"Cwningen."

Translation:A rabbit.

February 18, 2016

8 Comments
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https://www.duolingo.com/profile/SpaghettiCorgi

Why can't you say bunny instead of rabbit?


[deactivated user]

    Similar to coinín in Irish


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/mizinamo

    I'm reminded of proto-Germanic kuningaz "king" (compare Finnish/Estonian kuningas which was borrowed from Germanic), and the similarity of Slovak králik "rabbit" to kráľ "king" - perhaps it means originally "little king".

    I wonder whether the Welsh word is also somehow related to "king" or whether the resemblance is pure coincidence?


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/balbhan

    Doubt it, as (like English "coney"/"cony") coinín and cwningen come from Latin cuniculus, ultimately from Basque/Iberian/Celtiberian. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cony#English

    Wiktionary even suggests that cwningen is a very old loan from English. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cwning#Welsh

    Old/Middle English "coni" and "cunning" have always been distinct words from "king"~"cyning", but it does seem that the Slavic words for "rabbit" could be a calque from a (deliberate?) misidentification of the words in German. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kr%C3%B3lik#Polish


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Meiriona

    There is also the spanish "conejo" and dutch "konijn", that's quite strange to find it also in romance languages...


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/mirantosea

    There's also "kanin" and "kaninen" for rabbit and the rabbit in Swedish.


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Gelgisith

    And "Kaninchen" in German

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