844: gallic Mar 31, 2017

The common chicken has the scientific name Gallus gallus domesticus, which is in Latin like other taxonomical classifications. Seeing then that 'Gallic' is also of Latin origin, it would not be ridiculous to assume that this would be in some way related to chickens, but it instead is a synonym for 'French' or the Gauls in particular. Etymologically, this is just coincidental, as 'Gaul' (or in Latin, 'Gallicus') does not have any direct relation to 'gallus'. Nevertheless, the rooster is in many ways symbolic of French or French-speaking culture, featuring on the emblem for French national sports teams and on various memorials, and is on the flag for the Walloon Movement. While this, again, may have been nothing more than coincident, many people throughout history have noted this connection, and this animal is thought to have been sacred to the people of modern-day France for millennia. Some records indicate that the Gauls considered this animal sacred, and the Christians then took it as a symbol for watchfulness when Catholicism replaced Celtic religions.