I don't see any sings of a taboo here. It might just as well be a case of different names for different species. The "original" words could have been names for cave bears and a larger wolf species, which fell out of use when these species disappeared.
[–] flope_de 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
I don't see any sings of a taboo here. It might just as well be a case of different names for different species. The "original" words could have been names for cave bears and a larger wolf species, which fell out of use when these species disappeared.
[–] CobraStallone 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Well, it seems plausible. Then again, I'm no linguist, and how would we know for sure?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear#Etymology
[–] oooooo ago
Interestingly, the cited source for the relevant passage no longer exists even via the archived link.