As a person with very little knowledge of German, I found the word for Ostrich to be a bit of a surprise. What's the etymology? Does the following function as any sort of pun?
Herr Strauss verkauft Strauße und Sträuße in Österreich.
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Sign up to join this communityAs a person with very little knowledge of German, I found the word for Ostrich to be a bit of a surprise. What's the etymology? Does the following function as any sort of pun?
Herr Strauss verkauft Strauße und Sträuße in Österreich.
All those words even though apparently similar do not share a common etymology. Austria is an entirely different word in German (Österreich), hence it will not work as a pun here.
Here's some background on the etymology:
Both, the English ostrich and the German Strauß are derived from Latin avis struthio
where the English letter O
, a remnant of avis, was not preserved in the German counterpart.
The German expression Strauß in the meaning of a bouquet derives from Old High German strūʒahi
(shrubbery).
Both are related in their meaning, from Latin Marchia austriaca
(eastern borderland) and Old High German ostar rīhhi
(eastern empire).
This is a common family name in Germany and Austria, probably having different roots (genealogy would be beyond the scope here).
»Einen Strauß ausfechten« is dated for »to fight«.
Bedeutung:
Ornithologie: afrikanischer Laufvogel (Struthio camelus) der gleichnamigen Familie von Vögeln (Struthionidæ)Herkunft:
mittelhochdeutsch struz(e), althochdeutsch struz, aus lateinisch struthio → la, dieses aus altgriechisch stroútheios (στρούθειος) → grc, jeweils gleichbedeutend
Also on the very same page, you'll see that it's not related to Blumenstrauß, meaning a bunch of flowers.