4 ms·

It's subjective of course, but for me buffalo is more satisfying because the noun, adjective and verb are all totally different words, whereas for police they'r

It's subjective of course, but for me buffalo is more satisfying because the noun, adjective and verb are all totally different words, whereas for police they're all variants of the same root.

yesbabyyes 8y ago
I'm pretty sure all variants of buffalo are from the same root? Edit: A buffalo is a member of a number of species of large antelope, to buffalo is to either act as a buffalo or hunt buffalo, and Buffalo is any of several places where there used to be a lot of buffalo before people buffaloed them to near extinction. On the other hand, there's a town in Poland called Police...
- skj 8y ago
  Do you find buffalo particularly bewildering? or in the city of Buffalo?
  - apocolyps6 8y ago
    buffalo (v.) "alarm, overawe," 1900, from buffalo (n.). Probably from the animals' tendency to mass panic. Related: Buffaloed; buffaloing. Buffalo city in western New York state, U.S., of disputed origin (there never were bison thereabouts), perhaps from the name of a native chief, or a corruption of French beau fleuve "beautiful river."
- onychomys 8y ago
  Although antelope and buffalo are both in the family bovidae, a buffalo isn't a large antelope. That's especially true of the animals that Americans call buffalo and antelope, where Antilocapra isn't even in that same family.
  - yesbabyyes 8y ago
    My bad; the ancient Greeks were not so discriminating. ;) I am aware that the bison is not even a buffalo. But then again, it is, isn't it? That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? It is.
  - yesenadam 8y ago
    I found this fascinating: "An antelope is a member of a number of even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a wastebasket taxon (miscellaneous group) within the family Bovidae, encompassing those Old World species that are not cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, or goats." - they're defined by where they're from and what they aren't. There are 91 species. So, for example, a gnu (wildebeest) is an antelope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope
- tropo 8y ago
  To "buffalo" is to confuse, befuddle, deceive, puzzle, baffle, confuse, mystify, bewilder, or bamboozle. It can also be to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, or authority. It doesn't seem to mean hunting or acting as a buffalo. I can't find those in any dictionary.
  - yesbabyyes 8y ago
    to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, or authority. Have you seen a bison? Their display of power is quite intimidating. According to [0], it can mean to hunt buffalo. [0] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/buffalo#Verb https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/buffalo#Verb
JdeBP 8y ago
malo malo malo malo Nouns, verb, and adjective all different. * https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malo#Latin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malo#Latin

It's subjective of course, but for me buffalo is more satisfying because the noun, adjective and verb are all totally different words, whereas for police they're all variants of the same root.

yesbabyyes 8y ago

I'm pretty sure all variants of buffalo are from the same root? Edit: A buffalo is a member of a number of species of large antelope, to buffalo is to either act as a buffalo or hunt buffalo, and Buffalo is any of several places where there used to be a lot of buffalo before people buffaloed them to near extinction. On the other hand, there's a town in Poland called Police...

skj 8y ago
Do you find buffalo particularly bewildering? or in the city of Buffalo?
- apocolyps6 8y ago
  buffalo (v.) "alarm, overawe," 1900, from buffalo (n.). Probably from the animals' tendency to mass panic. Related: Buffaloed; buffaloing. Buffalo city in western New York state, U.S., of disputed origin (there never were bison thereabouts), perhaps from the name of a native chief, or a corruption of French beau fleuve "beautiful river."
onychomys 8y ago
Although antelope and buffalo are both in the family bovidae, a buffalo isn't a large antelope. That's especially true of the animals that Americans call buffalo and antelope, where Antilocapra isn't even in that same family.
- yesbabyyes 8y ago
  My bad; the ancient Greeks were not so discriminating. ;) I am aware that the bison is not even a buffalo. But then again, it is, isn't it? That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? It is.
- yesenadam 8y ago
  I found this fascinating: "An antelope is a member of a number of even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a wastebasket taxon (miscellaneous group) within the family Bovidae, encompassing those Old World species that are not cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, or goats." - they're defined by where they're from and what they aren't. There are 91 species. So, for example, a gnu (wildebeest) is an antelope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope
tropo 8y ago
To "buffalo" is to confuse, befuddle, deceive, puzzle, baffle, confuse, mystify, bewilder, or bamboozle. It can also be to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, or authority. It doesn't seem to mean hunting or acting as a buffalo. I can't find those in any dictionary.
- yesbabyyes 8y ago
  to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, or authority. Have you seen a bison? Their display of power is quite intimidating. According to [0], it can mean to hunt buffalo. [0] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/buffalo#Verb https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/buffalo#Verb

JdeBP 8y ago

malo malo malo malo Nouns, verb, and adjective all different. * https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malo#Latin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malo#Latin