[tied] Re: Cattle Trouble

From: Daniel J. Milton
Message: 29134
Date: 2004-01-06

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham"
<richard.wordingham@...> wrote:
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer <mcv@...>
wrote:
> > On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 00:15:03 +0000, Richard Wordingham
> > <richard.wordingham@...> wrote:
> >
> > >I'm baffled. Yesterday, I found nothing looking up 'bubalus'
at
> > >Perseus. Today, looking up 'bubal', I found _bubalinus_ with a
> > >mention of _bubalus_ but no dictionary entry. I then looked
> > >up 'bubalum' and was told it was an inflected form; I selected
> > >possible headwords, and found _bubalus_! (The meaning given
> > >is 'antelope, wild ox' and the word is from Greek.) If I look
> > >up 'bubalus', I get an error message - 'No such file
> XML///.xml.'.
> > >I've submitted a fault report to Perseus.
> >
> > Apparently, they've fixed it real quick:
> >
> > http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%
> 3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%235760
>
> Alas, no. It still doesn't work for me. (Your link does.) Maybe
> there's a fault in my version of MSXML - I upgraded from 3.2 (I
> think) to 4.0 a few months ago, but this is the first time I've
> noticed any problems.
>
> I get the query from using http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-
> bin/resolveform?lang=la. I've just noticed that if I choose an
> exact match, rather using the default 'begin', it works fine.
>
> Richard.
**********
I had to follow the same strange route to the Lewis and Short
definition. To save others the effort, here it is:

būbãlus , i, m., = boubalos, a kind of African stag or
gazelle, Plin. 8, 15, 15, § 38; Sol. 20, 5; Vulg. Deut. 14, 5.--
Hence,bū-bãlus , a, um, adj., of the gazelle: caro, Vulg. 2
Reg. 6, 19 ;id. 1 Par. 16, 3.--

II. The buffalo, wild-ox, = urus, Sol. 20, 5; Mart. Spect. 23, 4;
this use of the word is censured by Pliny, 8, 15, 15, §38.--Collat.
form būfãlus , i, m., Ven. Fort. Carm. 7, 4, 21.

and the cited passage from Pliny:

Ceterorum animalium, quae modo convecta undique Italiae
contigere saepius, formas nihil attinet scrupulose referre.
paucissima Scythia gignit inopia cruticum, pauca contermina illi
Germania, insignia tamen boum ferorum genera, iubatos bisontes
excellentique et vi et velocitate uros, quibus inperitum volgus
bubalorum nomen inponit, cum id gignat Africa vituli potius cervique
quadam similitudine.

Pliny reminds me of the precisionists of our day, "Don't call
them buffaloes, they're bison."

Dan