430 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



a rounded loaf (in 4 Troilus and Cressida,' ii. i, Ajax uses the word " cob 

 loaf" as a term of reproach to Thersites), just as " cob " is commonly used 

 for a strong, stout, stumpy horse. On the other hand, in " cobnut " we 

 probably have the idea of size indicated, in contrast with filberts or hazel- 

 nuts. I may notice that the terra " a cob of hair " for a tuft of hair is still 

 used in Cornwall, apparently a survival of the old Celtic word in its Celtic 

 sense. Mr. Cross, the animal importer, of Liverpool, informs me that 

 11 Cob " and " Pen," as applied to Swans, are regular terms of the trade, 

 used in all parts of England where Swans are bought and sold. Browning, 

 in his ' Sordello,' probably following Ben Jonson in his ' Catiline,' uses the 

 term " Cob-swan." The word busk, which you have used to denote the 

 peculiar action of a Swan in arching or bushing out the wings over the 

 back, is (like bask) interesting as containing the Scandinavian passive 

 formatiou, bua, to prepare; buask (for bua-sik), se preparer. Bush is said 

 by Prof. Skeat to be due to a French pronunciation of the English word 

 busk. If the male Swan be invariably the bigger bird, it might be natural 

 to suppose that he would be called " Cob " from his size. I imagine you 

 are right about the " Pen " Swan's name. We must not forget Milton's 

 expresssion, "They sum their pens." The desideratum is to discover the 

 earliest documents in which the names " cob " and " pen " occur. — 

 Herbert A. Strong (University College, Liverpool). 



Origin of the terms " Cob " and " Pen." — I am inclined to take 

 Dr. Murray's view (New Eng. Diet.) that the notions of cob are " something 

 big, or stout " — " something forming a rounded lump," &c. He adds, 

 " Thus cobnut can hardly be separated from the notion of ' big nut ' on the 

 one hand, or from that of ' fruit stone ' on the other." These ideas of 

 sturdiness and roundness seem quite mixed up. It does seem very likely 

 that " cob = round stone " is the primary idea ; and then the notion of 

 sturdiness, bigness, masculinity was easily superadded. I do not see how 

 we can ever settle so iutricate a tangle as this. Wedgwood mentions not 

 only cob-nut and cob-stone, but cob-coals, i. e. " large " coals. Ray has 

 cobby, stout, hearty, brisk. Lonsdale dialect, cobby, tyrannical, set up, 

 proud: see Cobby in Murray. I think cob sufficiently conveys the notions 

 of bigness, stoutness, hence "male," without any necessary reference to 

 the cob on the bill : though of course that might be it. Pen I can make 

 nothing of. There are two pens : (1) enclosure, sty ; (2) feather. Pen- 

 swan is entered under (2) in the ' Century Dictionary.' But they do not 

 say why pen-swan comes under Pen (2) more than under Pen (1), and I find 

 no evidence. It looks very much as if the origin of cob-swan is a little 

 dubious, and that of pen-swan is unknown. — W. W. Skeat (Cambridge). 



Origin of the terms " Cob " and " Pen." — Surely your " Cob " and 

 " Pen " are Welsh words — I write Celtice. But any Welsh dictionary 

 gives cob, a tuft or bunch, and our English cob-nut is a round nut. This 



