Hence the punchline of Andersen's fairy tale. I love the word "cygnets". We don't have an equivalent in German, we just say "little swan". Also, beautiful photos! Here are some from Leeds a few years ago to keep them company:
The word swan is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing).[1] Young swans are known as swanlings or as cygnets, from Greek κύκνος, kýknos and from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little"). An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen.
Why Britain retains this distinction and you don't is something I can't answer - I'm really not a linguist.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-05-27 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-28 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-28 05:51 am (UTC)The word swan is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing).[1] Young swans are known as swanlings or as cygnets, from Greek κύκνος, kýknos and from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little"). An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen.
Why Britain retains this distinction and you don't is something I can't answer - I'm really not a linguist.
Thanks for the picture!