Names of Animals. 



5859 



from Mr. Barclay's remark, that hranjisk is a name which actually is 

 applied to the grampus, whereas I am not aware that the French ever 

 use " grand poisson " to designate that animal ; and, in endeavouring 

 to etymologise, we cannot confine ourselves too close to facts as they 

 are, or too carefully avoid theorizing on what simply might be. 



I again copy from the ' British Quadrupeds' the remarks upon the 

 name of the caaittg whale, " These whales follow their leader with 

 blind confidence, and hence their pursuers endeavour to guide the 

 leader on shore, as they are then morally sure of the whole herd. 

 Caaing is a Zetland name, generally considered by authors as indi- 

 cating calling^ i.e. leading whale. But Mr. Barclay assures me that 

 the real meaning of the word is ^ driving.' " 



Beluga is a Russian word, and is said by Webster to signify white 

 Jish, 



Rorqual is compounded of hval or waale^ and rohr^ signifying 

 whale with folds^ in allusion to the series of longitudinal folds beneath 

 the throat of the animal. 



Horse is the Icelandic hross^ ross ; Sueth., hors^ horsa^ ors ; French, 

 roussin. These words are of kindred origin with the German reiten^ 

 and our ride^ road^ &c. We may also compare the Latin w^ord rheda, 

 a chariot; and thus Etymology alone would teach us how very ancient 

 is the use of the horse as subservient to man. The name mare^ too, 

 reveals to us some very curious and interesting facts. Although it is 

 now restricted to the female horse, yet it is no doubt identical with 

 the Celtic march^ which simply implied a war-horse, without restriction 

 as to sex. We trace this same root in many other words : thus, mar- 

 shal {Fieuch, marechal) meant originally the commander of an army; 

 march was strictly the route of an army ; the marches " were the 

 boundaries of two countries, which used to be the perpetual scenes of 

 border warfare, and, hence, marquis (Lat. marchio] was a name given 

 to those barons who lived near the boundaries, and whose especial 

 duty it was to keep off marauders. All these w^ords are to be referred 

 to one parent stock, which we see in the Latin Mars, the god of war, 

 mo7'Sy death, and in the first syllable of our own murder. Surely we 

 can need no stronger testimony than is afforded by these etymological 

 facts to the rnartial spirit of our Teutonic forefathers, and to the well- 

 known eflicacy of their cavalry and terrible scythe-armed war-cha- 

 riots. 



A steed is properly a stud horse. Colt appears to be etymologically 

 identical with the word child, both of them being merely general 

 terms for offspring. Foal and Jilly are the same as the Latin pullus, 



