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From: mcv@inter.NL.net (Miguel Carrasquer)
Subject: Re: Etymology of Butterfly
Message-ID: <CyxAvy.9vG@inter.NL.net>
Organization: NLnet
References: <1994Nov6.141900.29563@ac.dal.ca> <CywuF7.4on@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 00:33:33 GMT
Lines: 34

In article <CywuF7.4on@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>,
Ivan A Derzhanski <iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> wrote:
>>> Finally in (ancient) greek the word employed by Aristotle is psyche which 
>>> means soul, coming from the mythological idea that the souls of the deaths 
>>> come back as butterflies. The same idea seems to be realised in russian 
>>> babotchka (from baba = old woman) and doushitchka (from dusha = soul).
>
>Any good reason to write _tch_ instead of _ch_ and _ou_ instead of _u_,
>other than desire to create confusion? 

Mais monsieur Derjansky, c'est plus chic po-frantzouzky!

>The Moscow University's etymological dictionary disagrees with you.
>It does derive _babochka_ `butterfly' from _baba_ `old woman', used
>as a euphemism for `witch', and says that behind this derivation lies
>the belief that witches were in the habit of assuming the shapes of
>animals, particularly unpleasant ones, such as butterflies.
>
>>Does anyone know what the Spanish 'mariposa' derives from? The
>>Bulgarian 'peperuda'?
>
>_Peperuda_ sounds like a fairly clear case of onomatopoeia.
>

Mariposa is the name Mari'a (Mari- in compunds, like Mari-Juana
whence marihuana), and the verb "posar(se)" `to set oneself, to perch'.
So "mariposa" is a babochka that (flutters and) perches...
Cf. also "mariquita" `ladybug'.  Both terms are used to denote
homosexuals in popular speech.

-- 
Miguel Carrasquer         ____________________  ~~~
Amsterdam                [                  ||]~  
mcv@inter.NL.net         ce .sig n'est pas une .cig 
