# animales



## Henrik Larsson

Siempre me ha llamado la atención que en inglés haya nombres de animales que pueden ser verbo. Me parece muy curioso, a ver si me ayudais a buscar algunos. Ahora mismo se me ocurren:

-dog
-parrot
-swallow
-fly
-duck
-rat
-rabbit
-badger
-squirrel
-weasel
-lark


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## fenixpollo

bear
crane
snake (around)
ferret (out)
rat (on, out)
fish
seal
ram


Antes de irme al trabajo el otro día, mi gato me acarició el pantalón negro con su cuerpo blanco.  Al llegar al trabajo, un compañero observó el montón de pelo en mi pantalón, y me dijo, "You've been _catted_!"  No es una palabra, pero me gustó aún así.


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## gotitadeleche

horse (around)
wolf (down)
pig (out)


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## fenixpollo

¡Dios mío! Se me olvidó *chicken out*!


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## SrKesp

to bull ($hit)

to bully

to hound


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## Henrik Larsson

Otro: fawn (on/upon)

Por cierto; "bully" puede ser un animal?


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## fenixpollo

Henrik Larsson said:
			
		

> Por cierto; "bully" puede ser un animal?


No, aunque "bull" si lo es.

dictionary.com dice que "bully" no tiene que ver con el toro, y la semejanza en su deletreo será coincidencia:

[Possibly from Middle Dutch boele, _sweetheart_, probably alteration of broeder, _brother_. See bhrter- in Indo-European Roots.]


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## MarkLondres

cock
hawk
fox
beaver (away)
crow
worm (one's way)

I'm english, please tell me what squirrel and parrot can possibly mean.


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## MarkLondres

monkey (about) ... like horse around
ape
buck
steer
shag
swan (about)

ok I'm all verb'd out

Mark


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## Henrik Larsson

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> I'm english, please tell me what squirrel and parrot can possibly mean.



squirrel something away : to hide something (especially money) in order to use it in a future.

parrot: to prattle, to chatter


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## Edwin

Henrik Larsson said:
			
		

> parrot: to prattle, to chatter



parrot: repeat mindlessly (Example: "The students parroted the teacher's words")


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## Henrik Larsson

Edwin said:
			
		

> parrot: repeat mindlessly (Example: "The students parroted the teacher's words")



Yes, you're right.

I have a dictionary, and it says: to parrot = parlotear.

And parlotear = prattle, chatter... hence my confusion.


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## fenixpollo

OK, Mark (or somebody)...  Now that they explained parrot and squirrel, tell us how *shag* is related to an animal's name and what *hawk* means.


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## gotitadeleche

fenixpollo said:
			
		

> OK, Mark (or somebody)...  Now that they explained parrot and squirrel, tell us how *shag* is related to an animal's name and what *hawk* means.





> peddle, monger, huckster, *hawk*, vend, pitch
> 
> sell or offer for sale from place to place



The peddler hawked his wares.


Shag?????


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## Henrik Larsson

What does "shag" mean as animal?


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## astronauta

A shag is a bird.

In Spanish: Cormoran.


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## fenixpollo

Thanks, av! I would never have guessed that a shag is a Cormorant! link

others:
goose
wolf (down) -- to eat quickly


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## MarkLondres

bitch. n perra v quejarse
cow. n vaca v intimidar
perch. n (un tipo de pez see perchfishing.net) v posarse
flounder. n platija v luchar para mantenerse a flote (en agua)


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## MarkLondres

ok one more



drum. n creo que es "corvina" en español v tamboriliar



enough fish now i think


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## MarkLondres

clam (up) n almeja v ponerse muy poco comunicativo

they wont stop coming!!!!!!!!!


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## MarkLondres

bug: n chinche v fastidiar o colocar micrófonos ocultos en

creo que spider y leech pueden ser verbos tambien


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## MarkLondres

skate, and another fish also patinar
slug n babosa, v pegarle un tortazo
slug (it out) v agarrarse a tortazos
earwig n tijereta, no se como se traduce el verbo
hog n cerdo v acaparar o monopolizar

how about tit (about)???


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## Mita

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> how about tit (about)???


But that's not a verb, is it?


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## MarkLondres

I believe so, 

"Stop titting about and do some work"


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## fenixpollo

I understand _drum _ and _shag_, now, although they are very obscure animal names.

But what does "to earwig" mean?


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## MarkLondres

earwig = escuchar algo o alguien a escondidas
the same as eavesdrop


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## Mita

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> I believe so,
> 
> "Stop titting about and do some work"


Wow! So, it means something like "laze around"?  
"Stop lazing around and do some work"?


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## MarkLondres

no it means "mess around" or "fool around" or in terms of "los animales frasales"
it means "monkey around" or "lark about"


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## gotitadeleche

Earwig and tit must be BE terms, I've never heard them here (as verbs, of course I have heard of the words!).


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## Mita

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> no it means "mess around" or "fool around" or in terms of "los animales frasales"
> it means "monkey around" or "lark about"


Ahh...  OK. Thanks! 
Greetings


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## helenduffy

To parrot: to copy, to imitate, to repeat verbatim
That student merely parrots the teacher's opinions.


