Greek ὁλοθούριον, an ethnobiological name for the sea cucumber (Holothuria sp.) - also found in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (as holothurium)- , can be analyzed as ὁλο-θούριο-ν, i.e. either as an adjectival or a nominal endocentric compound with a semantics like ‘(which is) all sexually aroused’ or ‘(which is) all (a) copulation’, figuratively alluding to the shape of Holothuria sp. through the similarity with a penis. Such metaphorical reference to a salient feature of the named organism (a typical pattern of ethnobiological nomenclatures in general), is semantically very close to several modern Mediterranean names of the invertebrate in question.
Greek ὁλοθούριον (the sea cucumber)
Andrea, Guasparri
2017-01-01
Abstract
Greek ὁλοθούριον, an ethnobiological name for the sea cucumber (Holothuria sp.) - also found in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (as holothurium)- , can be analyzed as ὁλο-θούριο-ν, i.e. either as an adjectival or a nominal endocentric compound with a semantics like ‘(which is) all sexually aroused’ or ‘(which is) all (a) copulation’, figuratively alluding to the shape of Holothuria sp. through the similarity with a penis. Such metaphorical reference to a salient feature of the named organism (a typical pattern of ethnobiological nomenclatures in general), is semantically very close to several modern Mediterranean names of the invertebrate in question.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
