Taxonomy and Etymology
The Great Bustard was classified with its scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, though the species was referred to as avis tarda in the much older writings of Pliny the Elder. Otis is an Old Greek name for "bustard". The specific name, tarda, has been traced to an Old Spanish name for "tread", although it has also been used in Latin for "slow" and "deliberate", which is apt to describe the typical walking style of the species. The Great Bustard túzok in Hungarian and it is the national bird of Hungary and a subject of several proverbs of that region.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“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)