Feival
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Why is it called 'the frog' in as simple terms as poss, my nieces 6 and 4yo would like to know. Thanks
A horses Frog?
- Thread starter Feival
- Start date
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
I always assumed that it is because it looks like a frog's back?
Casey76
Well-Known Member
Entomology is a fascinating subject.
For the frog I've always wondered if it is one of these weird cross-overs from French. In French, the frog is the fourchette or fork - I guess fork could easily become frog if it was a verbal translation
For the frog I've always wondered if it is one of these weird cross-overs from French. In French, the frog is the fourchette or fork - I guess fork could easily become frog if it was a verbal translation
Nessa4
Well-Known Member
Entomology is a fascinating subject.
For the frog I've always wondered if it is one of these weird cross-overs from French. In French, the frog is the fourchette or fork - I guess fork could easily become frog if it was a verbal translation
Entomology is the study of insects - etymology is the study of the origins of words. Sorry pedantic or what !
fburton
Well-Known Member
Believe it or not there are people who study the origin of insect names... although it all sounds a bit insectuous to me.
Casey76
Well-Known Member
Of all the things for autocorrect to do... sometime I hate my iMac (anyone know how to turn the autocorrect off???)
Tiaan
Well-Known Member
I had never thought of this before but thought it was an interesting question, so with googles help found this on the all expert website.
There are some mythical ideas floating about that the frog was called that because it looked like a frog or was part of some ancient shamanistic ritual. There is even a story of a secret Scottish society of horseshoers, that used certain words to calm and quiet horses, ala recent "The Horse Whisperer" type techniques. (ref: http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/info/hq13.html - After reading it though, I wonder if the ritually sacrificed Scottish frog that was left on a bush - was of any real help in the long run?)
The truth probably resides in that the word "frog" was a derivation from the Middle English word "frogge," "frosh" or "frogga." This would be well before the things that were either depicted as Scottish Lore or "new wave" shamanistic recountings. As best I can tell, the word's etymology is around 17th century origins - which seemed to link it to wet or marshy areas, including most of western Europe. The horse's hoof tends to be soft and leathery, and therefore sometimes will sometimes get infected, and even exude pus when infected because of the damp wet surroundings. Anyway, this pus or infection was called "Frosch" or Frush in Old English and Germanic languages, which today we now call "Thrush." ( ref -http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Frush ) So the best I can possibly offer is that "Frosch" was taken as "Frosh" and changed ultimately in the translation into "Frog" from Old English origins. So it does appear to be a link to the Amphibian's wet domain... but not perhaps as direct link as we would imagine.
There are some mythical ideas floating about that the frog was called that because it looked like a frog or was part of some ancient shamanistic ritual. There is even a story of a secret Scottish society of horseshoers, that used certain words to calm and quiet horses, ala recent "The Horse Whisperer" type techniques. (ref: http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/info/hq13.html - After reading it though, I wonder if the ritually sacrificed Scottish frog that was left on a bush - was of any real help in the long run?)
The truth probably resides in that the word "frog" was a derivation from the Middle English word "frogge," "frosh" or "frogga." This would be well before the things that were either depicted as Scottish Lore or "new wave" shamanistic recountings. As best I can tell, the word's etymology is around 17th century origins - which seemed to link it to wet or marshy areas, including most of western Europe. The horse's hoof tends to be soft and leathery, and therefore sometimes will sometimes get infected, and even exude pus when infected because of the damp wet surroundings. Anyway, this pus or infection was called "Frosch" or Frush in Old English and Germanic languages, which today we now call "Thrush." ( ref -http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Frush ) So the best I can possibly offer is that "Frosch" was taken as "Frosh" and changed ultimately in the translation into "Frog" from Old English origins. So it does appear to be a link to the Amphibian's wet domain... but not perhaps as direct link as we would imagine.
Tern
Well-Known Member
In ya settings there should be an option - My iMac no longer does this (touchwood)