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Stoater - "An expression of extreme excellence"
that definition coming from the Scottish vocabulary coaster we have in our living room
so heres another version?? a furrier version?
my fashion skills are lacking
also let me tell you stoats are ripe pun material, groups of stoats are gangs or packs and the females are called bitches oh and also jills which is cute because boys are jacks
does that SHOCK you get it because stoats kill rabbits by inducing shock because their teeth are too short to kill them quickly
i may or may not be going back to joke writing school
that definition coming from the Scottish vocabulary coaster we have in our living room
so heres another version?? a furrier version?
my fashion skills are lacking
also let me tell you stoats are ripe pun material, groups of stoats are gangs or packs and the females are called bitches oh and also jills which is cute because boys are jacks
does that SHOCK you get it because stoats kill rabbits by inducing shock because their teeth are too short to kill them quickly
i may or may not be going back to joke writing school
Category All / Doodle
Species Weasel
Size 610 x 363px
File Size 19.6 kB
I haven't heard "dogs" before but I was familiar with "Hobs"!
ahaha I wasn't trying to write a documentary on stoats there! (That would be fun though, I'd love to do more research on them.)
I love the word "stoater" too of course, gotta find more situations in which to use it!
ahaha I wasn't trying to write a documentary on stoats there! (That would be fun though, I'd love to do more research on them.)
I love the word "stoater" too of course, gotta find more situations in which to use it!
I've done some fun studies about stoats. The word "stoat" has a kind of unclear history; it may originally have meant "bold". As for "ermine", THERE'S a fun word for ya!
Older dictionaries will say it's from the Latin "Mus Armenius", "Armenian Mouse", based on the belief that there were lots of ermines in Armenia. This folk etymology is still thrown around a great deal. In actuality, the term is several thousand years old.
The word was borrowed from Old French "hermine"; the "-ine" ending was a suffix to denote smallness or cuteness (a diminutive), just like the last four letters of the Modern German "Hermelin". The Old High German "harmo" is close to the common base form that "(h)ermine" and "Hermelin" spread from. So that's about 1000+ years back.
Go back another two thousand or three, and you get another common word for "ermine" - something like "cormon", with"c" representing a "high-pitched" (i.e. palatalized) "k". This root also produced the Old Lithuanian word "šermuo". The modern Lithuanian form "šermuonėlis" has yet another diminutive suffix (-nėli-).
There's actually a song called "Tu šermuonėli" (first verse: "Tu šermuonėli, trumpasai kojėli, ta ta to tanarėlio" "O thou ermine, o (Little) Short Legs, ta ta to tanarėlio"), in which the singer basically warns the ermine not to run along public (i.e. open) roads, or horses will crush it and men will skin it; the singer denies any guilt in this, claiming "I barely even cut a path through the fields!"
The reconstructed word "cormon" seems to contain a suffix -mon; "cor-" or "cer-" (again, the "c" is a "high-pitched k") is the root for "hoar", i.e. "frosty gray". Considering that frost forms in winter and the ermine's fur turns a similar colour as frost in winter, the connection seems sensible.
Older dictionaries will say it's from the Latin "Mus Armenius", "Armenian Mouse", based on the belief that there were lots of ermines in Armenia. This folk etymology is still thrown around a great deal. In actuality, the term is several thousand years old.
The word was borrowed from Old French "hermine"; the "-ine" ending was a suffix to denote smallness or cuteness (a diminutive), just like the last four letters of the Modern German "Hermelin". The Old High German "harmo" is close to the common base form that "(h)ermine" and "Hermelin" spread from. So that's about 1000+ years back.
Go back another two thousand or three, and you get another common word for "ermine" - something like "cormon", with"c" representing a "high-pitched" (i.e. palatalized) "k". This root also produced the Old Lithuanian word "šermuo". The modern Lithuanian form "šermuonėlis" has yet another diminutive suffix (-nėli-).
There's actually a song called "Tu šermuonėli" (first verse: "Tu šermuonėli, trumpasai kojėli, ta ta to tanarėlio" "O thou ermine, o (Little) Short Legs, ta ta to tanarėlio"), in which the singer basically warns the ermine not to run along public (i.e. open) roads, or horses will crush it and men will skin it; the singer denies any guilt in this, claiming "I barely even cut a path through the fields!"
The reconstructed word "cormon" seems to contain a suffix -mon; "cor-" or "cer-" (again, the "c" is a "high-pitched k") is the root for "hoar", i.e. "frosty gray". Considering that frost forms in winter and the ermine's fur turns a similar colour as frost in winter, the connection seems sensible.
Oh sweet, I think I may consider collecting all this information!
Languages are fascinating, especially how words evolve, grow, distort and get mixed up. Never really saw how animal names came to be before though, ahahaa. (but it has to be interesting.)
I'm afraid the most information I was able to collect was from a few quick internet searches as brief research. It's a good start to get some of the general facts but I wish I had a more substantial book on the topic. Know of any?
...A- Are there even books about stoats?
Of course I'm going to Scotland too so maybe I'll go searching for them. Nothing better than an up close study! (not too close!!)
Languages are fascinating, especially how words evolve, grow, distort and get mixed up. Never really saw how animal names came to be before though, ahahaa. (but it has to be interesting.)
I'm afraid the most information I was able to collect was from a few quick internet searches as brief research. It's a good start to get some of the general facts but I wish I had a more substantial book on the topic. Know of any?
...A- Are there even books about stoats?
Of course I'm going to Scotland too so maybe I'll go searching for them. Nothing better than an up close study! (not too close!!)
Well, there's a book about least weasels, short-tailed weasels (i.e. stoats), and long-tailed weasels that I own, which covers their biology and behaviour very well: The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Natural-H...../dp/0195300564 )
In terms of the etymologies, Wiktionary can be useful, but is not perfect. Some dictionaries have good etymologies. I find that Indo-European books can be useful, but they tend to be expensive.
Basically, the best way to find out? RESEARCH.
In terms of the etymologies, Wiktionary can be useful, but is not perfect. Some dictionaries have good etymologies. I find that Indo-European books can be useful, but they tend to be expensive.
Basically, the best way to find out? RESEARCH.
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