WILD WORDS

Do You Speak Dog? 10 Words Inspired By Animals

Credit: Jake Weirick

Whenever we think about vocabulary related to the animal kingdom, our mind usually goes to long, Latin scientific terms that seem extremely daunting to anyone not well-versed in biology. However, we sometimes fail to see how much our animal friends have also influenced the everyday words we regular joes use.

We have compiled ten common words that were either influenced by animals or that downright reference an animal in their meaning or etymology. These words range from the well-known to the utterly surprising. Enjoy!

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We’ll start with what’s probably the most surprising word in this list. The one question most of us ask whenever we see any dog is "Who’s a good boy?" We can’t really think of anyone who thought "Of course! This smiling, furry bundle of joy must be the root of one of the most pessimistic words in the English language".

The word "cynic", which means a doubtful, jaded person, comes from the Greek word cynikos, which can be translated both to "churlish" as well as "dog-like". Historians believe that the name comes from a philosopher movement known as the Cynical movement, who shocked their contemporaries by living in the streets and acting in a rude, indelicate manner.

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Hobby horses are one of the most iconic, timeless toys in mankind’s history. There’s a pretty big chance that your grandparents or even your great-grandparents joyfully rode around their very own toy mount. You might be inclined to think that the "hobby" part of the name comes from it being a pastime.

However, it is actually the other way around: the word "hobby", as in an activity one does for recreation, comes from the hobby horse, which in turn comes from a very specific type of horse. It comes from hobin, an Old English word that means "small horse.

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Contrary to our entry on "cynic", here comes a word that is widely associated with dogs, but comes from an entirely different animal kingdom. The word pedigree, a record used mostly by dog and horse breeders to track down genealogy, comes from a French word that doesn’t designate either of these animals, but rather a very large bird.

Pedigree comes from the Anglo-Norman French term pé de grue, which translates to "foot of the crane." This is because, in family trees and genealogy lines, the shape the lines take resembles the claws of a crane.

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We could have used the picture of a butcher shop in this entry, but we felt it might have been a bit insensitive for the animal friends we are celebrating in this article. We ultimately decided on this adorable goat, in order to illustrate the etymological origins of this timeless profession.

The English word butcher comes from the Old French word bochier, which in turn comes from the word boc, which means "goat." This word found its way into the Middle English language, where it eventually evolved into the "butcher" we all know.

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If you had to associate harpoons with any animals, it would probably be whales. We can thank Herman Melville for it: It’s almost impossible to picture a harpoon without it being furiously thrown by Captain Ahab onto his mortal enemy, the white whale Moby Dick. Interestingly, if we look at the etymological root of this word, there is another animal we can thank for the name of this fishing tool.

The word harpoon comes from the French word harpon, which is an iron structure used to hold stones together. In turn, this word comes from harpe, the word for a dog’s claw. It could be argued that the hooks of a harpoon loosely resemble the wave-like shape of a dog’s claw.

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Medieval knights are seen in our modern lens as defenders of honor and purity, riding in shiny armor and noble stallions. However, the word cavalier, which is derived from the Spanish word for knight, couldn’t be further from the manners we attribute to these knights of Arthurian legend: this adjective is used to describe someone unmoved and uncaring about someone else’s troubles.

As we mentioned before, cavalier comes from caballero, the Spanish word for knight which itself comes from caballo, the Spanish word for horse. Despite the rudeness associated with the word cavalier, in Spanish, the word caballero is often used as a synonym for "gentleman".

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It could be argued that humankind’s obsession with flying sprouted from observing birds soar through the skies. From Icarus to Pegasus, many ancient myths focus on the undying human desire to fly, a desire which was finally fulfilled by Orville and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Curiously, it seems that the word aviation predates the invention of the first airplane. Since they inspired our dreams of flying, it seems only natural that birds also inspired the name of the craft that gave us airplanes: aviation comes from avis, the Latin word for bird.

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Again, why are so many negative words inspired by dogs? Aren’t they known as "man’s best friend"? In any case, this word is heavily associated with both babies desperately crying and people with authority yelling out orders, so we would like to take this time to apologize to every dog reading this for yet another instance of defamatory vocabulary.

