78 INTRODUCTION. 



tion of braying, that ^"13, yra^ another assumed 

 name for the same animal, is not likely again de- 

 rived from an imitation of the asinine voice, and be 

 equally from an Hebrew root, in a language not 

 remarkable for extent or richness in its vocabulary. 

 T'^T^^, atun^ is a third designation repeatedly trans- 

 lated by female ass, and also asserted to mean a 

 particular species or race of saddle-asses, and "^IDn, 

 chamor^ in Arabic chamara^ hamar^ and hymar^ in 

 ^thiopic cehmiri^ one decidedly Semitic, refers to 

 the wild ass, and appears again to allude to the 

 voice of the animal. As for Vyi-, reches^ translated 

 mules, and not found until about the time of the 

 first kings of Israel, we think the true meaning to 

 be a carrier, equally applicable to a mule and to the 

 swift dromedary, hedgeen^ as seems proved by J^"1, 

 recheh, a chariot ; and again traceable in the West- 

 em Arabic shruhat-er-reech, the celebrated fleet 

 horses of the desert, or swallowers of the wind. 

 The names of animals, in original and in most an- 

 cient languages, unquestionably are often to be 

 traced to imitations of their voice, or to some pre- 

 dominant obvious quality in their form, colours, or 

 uses, and we find this fact particularly applicable 

 to Equidae. Now, taking pra^ para^ pered, perdah^ 

 to mean an ass, a mule, or more properly a riding 

 beast, and comparing them with tiHiD, paras^ horses, 

 and □''iy")3, Parasim, Persians, later Parthians, 

 that is, horsemen, we see that the root has a more 

 eastern origin, and belongs to a people coming from 

 the regions of Hindukoh, whose name was derived 



