Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1906-05-04
NAMES OF ANIMALS.
The Meaning of Some of Those Whose
Origin We Can Trace.

nhe VI w hob0
Origin We Can Trace.
Some of the names of the common
est animals are lost in the dimness
OF antiquity, such as fox, weasel
sheep, horse, dog and baboon. OF the
origin of these the clew 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 clph, 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 QighD and probably
was given to these wi 1cats on ac-
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 the king of beasts
was labu. The compound word
leopard is first found in the Persian
language, where pars stands for pam
ther. Seal, very appropriately, was
once a word meaning of the sea; close
to the Latin sal, the sea.
Puma, jaguar, tapir and peccary
from paqulres) 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; wapitl in the Creek language
means white deer, and was originally
applied to the Rocky mountain goat,
but the name is now restricted to the
American elk. Caribou is also ma
possowne, and raccoon is from the In
dian arrathkune (by further aphere-
sis SOON.
Rhlnoceros is pure Greek, meaning
nose horned, but beaver has indeed
had n rough time of 1t in Its travels
through various languages. 1t Is hard
ly recognizable rs bebrus, babru and
bru. The latter Is the ultimate root
of the English word brown The orig
inal application was doubtless on ac-
count of the color of the creatures
fur. Otter goes back to Sanskrit
where it is udra. The significance of
this word Is In its close kinship 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.
q. 10 ,N,l 90.
Rodent is derived from the latter term.
Cat is also in doubt, but is first rec
ognized in catulus, Il dlminutive 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, 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
stiff movements of this ungainly AMI
NAL.
Squirrel has 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 tlghra signified
sharp. The application to this great
animal was In allusion to the swiftness
with which the tiger leaps upon its
prey.-petroit News-Tribune