NAMES OF THE GANNET 23 



especially under the words " Gander," " Gannet," and 

 " Goose," it appears that two forms, besides the German 

 " Gans," are from Teut. gan : Indo-Germanic ghan, whence 

 also the Greek x'^^^ ^^^^ ^h® Latin anser. Professor Skeat 

 gives Middle English contraction gante ; Old High German 

 ganazo. The etymology of birds' names is a recondite 

 subject, and one with which I can claim but little 

 acquaintance. " Gan " stands in Cornish dialect, according 

 to Borlase, for white (Borl., C— E, " Vocab.," 1769), which 

 certainly accords with the colour of the bird, but such a 

 word is quite unknown to Professor kSkeat. 



It is more likely that the true meaning of Gannet is, as 

 Professor Skeat points out, the bird which gapes f;:^«'vf v 

 or x,^(rxeiv = to yawn),* in which sense it is even more 

 applicable to Sula than to Anser. Assuredly the Gannet 

 can and does gape, opening its mouth very wide, both to 

 bite and to cry out, and it gapes on its nest in hot weather 

 {see Chapter XIV.). According to Wright, " to gant " is a 

 north-country provincialism for " to yawn " (" Diet. Obs. 

 and Prov. Eng.," II., p. 497), and Jamieson, in his " Diet, 

 of the Scottish Language," has " Gant, Gaunt, s., a 

 yawn " ; see also article " Gant " in the " English Dialect 

 Diet." (II., p. 557), and " Gannet " in Murray's " New 

 English Dictionary." 



* See Skeat, Art. " Goose." 



