Re: Object [tied]. Etymology borsuk, krtica

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 9413
Date: 2001-09-12

<borsuk> (thus also in Polish, beside archaic <jaz'wiec>, cf. also Hungarian borz) is a loan from a Turkic language (Modern Turkish porsuk -- I think originally a colour term, but Turkic is not my forte).
 
<krtica> is a feminine derivative of *krUtU, the common Slavic word for "mole" (Polish kret, Czech krt). Talking of which, here's my favourite Czech exercise for effete Westerners who have forgotten how to trill their r's -- Jarek Nohavica's "Metro pro krtky" ("An underground train for moles"):
 
Prvá, druhá, tr^etí, čtvrtá,
na zahrade^ krtek vrtá,
drápy má jak vývrtky,
vrtá metro pro krtky.

Refrain: Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,  ...
 
It's about a little mole (krtek) boring a subway tunnel in the garden with its "claws like drills".
 
Piotr

 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: DEFAYES MICHEL
To: cybalist@egroups.com
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2002 5:14 PM
Subject: Object [tied]. Etymology borsuk, krtica

Hi,
Why did Russians call the badger borsuk, and why did the Serbs call the mole krtica ?
Can you help ?
Anticipated thanks
Michel
 

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