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> Would Dodos would be "Eaten by sailors on a lonely island"? That is precisely where the name came from; i.e. the accretions left behind by satiated sailors a
by harveywi 10y ago
> Would Dodos would be "Eaten by sailors on a lonely island"?
That is precisely where the name came from; i.e. the accretions left behind by satiated sailors after feasting on the endangered birds. The Great Vowel Shift hides its etymological roots.
- cjensen 10y agoThe vowel shift[1] finished around the time the Dodo was discovered[2], so that's a fun story but it's wrong. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo
- jcranmer 10y agoIt's also worth pointing out that the vowel sound of "oo" was basically the first vowel to shift in the Great Vowel Shift. So the spelling "doodoo" would have had its modern pronunciation as far back as the first claimed mention (an unsubstantiated claim in 1630s that the Portuguese found it in 1507), let alone when it was first credibly discovered (by the Dutch in 1598) or first mentioned in English (1628). Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia page also suggests that the birds weren't found to be particularly appetizing.
- nilved 10y agoI think it was a joke.