A Thesaurus of Bird Names

Etymology of European Lexis through Paradigms

Les Cahiers des sciences naturelles ISSN : 1420-4223

DESFAYES, MICHEL, 1998: A thesaurus of birds names. Etymology of European lexis through paradigms. Volume I : The birds names (pages 1-1240), Volume II : the paradigms, (pages 1-1270), CD-Rom.. – ISBN 2-88426-021-8.

A unique work on the origin of bird names and European lexis.

Putting together the names of 450 species of birds in 40 Indo-European languages and their dialects is a task that some would deem unfeasible. Yet this work contains some 100'000 names collected among ornithological and dialectal publications. This work will not only interest inquisitive ornithologists. It is a solid basis that will provide a valuable instrument for linguists and dialectologists alike. Besides bird denominations, thousands names of things and colors have been assembled in categories of morphological, acoustic, chromatic or kinetic value. It is the most complete collection of color names ever assembled. From the Atlantic to India, dialectal names are listed with indication of their localities. This work will be of interest to many researchers in the family of sciences dealing with the study of languages and the disciplines concerned with the ongoing studies of the links between man and nature.

And as a bonus:

Some 8000 Latin American names for 1700 species of birds in Spanish, Portuguese and Amerindian.
The names of 1100 species of birds from overseas Francophone regions.
More than 2000 names for the bat in European and extra-European languages.

Key words:

Lexicology, dialectology, etymology; ornithology: the names of birds of Europe and the Middle East. Indo-European languages. Ancient languages. Modern language groups. Latin American and Amerindian languages.

List of principal languages:

Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Scotland, Cymry, Breton, English, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, German, French, Provençal, Catalan, Basques, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Rheto-Romansh, Romanian, Albanian, Modern Greek, Serbocroatian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Ukranian, Russian, Bielorussian, Lithuanian, Lettish, Iranian, Kurdish, Armenian, Georgian, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic, Modern Hebrew, Maltese, Gypsy, Amerindian.

Ancient languages:

Ancient Greek, Classical Latin, Medieval Latin, Prussian, Sanskrit, Ancient Hebrew, Akkadian.