When it comes to animal names, the English language has an incredible assortment, some of which are quite amusing. Read more to find out some weird animal names.
Weird Animal Names | Part 1: Drones: Weapons or Male Bees?
It’s a male bee! This definition is probably not what you first think of when you hear the word ‘drone’. Nevertheless, the origin of the word ‘drone’ as a name for a male bee extends back to Old English, and in the 16th century it became both a term for lazy humans as well as a verb meaning to buzz like a bee or to speak in a monotonous fashion. As for the modern-day weapon, it wasn’t until 1935 that the word ‘drone’ was adopted into military-related vocabulary.
Weird Animal Names | English & Animal Names
Most languages have words like these which have several meanings, but English is unique in that many commonplace words are also used as animal names. Confused? Here are some amusing examples for illustration:
Vixen: a spiteful or quarrelsome woman; a female fox- Gander: a look or glance; a male goose
- Nanny: a babysitter; a female goat
- Kid: a human child; a baby goat
It gets stranger with the names of collective groups of specific animals, which are called ‘terms of venery’.
- Cloud: a visible mass of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere; a group of bats
- Clutter: a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass; a group of cats
- Raft: a flat buoyant structure used as a boat or floating platform; a group of ducks
- Streak: a long, thin line or mark of a different substance or color from its surroundings; a group of tigers
- Army: an organized military force equipped for fighting on land; a group of frogs
Weird Animal Names | Part 2: Roots & Origins
All languages have names for animals, even ancient ones. After all, many English animal names originate from Ancient Greek. Because of such influences from many different languages over hundreds of years, Modern English has ended up with some particularly interesting animal names. Here below are some notable examples:
Leopard: Leopards were named based on a misconception that they were a cross between a lion and a panther. Hence, leo and pard were combined to describe the animal which today, we know to be a separate species altogether.
Flamingo: Flamingos are based on a stereotype of the people of Flanders, the Flemings. This group of people was widely known for their flushed complexions as well as an affinity for bright clothing. When the Spaniards reached the New World, they thought it’d be a great joke to name the long-legged pink bird flamingo, which means ‘a Fleming’ in Spanish.
Aardvark: Many animals were named with pigs in mind, including the aardvark. The name comes from Afrikaans, when the word for earth, aarde, was combined with the word for ping, varken. This might be attributable to the aardvark’s pinkish skin and flat nose.
Hippopotamus: The hippopotamus is another result of a mistaken assumption. When the Ancient Greeks first encountered the animals in Egypt, they thought it looked like a horse in the water. Thus, they brought together the word for horse, hippos, with the word for river, potamos, and voila, the modern day hippopotamus came to be.
Rhinoceros: Relative to the rest of the animals in this list, rhinos have a straightforward etymological origin. Their names are a combination of the word rhino, as in related to noses, and the word keras, which is the root-word for the substance that makes up rhino-horns: keratin.
Skunk: The skunk’s name originates from Native American – specifically the Algonquin – who called them segankw or segonku, which meant ‘he who squirts’. Early pioneers were not the best at pronouncing the word, thus it eventually evolved and resulted in an easier way to pronounce the word for English speakers: skunk.
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