names for creepy-crawlies
Just came across the Ulster Scots word for earwig, a gillik. And there's Cornish emmet (ant) and South African gogga (beetle). What odd names for insects are there in your neck of the woods?
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In some parts of the US, very small biting insects are called "no-see-ums".
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The etymology of "cockroach" in OED2 is interesting:[app. ad. Sp. cucaracha (in Percival 1599) through cacarootch, Capt. John Smith's representation of the Spanish (perhaps representing an older Sp....
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Water skeeters and sow bugs are two of my favorites. Potato bugs freak me out a bit ever since I found one in my bed years ago (about 2 and 1/2 inches long). They have a kind of human shape to their...
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Quote:The German cockroach, Polish cockroach, Russian cockroach, Crotton bug all refer to the same species I know that "I read somewhere" is anathema on this board ---sorry, but the following burbled...
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This is a fascinating thread. It gets curiouser and curiouser.We are told that the word "cockroach" has only been around for 400 years, and was coined in a flash of inspiration (genius, I'd say!) by...
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Hey Lionello! I'm having lunch, you know!shares sounds with Dutch 'kakkerlak' Also when you step on them (krak).An interesting aspect of 'kakkerlak' is that it contains the element 'kak' (shit). Just...
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N.E. England:"Lops" for insects that infest the human body. I guess lice is the main translation, but fleas could also be included."Logger" for any large insect (partic. moths) that come in at night...
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Quote:So what were cockroaches called in English before that? Well, an alternative word for them in modern English is blackbeetles; does anybody know how old that is?
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Excerpt from OED2's entry for "beetle:"the black-beetle or cockroach (q.v.), which is not a beetle. c1050 [see 1.] 1530 Palsgr. 198/1 Bettle, a blacke flye. 1552 Huloet, Byttel, flye with a blacke...
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I meant to bold the 1864 reference to "blackbeetles," being the first cite of our current form -- went too fast.
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You haven't seen a real cockroach until you've encountered a palmetto bug (shiver).
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Palmetto bugs are commonly called tree-roaches in these parts (sometimes road-kill after being stomped on).Never encountered blackbeetle before, and I'm wondering how they got that name. Not a...
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And then there is, COOTIES, which the rightponder isn't supposed to know and uses "LURGI" instead (from the Goons), per Wikkipedia It is an interesting Wikki bit, but tends to swell the tongue near...
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