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From: kriha_p@actrix.gen.nz (Paul J. Kriha)
Subject: Re: Animal names?
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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 15:41:19 GMT
References: <3n0alj$ope@mordred.cc.jyu.fi> <1995Apr21.231417.1@stan.brandonu.ca>
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In article <1995Apr21.231417.1@stan.brandonu.ca>,
   voorhis@stan.brandonu.ca wrote:
>In article <3n0alj$ope@mordred.cc.jyu.fi>, Jorma Kyppo <jorma@jytko.jyu.fi> 
writes:
>> Where do come the national names for such animals that don't
>> exist in the area where the language is spoken?
>> 
>> For example "lion" is international word, almost same in every
>> language, that I know (in Finnish "leijona").
>> 
>> It is also easy to understand why hippopotamus is "virtahepo" in
>> Finnish (for example), because it means "stream-horse" (which is
>> naturally a biological fault as it should be stream-pig).
>> 
>> But where do come such name like "norsu", which means elephant?
>> There are no elephants in Finland and the word don't seem to
>> have connection with anything (if not "norja suu", meaning lithe mouth
>> and sounding crazy, indeed).
>> About the other languages I know, that in Slovak they use the word
>> "slon", that also means nothing.
>> 
>> Jorma Kyppo
>> Laukaa, Finland
>> jorma@jytko.jyu.fi
>> 
>> 
>   According to Carl Darling Buck in "A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in
>   the Principle Indo-European Languages", p. 189, the general Slavic word
>   'slon' for elephant comes from the Old Slavic verb 'sloniti' meaning 'to
>   lean'.  'Slon' is therefore a leaner.  The name is based on an old
>   belief that elephants sleep leaning against a tree.
>
>Docc, The Dirty Old Car  | "Me krinete, hina
>Collector, still playing |  me krithete."
>with Dinky Toys.         |   --Kata Matthaion 7:1

Hey, that's interesting.  I presume the O.S. 'sloniti' is the pre-cursor
of today's Czech 'skloniti' (to lean/to bow)?

'Lev/Lvice' = Lion/Lioness is obvious.
But what about the hippopotamus? There's another puzzling word 'hroch'!
Is it derived from the sound they make?

Cheers,
Paul JK


