Phalanx
Phalane is an uncommon loan word for moths today . The ancient Greek word φάλ [λ] αινα ( phál [l] aina ), root related to phallus , could mean both moth and whale . In modern Greek it only has the second meaning. In contrast, it entered French (phalène) and Italian (falena) and temporarily also into German with the first meaning. Annette von Droste-Hülshoff used it twice in one of her best-known poems, Moon Rise (1844). The original word phálaina also forms the first part of the generic name of the orchid family Phalaenopsis ("butterfly- shaped ").
Individual evidence
- ^ Alois Walde : Comparative dictionary of the Indo-European languages . Volume II, Berlin / Leipzig 1927, p. 178
- ↑ moons rise