Birds

Dogs last week and, for the many birds I saw on the same short break, our avian friends this. Of course no gull could ever be considered a friend, they always look very angry.

Albatross - interestingly an alteration of the Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz 'large web-footed sea bird', although originally referring to the pelican. This comes from the Arabic al-ghattas 'sea eagle' and related to Portuguese alcatruz 'the bucket of a water wheel'.

Auk - from the Old Norse alka originally imitative of its cry.

Bantam - a place name, a Dutch settlement on the island of Java.

Blackbird - it is well known the female is brown, however correctly the male is not actually black but a very dark brown.

Blue tit - again named for its colour.

Booby - the adjective referring to a person means 'stupid', this considered a reasonable description of these ungainly seabirds.

Budgerigar - a native of Australia named from budgeri 'good' and gar 'cockatoo'.

Bullfinch - a composite of 'bull', a description of its head and neck, with 'finch' a Germanic word imitative of its call.

Bunting - derived either from a Brythonic word for 'plump' or a Germanic bunt or 'speckled'.

Bustard - often said to come from Old French bistarde and itself from Latin avis tarda but this 'slow bird' does not accurately describe the creature.

Canary - named for it being found on Canary Island, itself named for the Island of Dogs.

Chaffinch - another finch, named for its call, this time the prefix points to its habit of eating the chaff from grain on farms.

Chicken - a Germanic name, the root imitative of its call.

Cockatoo - from a Malay or Austronesian word kakatua 'elder sibling' and tua 'old'.

Condor - from the Quechua cuntur, simply their name for this bird.

Cormorant - from Late Latin corvus marinus 'sea raven'.

Crane - from Proto-Indo-European gere 'to cry hoarsely'.

Crow - an Old English word, imitative of the bird's cry.

Cuckoo - again, imitative of the bird's cry.

Curlew - from Latin currere 'to run quickly', ultimately Proto-Indo-European kers 'to run'.

Cygnet - came to English from French cigne 'swan' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European keuk 'to be white', which a cygnet isn't.

Dipper - aptly named for its repeated action in fast-moving water.

Dodo - is from the Portuguese doudo 'fool, simpleton'.

Dove - a Germanic reference to its flight as it comes from the root for 'dive'.

Eagle - named as the 'dark-coloured' bird, as it is so often seen in silhouette.

Eider - a kind of duck named from the Old Norse aethar or 'duck'.

Falcon - from the Latin falcis 'curved blade, pruning hook, sickle, war scythe'.

Finch - again the name imitative of its call.

Flamingo - from the Greek phoinikopteros literally meaning 'red-feathered'.

Goose - is from the Proto-Indo-European ghans 'goose, swan'.

Grebe - some of the species of grebe are crested, hence the name from Breton krib 'a comb'.

Gull - effectively its name means 'one who will swallow anything'. Yes, that's the gull.

Hawk - ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kap 'to grasp'.

Hen - derived from Proto-Indo-European kan 'to sing'.

Heron - from an Indo-European root imitative of its cry.

Jackdaw - both elements are imitative of the bird's cry.

Jay - again named from its harsh cry.

Kestrel - again imitative of its cry, but this time related to the Latin crepitare 'to rattle'.

Kingfisher - self-explanatory.

Kite - once again imitative of its cry.

Kiwi - named by the Maoris as what they perceived as its cry.

Lapwing - has a Germanic root meaning 'leaper-winker'.

Lark - from Proto-Indo-European leig 'to play'.

Magpie - the two syllables describe the 'chattering bird'.

Mallard - it fundamentally means 'male'.

Merganser - from Latin mergus 'waterfowl, diver' and from mergere 'to dip, immerse'.

Merlin - simply means 'small hawk'.

Nightingale - is Germanic for 'night singer'.

Oriole - named from a Latin root meaning 'gold'.

Ostrich - effectively from the Greek strouthos megale 'big sparrow'.

Owl - a Germanic origin imitative of its call.

