Larry's Pretty Good Word of the Day (prettygoodword) wrote,
Larry's Pretty Good Word of the Day
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mynah

mynah or myna (MAI-nuh) - n., any of several south-Asian starlings (genus Gracula and related genera) some species of which are kept as pets for their ability to mimic speech.


The most common pet is the common hill myna (Gracula religiosa):

Common hill mynah
Thanks, Wikimedia!

Who's a pretty bird? The name was adopted in the 1760s from Hindi mainā, from Sanskrit madana, delightful/joyful, related to madati, it gladdens lit. it bubbles, from PIE root *mad-, moist/wet.

---L.

Crossposts: https://prettygoodword.dreamwidth.org/711164.html
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