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.
Titolo: | Greek ὁλοθούριον (the sea cucumber) |
Autori: | GUASPARRI, ANDREA (Corresponding) |
Data di pubblicazione: | 2017 |
Rivista: | |
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. |
Handle: | http://hdl.handle.net/11389/24371 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 1.1 Articolo in rivista |