Parakeet - thought to be from the Italian parrocchetto literally 'little priest'.

Partridge - comes from the Greek perdesthai 'to break wind' and a reference to the whirring sound made by the bird's wings in flight.

Penguin - named from the Old Welsh for 'white head' and yet look at any penguin and you will see it has a black head. What the name first referred to was the great auk, which did have a white head.

Peregrine - comprised of per ager 'away from the land'.

Pheasant - from the Greek for 'Phasian bird', the birds were particularly numerous along the river Phasis leading to the Black Sea.

Pigeon - is an Old French word meaning 'young dove'.

Plover - from the Latin plovarius 'belonging to the rain'.

Ptarmigan - of uncertain origin but likely realted to the Greek pteron 'wing'.

Raven - another Germanic name imitative of the bird's cry.

Redstart - basically means 'red tail'.

Rook - from roots such as Gaelic roc 'croak' and Sanskrit kruc 'to cry out'.

Rooster - literally 'the roosting bird'.

Shrike - from Old Norse referring to 'the bird with a shrill call'.

Sparrow - from the Greek spergoulos 'small field bird'.

Swan - from Proto-Indo-European swen 'to sing, make sound'.

Tercel - the male falcon, thought to be named from Latin tertius 'a third' as the male is a third smaller than the female.

Tit - an old word for any small animal, be a bird, rodent or anything else.

Vulture - from the Latin vellere 'to pluck, tear'.

Whippoorwill - imitative of its call.

Woodpecker - of obvious derivation as indeed is the dialect name in the East Midlands of 'nicker'.

And before anyone asks, no I didn't see all these birds.

Cyprus Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. As thoughts turn to the summer, or perhaps even winter sun, a look at the names found in Cyprus. If this does anything for Cypriot tourism I look forward to receiving suitable recognition - quite fancy a little winter sun myself.

Nicosia has been inhabited continuously for at least 4,500 years and unsurprisingly has had a number of different names over this time. The city-state of Ledra existed after the end of the Trojan War, it is probably named after Lefkos, son of the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy I. Under Roman and Byzantine rule this became Leukousia and officially became the capital in the 11th century. The modern Greek name for Nicosia is Lefkosia, while the name of Nicosia is only found from the 12th century. Then held by the Knights Templar, these Crusaders used the Frankish Nikosia, pronounced so as to stress the second syllable 'o', but altered this to the modern pronunciation.

Famagusta had been known as Arsinoe, named after Arsinoe II of Egypt, the sister of Ptolemy II. Later this became a place 'hidden in the sand' or Ammochostos to the Greeks, which developed to Famagasta under Turkish influence.

Larnaca could well be derived from the many sarcophagi found in the area, this from larnakes, and appropriate as archaeologists claim to have evidence of at least 3,000 such burials here.

Paphos is held to be founded by the goddess Aphrodite. Paphos was the son of Pygmalion - unless you read Ovid who changes the sex of the child - whose ivory statue was brought to life by the goddess and became Galatea.

Aglandjia is of Turkish origin, coming from eglence and quite literally meaning 'entertainment'.

Akanthous is traditionally said to be derived from the name of a thorny bush growing locally, itself named from the extraordinarily beautiful Anthousa, providing her with a hiding place when hunted by Arab sailors.

Amathus, another name of traditional beginnings, had been founded by Cinyras and named after his mother Amathous.

Arminou has at least two explanations, the first simply saying it represents the first inhabitant Arminos, while the second points to it being named after the Armenian settlement during the Byzantine era.

Athienou is said to come from the Greek Atta or Atha meaning 'large rock'. While the area is indeed rocky, there is also a suggestion this simply came from the early settlement by Greeks from Athens.

Asha is said to come from Askia, Greek for 'without any shade' - indeed there are still very few trees in the area.

Ayia Napa is from the former Venetian monastery, itself from agia 'holy' and napa 'wooded valley'.

