2363: Albatross: Spanish & Arabic Borrowing from Themselves Jun 7, 2021

As seen in the name of 'Alcatraz', the word has been associated with both pelicans and gannets due to related sounding Arabic and Spanish words, but that doesn't end there. The word 'albatross' (in Spanish 'albatros') is 'alcatraz' in Portuguese. Certainly the association of different sea-birds under one name isn't unique and probably from the same Arabic word which led to the archaic Spanish name for a pelican. It also could be from another Arabic word الْقَادُوس‎ (al-qādūs), itself from the Ancient Greek κάδος (kádos) meaning 'jar'. In any case, it's thought to be influenced by the Latin 'albus' (white). As if all this back-and-forth lending wasn't complicated enough, the Modern Arabic for 'albatross' قَطْرَس‎ (qaṭras) is not only not the origin here but may have been borrowed from the Modern Spanish.

2362: Alcatraz: Named after which Bird? Jun 6, 2021

The island of Alcatraz is known for many things including as a prison, the site of a major Native American protest, and a museum, it was also known for its pelicans, sort of. Many people mistakenly believe this is where the name comes from, but the Spanish "La Isla de los Alcatraces" does not mean as many think "The Island of the Pelicans" but instead "The Island of the Gannets". Anyway, the Spanish for 'pelicans' is 'pelícanos' but there is an archaic Spanish word 'alcatraz' (pelican) from the Arabic: غطاس‎ (al-ġaţţās) meaning 'the diver; the submerger'. It is from these gannets that the island took its name in 1775. More on this in a separate post.

2360: gander (v), gannet, & goose Jun 4, 2021

The verbal form of 'gander' is probably used more often than the nominal form, but it is newer and originates as slang. Specifically inmate slang, since a gander is a male goose and in this case was noted for the long, bending neck. The word 'gannet', another type of waterfowl comes from the exact same Proto-Indo-European root. This helps to support the argument that the earlier sense of this word was simply seabird as in other languages this root led to the names for other types of birds like the Lithuanian 'gandras' (stork).