Etymological Notes on the Lexicon of Marine Fauna in Central Dalmatia

Abstract

Croatian folk lexicon of marine fauna has been extensively documented and etymologically analyzed, especially thanks to Vojmir Vinja, author of Jadranska fauna and Jadranske etimologije. However, there is still room for revisions and new etymological proposals. Based on the recent fieldwork data and areal distribution of certain lexotypes in Central Dalmatia, this paper offers three new etymologies (kudȉja ‘Cerithium vulgatum’, sálak ‘Palaemon serratus’, smàčina ‘Phycis sp.’) and two revisions of the previous etymological proposals (dȕgnja ‘Coris julis’, gàrgaša ‘Pinna nobilis’).