It’s true that in the past this large solitary bird was thought to be part of the didines group, and therefore related to the Mauritian dodo and the Rodriguan (-guese?) solitaire. b : an extinct flightless bird (Raphus solitarius) of the island of Réunion similar to and closely related to the dodo”. Here’s what they say at the dodo entry you linked to: How can “serious people” write that, though? Don’t they think twice before printing such nonsense in such a book?Įven if it is not as bad, dodo-wise (if you will allow me to use this construction here) the Merriam-Webster seems to have gone a bit cuckoo too. So, dodaars means, in effect, “fluffy rear end”, not fat-ass.Ĭ’est marrant - Cimarrón as well? Gone astray… It adds, “in the working of flax, ‘dotten’ are the rougher parts that are left over after the threshing of the ‘lokken'” (the locks, or softest portions). The WNT says lisdodde (formerly lischdodde), derives from lis, formerly lisch, name for the wild iris (as in ‘fleurs de lis’, and dodde, deriving from the stem “dot”, referring to a small fibrous mass, like a clump of hair. Their cigar-shaped seed heads eventually open up and release large fluffy seeds. More importantly, every other etymology I’ve seen for dodo (for example, Merriam-Webster’s) derives it from Portuguese doudo ‘silly, stupid.’ My default assumption here is that the author listened to somebody who didn’t know what he was talking about (presumably one of the Dutch scientists he traveled around with) and that the magazine, as sadly often these days, fell down on fact-checking, but if anyone knows differently, please speak up.Ī Dutch birding site ( ) says (of the Little Grebe]: “De naam Dodaars heeft te maken met de gelijkenis van het stuitje met een uitgebloeide Lisdodde – de rietsigaren langs de waterkant.” Which means: the name dodaars has to do with the similarity of the tailfeathers with the Lisdodde when it has finished blooming - the ‘reed cigars’ along the water’s edge.” Lisdodde/reed cigars are cattails in English (typha latifolia and other species of typha). In the first place, dood does not mean ‘fat’ in Dutch, it means ‘dead’ or ‘death’ (‘fat’ is dik or vet). In English, “dodo” was in use by the sixteen-twenties, perhaps through a simple process of linguistic evolution but Hume likes the idea that the coinage was inspired, or at least reinforced, by the bird’s call. On later visits, the Dutch came to refer to the birds as dodaersen-fat-asses. It’s fairly interesting (though presumably more so if you care more than I do about dodos), but the linguistically significant bit was this, from p. 22 New Yorker, and I just finished “Digging for Dodos,” by Ian Parker (not online). While circumstance eventually left the dodo vulnerable to extinction, evolution is not to blame for the shortsightedness of man.I’m still working my way through the Jan. Still, their evolution was biologically complex, its success evidenced by the species’ carefree lifestyle, prior to the arrival of settlers at Mauritius. A species with no natural predators, given superior strength and features that could inflict damage on foreign enemies, if only it was able to recognize them as such. Overall, dodo birds were a paradox in both behavior and design-a stout, muscular breed whose attributes translated into an almost comedic appearance. Which is precisely where they built nests, foraged for food and ran about on two short legs. In fact, their physique and lack of predators allowed the dodo to truly thrive at ground-level. The development of these features ensured that flightlessness would never hinder the dodo bird, even on Mauritius’ rocky terrain. It required additional support and increased mobility, too-silent demands, answered by the development of thick leg bones, large kneecaps and a broad pelvis. Of course, a heavier frame didn’t just eliminate the dodo’s ability to fly.
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