Etymology
In Japan, early whalers called it "iwashi" or "kutsuo kujira", the "anchovy" or "skipjack whale". It preys on the former, while it was commonly associated with the latter. As modern whaling shifted to Sanriku, whalemen confused it for the sei whale, and now the term "iwashi kujira" only applies to the latter species. Incidentally, anchovies are dominant prey for both species off Japan. They are now called "nitari kujira", or "look-alike whale", for their resemblance to the sei whale.
Read more about this topic: Bryde's Whale
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)