Like the English noun "bark", the word "bawl" was inspired by the sound a dog makes. In Latin, the onomatopoeia for a dog’s bark is bau. This sound inspired the verb baulare, which can be translated to "bark like a dog." In the English language, "bawl" was first used to describe a dog’s bark, and its meaning was later on moved to distressing or authoritative loud noises made by humans.

By the way, on the off chance a dog actually made it to the end of this entry, we would like to commend them with a very affectionate "Who’s a good boy?"

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We might need to go deep into history to find the origins of this word, since the word that describes this frigid yet beautiful region has evolved since the times of Ancient Greece. What’s more, the many roots that compose the word "arctic" seem to converge on one etymological origin, an ancient word that describes one of our favorite large mammals.

Tracing the origins of "arctic" takes us to the Old French word artique, which in turn takes us to the Latin word arcticus, and finally to the Ancient Greek words arktos and arktikos, which mean "bear" and "of the Bear Constellation" respectively.

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We’ll end this article with an entry we found delightfully surprising. Blowing dandelions is one of those few childhood experiences we all seem to share, one of those universal pleasant memories that all adults look back on fondly. However, you might find it surprising that the animal behind the name of this pleasant flower is none other than the ferocious "King of the Jungle" himself.

The word dandelion is a mistranslation of the French word dent-de-lion. While you might think that the comparison between lions and dandelions comes from the resemblance between the yellow flower and a lion’s mane, the name actually takes inspiration from the plant’s jagged leaves, since the French word literally translates to "lion’s tooth".

KNOW YOUR BRANDS

Discover the Backstories of These 10 Iconic Brand Names

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In the vast consumer goods marketplace, brands often become more than just names on labels; they become symbols of quality, trust, and innovation.

However, behind every successful brand lies a unique backstory, often filled with ingenuity, perseverance, and sometimes even a tad of serendipity. Read on to find out the intriguing stories behind 10 household names that have left an indelible mark on the world.

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Amazon has been around for 25 years now, but before becoming the giant that it is, it shapeshifted several times. Jeff Bezos, its creator, first built an online bookstore intending to offer an unparalleled selection of titles and exceptional customer service. This brand was named "Cadabra", a clear reference to "abracadabra," a magic word.

However, Bezos’ lawyer at the time considered it an obscure name, and in 1994, Bezos and his wife started exploring other names and registered several domains, like "relentless.com" just in case one of those was going to be the one. Eventually, he decided he wanted a brand starting with the letter A, the first in the alphabet, and, after perusing the dictionary, he landed on the word Amazon, the largest river on the planet. The superlative had the winning factor and the rest is history.

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Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two graduate students at Stanford University began collaborating on a search engine project in 1996. Their initial goal was to create a more efficient way to navigate the World Wide Web. Originally named "Backrub" due to its focus on analyzing backlinks, the project eventually evolved into what we now know as Google, but the name was actually the product of a misspelling.

Sean Anderson, a Stanford graduate, pitched the term "googolplex" in a brainstorming session for the name change. However, Page countered a simple version of it "Googol", which denotes a colossal number in mathematics: the digit 1 followed by a hundred zeros.

When checking the availability of the domain, Anderson accidentally typed Google and Page liked this version of the name best. They secured it on September 15, 1997, marking the birth of a digital giant.

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Originally founded as "Blue Ribbon Sports" in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, the company’s beginnings were quite humble. Knight, a former middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon, and Bowerman, his coach, shared a passion for improving athletic performance. They joined forces to import Japanese sports shoes from the Onitsuka factory to the United States.

The pivotal moment of the company came in 1971 when they rebranded it as Nike, a name inspired by the Greek goddess of victory. In Greek mythology, Nike is often depicted as a divine figure symbolizing victory, strength, and speed. This name, together with the presentation of the Swoosh logo marked the beginning of a new era.

