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Gibster.
The etymology of mariposa is said to be 'Maria, posa (te)!', meaning, 'Mary, alight!'Jack Harrison wrote:... mariposas (lovely word - much better than butterfly) ...
Jack
here is an interesting article about butterfly etymology:padfield wrote:The etymology of mariposa is said to be 'Maria, posa (te)!', meaning, 'Mary, alight!'Jack Harrison wrote:... mariposas (lovely word - much better than butterfly) ...
Jack
The German 'Schmetterling' is interestingly connected with 'butterfly'. It comes ultimately from the Czech 'smetana' (like the composer) meaning cream or sometimes churned cream, from the habit of butterflies to come to milk pails (not something I've observed myself - the Erebia in the mountains prefer the cowpats to their dairy products).
Might 'butterfly' actually be related to this, rather than being a contraction of 'butter-coloured fly'?
Guy