hunting
the bloodhound possesses the instinct
of tracking blood by smell; while the
greyhound is not called so because OF
it's color, as is commonly believed. but
because this species of dog was origi-
nalIy brought from Graikor, the native
name of Greece A valuable species OF
hound closely allied to the bloodhound
is the talbot, so-called because 1t is
borne on the arms of the Earl of
Shrewsbury, whose family name is Tai
bot.
The bulldog was formerly employed
| for batting bulls. A pointer is sport
ing dog trained to point out the pres
ence of game with his nose, and set
| ter one that Crouches over the place
| where the game lies hidden. The species
| of burrowing dog is styled terrier, in
accordance with the Latin terra the
earth. a harrier is a dog especially
valuable for hunting hares; while the
| term beagle" applied to breed of
| harrier pre-eminently useful in rabbit
hunting, came originally from the Gael
lie. "beag." signifying little, because 1t
| is really species of hound.
The now popular fox terrier was once
regarded as a valuable addition to
pack of foxhounds. The st. Bernard
| dogs werebred at the famous monastery
| of St Bernard in the Alps. The Es-
quimaux dog is found in Greenland and
other Arctic climes; whereas the Pom
eranian variety Of this dog is bred in
Pomerania, Prussia A skye terrier is
one Of a breed of terrier peculiar to the
Isle of Skye, in the Hebrides. The
| word "mastiff,'' comes from the Italian
| "mastino." descriptive of a watchdog.
The Newfoundland dog is native of
| Newfoundland, and is also found in La
| brador A Dalmatian is so designated
from the country where it was first
bred; 1t is more generally known as
coach dog, and a few years ago. was
quite fashionable. nearly every carriage
having one of the spotted CANNES trot-
ting after it.
The spaniel is a Spanish dog, of
! which the best breed originally came
from the Isle of Haiti, in the West In
dies, formerly known as Hispaniola-
The small species of spaniel. of which
Charles 1 was so fond. has ever since
borne the name of the King Charles
spaniel. The famous Blenheim or Marl-
borough spaniels are so called from
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, the seat
of the Duke Of Marlborough. where the
breed has been preserved in all its pur-
ity since the commencement of the sew
enteenth century. It is very rare in
this country.
The term poodle comes from the Ger
man 'pudel," puddle, or pool, the dog
so named being closely allied to what is
known as the water dog. As is i'm
Piled by its name, lap-dog is a dimin-
utive pet that can be carried about out
of doors, or nursed in a lady's lap at
home.
The word horse" is derived from the
Greek "hippos," and, primarily from
the Sanscrit "bresh," to neigh. The cat
faces its name through the French
Chat and Latin "gata,'' from the
Arabic gift" When people speak Of
the cat familiarly as ''puss," they little
think, perhaps, that they are giving
this animal the same name as did the
ancient Egyptians, because like the
moon, she was more active at night.
and her eyes changed similarly to the
changes of the moon. AS time wore
on, the word "pasht." the moon. also
signifying a cat, became shortened into
"pus." after which the corruption into
"puss" was easy.
In regard to the names of wild ami
mails it may be said that the me jority
of these can be traced to the ancient
languages, principally Greek and Latin.
The name OF elephant was evidently
received through the Greek 'elephan-
tos," and Latin 'elephantus," from the
Semitic "aleph-hindi. an Indian bull
Hippopotamus is the Greek for river
horse, "hippos" being horse" in that
language, and ''potamus," river. "Rhi-
E noceros'' is a Latin term derived from
the two Greek words. "rinos," the nose
I and ''keras," a horn, referring to the
E protuberance on the mouth of the ami,
] NAL so denominated. 1t has been sup
posed by some that theo ne-horned ami
, NAL described in the Scriptures as the
unicorn was a rhinoceros, If not q
/. species OF wild bull The term pan
ther" remains the same spelling as II
the original Greek: lion comes from the
= Latin leon" and tiger from the Latir
' and Greek 'tlgris." while leopard" i.
/, merely a contraction of the Latir
5 'leopa is" a spotted lion.
Several animals trace their name.
a from the East. Chief among these may
be mentioned the camel, called in Ara
= bic "gamel," and Anglicised through
l. the Greek 'kamelos." and Latin. cam
r clos" the giraffe, from the Arabic ri
4 rafoh." and Egyptian "Soraphe," sig
: nifying a long neck. Dromedary. how
a ever. is a modihcetio of the Frencl
e word. "dromedaire." derived from III,
$ Greek word, "dromas." running
d The lemur derives its name from tn.
Latin designation for ghost" o.
q 2 "spook.' from the fact that. like thos,
e gentry unencumbered with fcshy attri
?. butes they select the night for prom
: enading.