Dogs, cats, goldfish or parakeets ... Behind these names of animals that we sometimes come across on a daily basis are hiding funny etymological stories.
Did you know for example that the word
"sparrow"
, this little bird which lands on your window sill, is derived from
"monk"
, by comparison between the plumage of the bird and the clothing of the monks?
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The term
"dog"
also has a fun past. In the first half of the 13th century, we read in the Treasury of the French language, the expression
"dog of the sea"
was used to designate a
"small shark"
. From classical Latin
canis
, its name is also used in the 17th century in the form
"large dog"
to designate a
"piece of firearm"
.
The names of animals carrying anecdotes dot the French language.
The hippopotamus for example, etymologically means
"river horse"
, borrowed, through Latin, from the Greek
hippopotamos
, with the same meaning.
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