Re: The Tally-Ho! Theory of Language Origins

rogerprince@xxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> Douglas G. Kilday wrote:
>
> > > > What about the ichneumon?
> > >
> > > It tracks by scent or direct sight, like other mustelids (if it is a
> > > mustelid).
> >
> > If it doesn't follow visible tracks, how did it get its name?
>
> If the hippopotamus isn't a horse, how did it get its name? A tracker
> dog doesn't follow visible tracks either, even if they're there for a
> human to follow, and etymology is not a reliable guide to how animals
> actually behave anyway.

Nor to much of anything at all in a language-in-use.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

Quantcast