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Steve Jobs may be the one you think of when you think of Apple, but the brand was co-created with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. The name, however, was in fact Jobs’ invention and it has more than one backstory. In Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson, the creator himself admits that he came up with the name while he was on a fruitarian diet. He mentions having visited an apple farm and considering the name because it was "fun, spirited and not intimidating." This story was confirmed by Wozniak who drove him back from the airport after that trip.

However, there is another reason why the brand was named "Apple," and that is because, just like with Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, Jobs intended to have consumers find his brand before his competitor Atari in the phone book.

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You drink their coffee every couple of days, and you probably use their space as an office and a place of recreation, but have you ever wondered why Starbucks is called Starbucks? The coffee company is a titan of the industry with good reason, and the story behind its name is just as interesting.

Bowker, Baldwin, and Siegl - Starbucks’ founders - set off with a simple goal: finding a powerful name. According to marketing specialists st****- words have that strength. The three men started scouting around for a name and came across a small town called Starbo, on a mining map. That was enough for Gordon Bowker to think of Moby Dick’s character, Starbuck.

As the company itself states, this name evokes "the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders."

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We bet that if you take your eyes off this article and look around, you’ll find at least one thing from IKEA, isn’t that right? That is because IKEA is part of our everyday life, and leaving their stores empty-handed is almost impossible.

We have Ingvar Kamprad to thank for this amazing creation, and if you pay close attention, you already know where the name comes from. That is right, IKEA is an acronym and the two first letters belong to the founder’s initials.

As for the E and the A in it, the first stands for Elmtaryd, which is the name of the farm Kamprad grew up on, and the second stands for Agunnaryd, the name of his village. Put it all together and you get IKEA, and probably a piece of furniture too.

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Pepsi has carved out a sparkling legacy spanning more than a century. Its journey has been one of continuous evolution making it an iconic global drink. This beverage originated as a remedy for stomach discomfort, thanks to Caleb Bradhma, a pharmacist in North Carolina. Seeking a name that better encapsulated its essence, Bradham eventually settled on "Pepsi-Cola" in 1902, having purchased the moniker "Pep Kola" from a local competitor.

Interestingly, the name "Pepsi" finds its roots in "dyspepsia," a medical term that means indigestion. By the 19th century, this was a very common affection, and products to cure it contained animal pepsin, a digestive enzyme. Although Pepsi never included this ingredient in its list, Bradham used this to his favor to sell Pepsi around!

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Nintendo, a household name in the gaming industry traces back to 1889, when it embarked on its journey with the humble venture into the playing card business. The moniker "Nintendo" was chosen for this initial foray, which comes from the Japanese language, as its creator.

Nintendo, which means "leave luck to heaven" is not just a label, it is the founder Fusajiro Yamuchi’s philosophical approach towards the nature of card games. Fast forward to the 1970s, and Nintendo made a pivotal shift into the burgeoning realm of video games. Despite the drastic change in industry and product, the company opted to maintain the original name. This decision was about both brand continuity and a testament to Ninendo’s enduring commitment to innovation.

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McDonald's is the number one titan of the fast-food industry and it dates back to 1940. It all began with a modest barbecue restaurant established by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Little did they know that their journey would evolve into a global phenomenon.

Even if the company takes its name from the owners, the pivotal moment came when Ray Kroc, a tenacious milkshake machine salesman entered the picture. He acknowledged the potential of the kitchen setup and saw an opportunity for expansion. Under Kroc’s leadership, McDonald’s underwent a transformative journey and became an empire of golden arches spanning across the continent keeping the name of the family that first created the brand and honoring it with the many variations of it we can find in the name of the dishes.

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What began in 1969 as a modest enterprise has blossomed into a global powerhouse, leaving an indelible mark on industries ranging from electronics to finance and beyond. At the heart of Samsung’s identity lies its name, a beacon of aspiration and promise.

In Korean, Samsung translates to "three stars," a poignant reflection of founder Lee Byung-chull’s lofty ambitions for the company. To him, the name was more than a mere designation, it embodied a vision of brilliance, strength, and enduring radiance. Each star symbolized a face of his vision: largeness, abundance, and resilience. And they have certainly honored this story as it has rapidly become an icon of innovation and enterprise with unwavering determination.