Talking flowers with a Czech friend, she told me about some flowers in her garden. I don't know what they are called in English but the translation in English means "Forget me not". "Hmmm, they might be called Forget-me-nots." Presuming it is the same species, it seems strange that it should have the same common name in Czech and English. Any ideas as to how this may have happened?
1
vinnyd
A reasonable guess is that the name spread with the flower and was translated.
It's Vergissmeinnicht in German if I'm not mistaken.
Edited by: VinnyD who left out an n.
3
nutraxfornerves
It's Ne-m'oubliez-pas in French.
Nontiscordardimé, Italian
Nomeolvides, Spanish
Vergeetminjniet, Dutch
Forglem meg ei, Norwegian
Förgätmigej, Swedish
And so on.
The name is attested to in French & German in the 15th C. (a bit earlier in French). It seems to have first meant different plants; it wasn't until 1561 that a German source definitely associates it with Myosotis, the genus now called forget-me-not. One story is that some of the other plants have blossoms that fly off in the wind, crying "don't forget me!" One source I used said that the name seems to have originated independently in different languages, from this notion.
The first English citation is 1532, a direct translation from French. However, the name seems not to have become widely popular in English until the 19th Century. The earliest English names, from the 16th C. were "blue mouse ear" and scorpion grass or wort." Myosotis is "mouse ear" from the shape of the leaves.
The legend is that when Adam was naming flowers, a tiny blue one called out "forget me not." Another legend is
>A medieval German knight is said to have been picnicking on the bank of the Danube with his lady love. He descended the bank to the water’s edge to gather some of the lovely blue flowers he saw there, but while he was near the water, tragedy struck. A “freshet” (flash flood) suddenly appeared and pulled the young man into the churning river. As he was literally swept away, he tossed the bouquet to his lady on the bank with the three now-famous words: “Forget me not!”
And I learned a new word calque,+ "a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word (Latin: "verbum pro verbo") or root-for-root translation." Forget-me-not was calqued from the French +Ne-m'oubliez-pas
6
toot
Same idea here. It's nefelejcs+ in Hungarian (imperative - don't forget - from +ne felejts ).
But why is the flower we call daffodil called narcissus (or some form of that word) in most other languages? More properly put, why is it daffodil in English and not narcissus (or some variation of that word)?
7
shilgia
Correction to #3: Vergeet-mij-niet, in Dutch, and, actually, I think the official name is the diminutive: vergeet-mij-nietje.
8
nutraxfornerves
I copied some of those names by hand instead of C&P, so it's quite likely I introduced a typo.
American Daffodil Society says :
>What is the difference between daffodils and narcissus?
>None. The two words are synonyms. Narcissus is the Latin or botanical name for all daffodils, just as ilex is for hollies. Daffodil is the common name for all members of the genus Narcissus, and its use is recommended by the ADS at all times other than in scientific writing.
I'll throw this in as well:
>What is a jonquil?
>In some parts of the country any yellow daffodil is called a jonquil, usually incorrectly. As a rule, but not always, jonquil species and hybrids are characterized by several yellow flowers, strong scent, and rounded foliage.
I've found that botanists and horticulturalists tend to say "Narcissus."
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner
trusted partner