• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    962 months ago

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_edible_dormouse

    Etymology

    The word dormouse comes from Middle English dormous, of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from Old Norse dár ‘benumbed’ and Middle English mous ‘mouse’.

    The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of dormir ‘to sleep’, with the second element mistaken for mouse, but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.[4]

    The Latin word glis, which is the origin of the scientific name, is from the Proto-Indo-European root *gl̥h₁éys ‘weasel, mouse’, related to Sanskrit गिरि girí ‘mouse’ and Ancient Greek γαλέη galéē ‘weasel’.

    The Wikipedia article slides over the word ‘edible’ like it’s a complete non-problem

    • htrayl
      link
      English
      1162 months ago

      The common name comes from the Romans, who ate them as a delicacy.

      First paragraph.

      • @OlinOfTheHillPeople
        link
        English
        43
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormouse

        The edible dormouse (Glis glis) was considered a delicacy in ancient Rome, either as a savoury appetizer or as a dessert (dipped in honey and poppy seeds). The Romans used a special kind of enclosure, a glirarium, to raise and fatten dormice for the table.[6] It is still considered a delicacy in Slovenia and in several places in Croatia, namely Lika, and the islands of Hvar and Brač.[7][8] Dormouse fat was believed by the Elizabethans to induce sleep since the animal put on fat before hibernating.[9]