The meaning of the word Bear
Day 168 / 365
Today’s post is a short one, but it’s still something that I learned today that I found amusing.
You know how we were taught weird superstitions when we were kids. Don’t go via a road that a cat has just crossed through, don’t whistle during the night time or a snake would come. Well back during the middle ages, people were way crazier superstitions. One such superstition was about certain scary animals. Like Voldemort, you weren’t allowed to say their names. If someone did say their name, the animal would appear and kill them.
One such animal was the bear. You see, ‘Bear’ is not the original name for the animal. It was a name given to it to avoid using its real name. Just like we had “You Know Who” for Voldemort, we had “Bear” for this animal, which literally meant “The Brown One”. And what was it’s the original name? We have no Idea!
So the next time you refer to an animal as a brown bear, remember that you are literally calling it — the brown brown one!
This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here
Yesterday’s blog — The Great Stink of London