[Vocabulary] hedgehog and other words

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virus99

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Hi forum!

Does anybody know how words such as "hedgehog" emerge? :-D
I mean a hedgehog is not really a pig, is it?

And do you know similar words? Is there a grammatical designation for words like that?

Thanks in advance!
 

riquecohen

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SoothingDave

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Not any more than a groundhog is a pig. Nor is a guinea pig.

I imagine there are not so many words as we think there are, so we have to reuse them creatively at times. Greeks called a hippopotamus a "river horse." The French calls potatoes "apples of the earth."
 

Ouisch

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The "hog" part of the hedgehog's name originated because of the animal's pig-like snout. Some creatures get odd names like that, simply due to their outward appearance. For example, a seahorse never ventures out of the water and you can't saddle and ride it, but because its cute little head has a definite equine quality it was dubbed with a horsey name.
 

Hedwig

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Not any more than a groundhog is a pig. Nor is a guinea pig.

I imagine there are not so many words as we think there are, so we have to reuse them creatively at times. Greeks called a hippopotamus a "river horse." The French calls potatoes "apples of the earth."

And the Italian for tomato is 'apple of gold'.
 

Tdol

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I imagine there are not so many words as we think there are, so we have to reuse them creatively at times. Greeks called a hippopotamus a "river horse."

Out of the water, it may look like a creative coinage, but when they move in water, they are more graceful and do look like horses riding IMO.
 
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