Re: [tied] Onomatopoeic Bird Names

Richard Wordingham wrote:

>>Aren't onomatopoeic terms normally used to describe previously
>>unknown animals (e.g. the whippoorwill)? However, I agree that geese
>>make a sort of "gaN-gaN-gaN" sound.
>
>
> I think not - _owl_, _peewit_ 'lapwing' and _cuckoo_ immediately come
> to mind. A little more thought yields the family of 'crow' words,
> even if the onomatopeia has vanished in _raven_. On a larger scale, I
> don't think the non-avian words _bow-wow_ 'dog' and choo-choo 'steam
> enginge/train' (as in the 'Chattanooga choo-choo') are due to
> non-familiarity. I think the words for 'owl' and 'cuckoo' have a
> general tendency to be onomatopeoic, as birds that are heard rather
> than seen.

The specific name of the greylag (_Anser anser_) is <ge,gawa> in Polish,
from <ge,gac'> 'cackle (like a goose)'.

Polish