What was the Carthaginian (Punic) term for elephant
Upvote:2
We don't actually have a lot of Punic writing examples available to us, and most of what we do have is religious inscription, which are unlikely to mention elephants, which were (to them) mundane creatures.
In ancient times there were in fact elephants native to both North Africa, and the Near East where the Carthaginians emigrated from. So these would not have been the exotic creatures to them which they are to most modern English speakers. It seems possible the 3rd Century BC military fad for their use had something to do with their disappearance from both places.
So this leaves us two likely possibilities. They borrowed the name that was in use by their Berber neighbors when they immigrated to North Africa, or they kept the NW Semitic name their Phoenician ancestors used. Well, there's sort of a third possibility suggested by my reading: The Semitic languages took their word from the Berbers, with the Carthaginians the natural conduit. The Berber (North African) word appears to have been "Elu", and the Semitic "fīl"*. My sources indicate the Semitic is derived from the Berber word, but since Phonecian and Punic were originally the same language, that doesn't necessarily help us much. I'd lean toward "fīl"
* - I found this information in a footnote of a paper by Vaclav Blazek, which itself referred to "Lokotsch 1927". Its possible this may be a reference to the paper/book: "Lokotsch, K., (1927). Etymologisches Wörterbuch der europäischen (germanischen, romanischen und slavischen) Wörter orientalischen Ursprungs. Heidelberg" I found referenced in another work, but I'm afraid my lack of German means the trail goes cold there for me.
More post
- 📝 Did Empress Cixi divert funds for the Beiyang Fleet to build the Summer Palace?
- 📝 Technical Pictures of Prussian Cannons
- 📝 Were hag stones ever engraved?
- 📝 How was Enguerrand VII de Coucy able to keep his allegiance to both king of England and France during the Hundred Years War?
- 📝 Historically, have African nations had a higher proportion of coups than nations on other continents?
- 📝 Why did the Arabs start the 1973 War during Ramadan, and did it affect their performance?
- 📝 How many naval mines were cleared for D-Day?
- 📝 What are the grenades and artillery cited in this testimony?
- 📝 How to understand the geography of Napoleon's military campaigns?
- 📝 What was the impetus for some African nations to participate in the slave trade?
- 📝 Was respiratory rate used as time measurement?
- 📝 Did modern soldiers try to miss their shots?
- 📝 How could Plato know 9,000 year old stories about Atlantis?
- 📝 How did the United States treat POWs in Vietnam?
- 📝 Is there historical evidence that Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism?
- 📝 What made Washington DC "dominate" politics in the USA?
- 📝 What was the 1970s name for skinny jeans?
- 📝 Does History confirm that prosperity, capitalism, and some form "democracy" or representative republican form of government always go hand in hand?
- 📝 Did any Ethiopian leaders help the Italians?
- 📝 Was there a state or kingdom in the Maghreb of North Africa that predates the founding of Carthage?
- 📝 The region of Viceroy Toledo's Reductions (Reducciones)?
- 📝 Why couldn't soldiers sight their own weapons without officers' orders?
- 📝 Was there anything in common between the War of 1812 between Britain and America and the War of 1812 between Napoleon and Russia?
- 📝 What were some Greek equivalents of a Roman triumph?
- 📝 Why did the National Origins Act of 1924 use the 1890 census data?
- 📝 How do kings secure their treasury?
- 📝 Primary annalistic sources for ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt
- 📝 What were the capabilities of a warhorse?
- 📝 Was the Battle of Trafalgar strategically pointless?
- 📝 Did Ali give his allegiance to the three first caliphs?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the Carthaginian (Punic) term for elephant
- 📝 What was the term to serve for 1861 confederate volunteers?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 What was the plan for an abort of the Enola Gay's mission to drop the atomic bomb?
- 📝 What was the economic basis for West Berlin?
- 📝 What was the planned line of succession for the Nazi Party in the event that Hitler died?
- 📝 What was the 1970s name for skinny jeans?
- 📝 What was it like for a coastal village to experience a Viking raid in around the tenth century?
- 📝 What was the original process for becoming a US citizen?
- 📝 What was the motivation for the Gregorian Calendar?
- 📝 From 1936-45 what was the prescribed punishment in Nazi Germany for failing to join or participate in the Hitler Youth?
- 📝 What was the impetus for some African nations to participate in the slave trade?
- 📝 Was the Carthaginian Senate for life or not?
- 📝 What was the reason for the Ottoman empire to adopt the crescent moon as its flag/coat of arms?
- 📝 What was the basis for valuating large territorial purchases by USA?
- 📝 What was the actual cause of the disaster for the Royal Navy’s battlecruisers in the Battle of Jutland?
- 📝 What was the penalty for disobeying flu safety regulations in the 1918 epidemic?
- 📝 What was the primary motivation for a historical figure like Xenophon to create an extensive collection of written material?
- 📝 What was the congressional level of support for Emancipation Proclamation?
- 📝 What was the timetable for Germany's Invasion of the Low Countries (Fall Gelb) in WW2?
- 📝 What was the reason for inflation in Britain after the Black Death?
- 📝 What was the argument for the Japanese pursuing the Northern Expansion Doctrine during WWII?
- 📝 What was the ancient Egyptian word for "soldier"?
- 📝 What is the proper term for the "year 0"?
- 📝 What was the first recorded instance of sex or violence being inappropriate for children to see?
- 📝 What was the purpose for Kaiser Wilhelm's visit to Jerusalem?
- 📝 What kind of wood was the standard decking for aircraft carriers in World War 2?
- 📝 What was the typical range of travel of a Pennsylvanian resident for everyday life in the late 18th early 19th Century Pennsylvania?
- 📝 What was the median price for a slave child in the Augustan Rome?