Ayios Dhometios is named after St Dometios, a 4th century Christian originating from Persia who lived in a cave and converted many until stoned to death in 362 AD on the orders of the Emperor Ioulianos.

Buffavento is of Italian origins and describes 'the defier of the winds', an apt description of the high speeds winds can reach at the point where the castle of this name stands some 950 metres above sea level.

Geroskipou is held to be where the Greek goddess Aphrodite had her sacred gardens, with yeros kipou meaning 'holy garden'.

Kaimakli is often said to be named from kaymak meaning 'froth' and thus comes from the local coffee. However the Turks also used this name for a farm where clotted cream was produced, thus the idea of frothy or white is probably correct.

Lefkara comes from the Greek lefka ori 'the white mountains'.

Kormakitis has several explanations. Most often this is said to be named from the Maronites from Koura, they describing the place as Nahni jina wa Kour ma jit, this translating to 'We came here but Koura didn't'. Another version says it was named by the Phoenicians from Korma jdide or 'the new Kormia'.

Kornokipos is from the ancient Greek for 'beautiful garden'.

Kythrea is traditionally from its foundr, Chytros, grandson of the Athenian ruler King Akamas. Alternatively this is a transferred name, brought here along with the millstones from the island of Kythera.

Kyperounta takes its name from the plant Cyperus rotundus which grows here and takes the second element of its name from the Latin for 'round'. Often known as 'nut grass' and 'nut sedge' the 'nuts' are tubers thought to resemble nuts but have no other connection to nuts of any description.

Lefka is either named after the son of Ptolemy, or perhaps the Christian girl Lefka (it means 'poplar' in Greek) who came here because of the clean air and lived here for so long that when she died they named the town after her.

Louroujina is said to have been named after Lorenziya, the woman held to have founded the place. It was renamed by the Turks in 1958, the new name Akincilar meaning 'Ottoman raiders'.

Milia is a simple name and one which paintas a picture for there is no question of what we might find here as milia is the Greek for 'apple tree'.

Omorfita is thought be derived from the ancient Greek for 'beautiful'.

Pachna has two opposing views as to the origins of the name. Either this is ancient Greek pachni and a reference to the white frost which can form here during the chilliest nights on the island, or this means 'manger' and a pointer to how the location is protected by surrounding high hills.

Paralimni means 'by the lake', although this did not refer to the place we see today on the coast. The original location on a hill did indeed stand by a lake drained for agriculture around a century ago. Most place names were coined as signposts, descriptions of who or what could be seen here. In the case of Paralimni the modern name is completely inaccurate, while the original location would have been as confusing much of the time as for about six months of the year it was dry.

Pedoulas is from the Greek pediada laos 'the valley people'.

Pegeia is thought to be derived from the Latin baia meaning 'bay'.

Periserona comes from the Greek peristeri meaning 'dove, pigeon'.

Fyti is an astonishingly modern name on an island where the culture pre-dates history. This comes from the village becoming an educational centre in the early 20th century, when the Greek foito aptly described this place as 'study'.

Pissouri (I was tempted to make a joke about the Missouri here) is thought to be a modern version of its ancient name of Voosoura, once explained as a place having the darkest of nights and when three hundred German saints arrived to find it pitch black. However the real origin is the sap coming from the pine trees, once collected in vast quantities, and known as pissa.

Psimolofou either takes its name from 'hill', there is a small but striking hill nearby, or from 'bread' as some think said hill resembles a loaf of bread.

Pyla comes from the Greek for 'entrance', as once it would have been the only way to gain access to the plain of Mesaoria to the west.

Strovolos is thought to be from the Greek strovilos, a shortened form of anemo-strovilos or 'whirlwind'.

Templos was almost certainly named for the Knights Templar.

Troulloi is a Greek name meaning 'domes'.

Tymbou may be from the 'tombs' found in the nearby caves.

Xylofagou is from the Greek xylo preceding fagou, a still-popular barbecue-style dish prepared on holidays.

Varosha is from the Turkish varos meaning 'suburb'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.