Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1905-08-30
NAMES or ANIMALS ii
The Meaning of Some of Those Whose
Origin We Can Trace.

The Meaning of Some of Those Whose
Origin We Can Trace.
Some Of the names Of the common
est animals are lost In the dlmness
of antiquity, such as fox, weasel,
sheep, horse, dog and baboon. OF the
origin Of these the cIew is forever lost.
With camel one cannot go further
back than the Latin word camelus, and
elephant is derived from the old Hin
doc word elph, which means an OK.
The old root of the word wolf meant
one who tears or rends.
Lynx is from the same Latin root
as the word lux Qlght and probably
was given to these wildcats on ao-
count Of the fierce brightness OF their
eyes. Lion is, of course, from the
Latin leo, which word, In turn, is lost
far back in the Egyptian tongue,
where the word for eSe king of beasts
was labu. The compound word
leopard is first found In the Persian
language, where pars stands for pam
Their. Seal, very appropriatee', was
once a word meaning Of the sea; close
to the Latin sal, the sea.
Puma, Jaguar, taplr and peccary
(from paQuires) are all names from
South American Indian languages.
The coyote and ocelet were called
coyoti and ocelote by the Mexicans
long before Cortes landed on their
shores.
Moose is from the Indian word
mouswah, meaning wood eater;
skunk, from seganku. an Algonquin
term; wapiti In the Greek RDEuage
means white deer, and was O aally
applied to the Rocky mOuntaiE goat,
but the name is now restricted to the
American elk. Caribou is also ma
tive Indian word; opossum is from
possowne, and raccoon is from the In
dian arrathkune (by further aphere-
sis SOON.
Rhinoceros is pure Greek, meaning
nose horned, but beaver has indeed
had a rough time Of 1t in its travels
through various languages. 1t Is hard
ly recognizable as bebrus, babru and
bru. The latter is the ultimate root
Of the English word brown. The orig
inal application was doubtless on nc
count Of the color Of the creatures
fur. Otter goes back to Sanskrlt.
where 1t is udra, The significance Of
this word is In its close klnshiD to
udan. meaning water.
The little mouse hands Its name
down through the years from the old,
old Sanskrit the root meaning to steal.
The word rat may have been derived
from the root of the Latin word va
dere, to scratch, or rodere, to gnaw.
Rodent is derived from the latter term.
Cat is also In doubt but is first rec
ognized In catulus, a diminutive of
CAMS, dog. 1t was applied to the
young Of almost any animal, as the
English words pup. kitten, cub, etc.
Bear is the result Of tongue twisting
from the Latin fera, a wild beast.
Deer is of obscure origin, but may
have been an adjective, meaning wild.
Elk Is derived from the same root as
Gland, and the history Of the latter
word is an interesting one 1t meant
a sufferer, and was applied by the
Teutons to the elk Of the old world
on account of the awkward gait and
stift movements OF this ungalnly ami |
NAL.
Squirrel has a poetic origin In the
Greek language, its original meaning
being shadow tail. Tiger is far more
intricate The old Persian word tlr
meant arrow, while tighra signifed
sharp. The application to this great
animal was in alluslon to the swiftness
with which the tiger leaps upon its
prey.-Detroit News Tribune.