From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 929
Date: 2000-01-14
----- Original Message -----From: Mark OdegardSent: Friday, January 14, 2000 6:33 PMSubject: [cybalist] Re: MammothPiotr writes:I recall having read that it is related to a Tungusic word for 'earth', but I'd have to check that.There are lots of online resources for questions like this. The American Heritage Dictionary via Lycos has a nice etymological note:
< /a>h ttp://www.lycos.com/cgi-bin/pursuit?mtemp=main&etemp=error&maxh its=15&cat=inso&query=mammoth
Obsolete Russian mamut, mamot.]
&nbs p; &nb sp; Word History: The mammoth was
&nb sp; &n bsp; introduced to the English-speaking world
&nb sp; &n bsp; after mammoth skeletons were
&nb sp; &n bsp; discovered in Siberia, so it is no surprise
&nb sp; &n bsp; that this creature's name is taken from
&nb sp; &n bsp; Russian, even though the animal roamed
&nb sp; &n bsp; over Eurasia and North America. The
&nb sp; &n bsp; Russian word, now mamant' but formerly
&nb sp; &n bsp; mamot as well, was borrowed into English
&nb sp; &n bsp; in variant spellings. It was first recorded
&nb sp; &n bsp; in 1706 in the form Mammuth, but in
&nb sp; &n bsp; 1763 we find the form mammon. It is
&nb sp; &n bsp; said that the Russian word is a borrowing
&nb sp; &n bsp; of an Ostyak word (the Ostyak people live
&nb sp; &n bsp; in western Siberia), but this has not been
&nb sp; &n bsp; proved.
It's not that nice, Mark. In addition to misquoting the Modern Russian form and dating the first attestation probably too late (mammot was recorded in 1696, according to my sources) it's based on unverified hearsay concerning the Khanty (Ostyak) connection. My Collins English Dictionary says the word comes from obsolete Russian mamot < Tartar mamont < mamma 'earth'. This would give us a Turkic etymology in addition to the Uralic one above and the Tungusic one quoted by Alexander and myself. But CED etymologies are copied from miscellaneous sources and often unreliable; I doubt if this particular one would stand up to verification. With all due respect to AHD & CED I'm much more inclined to believe a professional etymologist like Vasmer.BTW the Polish word mamona 'monster', said to have influenced the phonetic shape of the old Russian word, is the same as English mammon; both are taken from the New Testament. The meaning of mamona cited by Sasha is now obsolete in Polish. It now means 'riches, the evil aspect of material wealth', as in English, but when personified it also used to function as a devil's name (as in Milton, I believe), hence apparently the secondary meaning 'fiend, monster'.Piotr