Common name of Netuma thalassina
 
Common name Giant salmon catfish
Language English
Type Vernacular
Official trade name No
Rank 3 - (Other common name)
Country Australia
Locality
Ref. Willing, R.S. and P.J. Pender, 1989
Life stage juveniles and adults
Sex females and males
Core
1st modifier
2nd modifier
Remarks 'Giant', i.e., of great size, from Middle English 'giaunt' from Old French 'geant' from Latin 'gigant-, gigas' from Greek mythological character (p. 516 in Ref. 11978); 'salmon' replaced Old English 'laex' (German 'lachs'; Swedish 'lax', source of English 'gravlax'; Yiddish 'laks', source of English 'lox', i.e., smoked salmon; Russian 'losos') borrowed from Anglo-Norman 'saumoun' from Latin 'salmo, -onis' linked to 'salire', i.e., to jump and hence, the leaping fish (p. 454 in Ref. 11979); 'cat' from Anglo-Norman 'cat' from of Old French 'chat' from Germanic 'kattuz' from Latin 'catta, cattus' (given the domestic cat's origins in Egypt, it is likely to have been of Egyptian origin) replacing 'feles', i.e., wild cat (p. 100 in Ref. 11979); 'fish' from Germanic 'fiskaz' (also source of Gothic 'fisks', German 'fisch', Dutch 'visch', Swedish and Danish 'fisk') from ancient Indo-European 'piskos' (also source of Latin 'piscis' which in turn gave French 'poisson', Italian 'pesce', Spanish 'pez', Breton 'pesk' and Welsh 'psygodyn') (p. 229 in Ref. 11979).
 
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cfm script by eagbayani, 11.10.04 ,  php script by rolavides, 25/03/08 ,  last modified by sortiz, 06/27/17