Verbs descriptive of the functions of such objects.
2. Names of Animals and Birds.
3. Names of Rivers, the Ocean, Hills, and Mountains.
4. Words expressive of Mental Qualities and Emotions.
5. Pronouns and other Conventional Grammatical Forms.
1. Now, with the exception of the second, all these five classes of words may be shown to be mere modifications of those of the 1st class.
2. Moreover, as regards even the Second Class, names of Animals and Birds, terms of this description are also in a great number, perhaps in the majority of instances compounds chiefly consisting of terms of the First Class, viz., of the words for the “Members of the Body,” for “Water, Fire,” &c., as in “Red-breast,” “Water-wag tail” (English). Sgyvarn-og “a Hare,” from Sgyvarn “an Ear” (Welsh).
There are, it is true, some terms of this class of a more primitive origin, as they plainly consist of imitations of the characteristic cry or note of the Animal or Bird named, as for example “Cuck-oo” (English); “U-lu-la” (Swedish), “U-lu-l-aka” (Sanscrit), “An Owl.” But then it is plain that words [pg 010] of this kind are for the most part confined in their application to the objects designated and do not enter largely into the composition of languages.
3. Words for “Rivers” and “The Ocean” consist of terms for “Water.”