4 ms·
> Finnish and the Slavic languages are the only ones in Europe that have a native word for "elephant". (Everyone else uses variants of the Greek "elephas" or Ar
by StavrosK 5y ago
> Finnish and the Slavic languages are the only ones in Europe that have a native word for "elephant". (Everyone else uses variants of the Greek "elephas" or Arabic "fil".)
So the only languages in Europe except the other language in Europe? :)
- namenotrequired 5y agoHe means "indigenous" words that evolved along with the rest of the language rather than being adopted from another language.
- StavrosK 5y agoRight, but Greek fits that description. Three languages in Europe have a native word for elephant.
- thaumasiotes 5y agoDepends; etymonline says this: > from Greek elephas (genitive elephantos) "elephant; ivory," probably from a non-Indo-European language, likely via Phoenician (compare Hamitic elu "elephant," source of the word for it in many Semitic languages, or possibly from Sanskrit ibhah "elephant"). So the Greek word is not necessarily native to Greek.