Mick H. Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 While sitting on a nice quiet site at Chedworth in the Cotswolds (a very nice place for walking ) in our Hymer,with nothing much to do, I got to thinking about things,like you do and a question arose in my mind that must have puzzled people for hundreds of years:- Why are rabbits called bunnies. if anybody knows please tell me. THANK YOU Mick H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Bugs might have alot to do with it ? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 Sorry about the two rabbits it just goes to show how fast they breed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 Think they were bunnies before bugs came along, Michele , thanks anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Won't help, of course, but rabbits should really be called coneys. Rabbits are just the young coneys. Bunny is supposed to be used in Australia to describe someone who is a bit green, or has been conned. Maybe its Australian, coneys are a bit stupid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 Dont think rabbits are stupid Brian they've survived every thing that us humans have thrown at them.good answer though, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Mick Got no idea, but our dogs have just seen 2 of them from the front of our Hymer.!! Licking their lips now!! Might be 4 by the time this gets to you. Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted May 20, 2007 Author Share Posted May 20, 2007 HI Thai Probabably a dozen by now,hope you've got a big Hymer to store them for the dogs. Mick H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Always thought the name came from that old hairstyle. Can still see my Gran with her hair in a bun which looked just like a "bunnies" tail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 found this by doing a search Question - “My wife was wondering about the origin of bunny. She can’t find the answer in the dictionary.” Answer - "Alas, it’s not there largely because we don’t know. Bun was an English dialect word, recorded from the sixteenth century, which was used for a squirrel or rabbit. It seems that the word turned into the endearment bunny in the following century, and only later was it transferred back to the rabbit. There is a suggestion that the word may have originally referred to the small tail of the rabbit, in the same way that a tight coil of hair at the back of the neck was also called a bun, because both were roughly the shape and size of the cake. Others argue that the origin was the Gaelic word bun that meant a stump or root, and which could refer to the tail of a hare. But neither origin explains why it was applied to a squirrel, whose tail looks rather different. But then, we don’t know for sure where the word bun in the sense of the cake comes from either, so it’s all quite obscure." as clear as mud! Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Hi Mick Yep a starline 700 with a garage.!! Now where did I put that rabbit hutch. Seriously, I've got no idea about the word "Bunnies", I might try and Google it and see what I get. Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usinmyknaus Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Reminded me of the rabbit joke. Like all jokes, much better in the pub and with actions, but here goes. The hedgehogs had always admired the rabbits' better survival rate on the roads but never discovered their secret. One dark, star-lit, moonless night two rabbits are out for a hop (can't "stroll" obviously) when they meet a family of hedgehogs, terrified, at the side of a road they must cross. Taking pity on them the male rabbit says to dad hedgehog "OK I'll show you our secret. Now watch carefully." The rabbit hops into the road, points at the approaching vehicle and says "Look at the two headlights, position yourself equi-distant between them and as the vehicle approaches place one hand over each eye and ......... DUCK!" At that moment the vehicle screams over the top of the rabbit, who emerges from behind it with a triumphant "Taa daaaa!" to tumultuous applause from the hedgehogs and his friend. Your turn, he says and thwacks dad hedgehog on the back. Dad hedgehog walks, trembling into the road trying to look brave in front of his kids. "Go on says the rabbit, you can do it, trust me." Dad hedgehog turns to face the next vehicle, positions himself equidistant between its headlights and to a thumbs up from the rabbit, places his hands over his eyes and.... DUCKS! ............. SPLAT! In the ensuing silence, the rabbit turns to the mortified hedgehog family and says "Well fancy that, I didn't think there were any Reliant Robins left on the roads." Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Gonna get all knowledgeable here, Bun was a 16th century word for a rabbit or a squirrel - hence bunnies!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Sandy - 2007-05-21 8:26 AM Gonna get all knowledgeable here, Bun was a 16th century word for a rabbit or a squirrel - hence bunnies!! That won't get you into the OED; you've got to give the provenance for your assertion! This is no ordinary forum, you know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Brian Kirby - 2007-05-21 3:56 PMSandy - 2007-05-21 8:26 AM Gonna get all knowledgeable here, Bun was a 16th century word for a rabbit or a squirrel - hence bunnies!! That won't get you into the OED; you've got to give the provenance for your assertion! This is no ordinary forum, you know!ah now you have me, well if you can all stand the shock you can peep inside my head and see all the useless information I keep in there of which this gem of knowledge is one!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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