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## MarkLondres

i sanyone still watching this thread?

BAT is another animal verb

certainly in BrE shark is a verb

and one for the americans... louse (up)

i am unsure what weasle means though, can anyone explain?


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## Edwin

intr.v. weaseled:  To be evasive; equivocate.


Phrasal Verb:
weasel out Informal: To back out of a situation or commitment in a sneaky or cowardly manner.

*He tried to weasel out of our deal.*


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## elroy

Did anyone mention *fishing*, *crabbing*, and *frogging*?

And what about *crowing* and *sealing*?


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## MarkLondres

we already have fish crow and seal, i think crab is probably a verb "don't crab about it, just get on with it" 

what could frogging be? the act of making a hole in the top of a brick?


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## MarkLondres

we also have animals that sound like verbs but are spelled differently

panda, bee, flea...


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## elroy

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> we already have fish crow and seal, i think crab is probably a verb "don't crab about it, just get on with it"
> 
> what could frogging be? the act of making a hole in the top of a brick?


 
To fish is to a fish what to crab and to frog are to a crab and a frog, respectively.

Just like you go fishing, you go crabbing and frogging.

That's why I put them together.


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## elroy

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> we also have animals that sound like verbs but are spelled differently
> 
> panda, bee, flea...


 
What does "panda" (as a verb) mean?


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## MarkLondres

elroy said:
			
		

> What does "panda" (as a verb) mean?


 
Pander = to gratify or indulge a person or weakness


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## MarkLondres

Crab turns out to be a fantastic verb

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=crab

as does pike

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pike


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## astronauta

to scapegoat
whaling (sort of like Chris Isak)
to rat fink



Such a good topic!!


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## elroy

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> Pander = to gratify or indulge a person or weakness


 
Ok, that's what I thought.  It would just have to be pronounced the British way.


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## elroy

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> Crab turns out to be a fantastic verb
> 
> http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=crab
> 
> as does pike
> 
> http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pike


 
Taking your lead, I looked up "frog" on dictionary.com but didn't find an entry for it as a verb.  Strange.  I could swear someone once told me it can be used to mean "to catch frogs."  Granted, this isn't a very common practice, so the usage is probably endemic, but I would have still expected dictionary.com to recognize it.


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## MarkLondres

ok this is my last submission on this thread because i am all animal´d out!

the following are all animals and verbs too 
Yak 
Skunk 
Pike (a fish) 
Carp (another fish) 
Tick (pulga)
Pen (a female swan)
Nag (an old horse)

Flicker Rail Snipe Knot Ruff & Rook are all birds that can be found in WR's dictionary (in bird form and verb form)

i also leave you with 6 more animals that sound like verbs but are spelled differently

tern (turn), boar (bore), nit (knit), stork (stalk), roe (row), whale (wail)

and finally three verbs from the plant kingdom.

Pine Birch and Hedge (i am sure there are more)

A big thanks to henrik for starting this thread, aside from learning a host of random animals and verbs in spanish i have enjoyed the discovery of this charming nuance of the english language.


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## Bill Rich

Panda is not a verb.

The word that you are thinking of is pander.

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skunk is a sports term that means not allow to score.  Get "0" points.

Example:  "How did the team do last night?"
              "Terrible!  They were skunked."


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## MarkLondres

yes panda is an animal that sounds like a verb but is spelled differently (see page 3)

skunk can also mean "to leave without paying"


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## astronauta

All right, since we are in the Spanish-English forum, how about animal names that are also verbs in Spanish??

I hereby begin:

Aran~ar - to scratch
Torear
Cabrear - to get upset
Perrear - to pursue a man/woman vehemently
Gatear -  to crawl
pajarear - to get distrcted


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## MarkLondres

are there any spanish animal verbs that mean the same as their english animal verb counterpart. one where the animal is the same, and the verb means the same although the animal and the verb are not directly related. i am trying to rule out fish/pescar.

her commences the search for the ultimate anglo-spanish animal verb


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## astronauta

I would think all the ones I listed may subscribe to that category except torear, which means to bull-fight....

I'll think of more!


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## MarkLondres

astronauta vegetariana said:
			
		

> All right, since we are in the Spanish-English forum, how about animal names that are also verbs in Spanish??
> 
> I hereby begin:
> 
> Aran~ar - to scratch
> Torear
> Cabrear - to get upset
> Perrear - to pursue a man/woman vehemently
> Gatear - to crawl
> pajarear - to get distrcted


 
maybe my last posting was in such random english that it was misunderstood. 
of the above list we only had *perrear* and *torear*.

to pursue a man/woman vehermently would be to *shark*

*to bull *in english obviously doesn't, mean *to fight bulls*
and *to dog *so far as i am aware means 
1. agobiar
2. hacer el amor de manera bruta
3. (BrE) Ver a otras haciendo el amor en coches estacionadas por la noche


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## Henrik Larsson

serpiente-serpentear

caracol-caracolear


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## Edwin

elroy said:
			
		

> Did anyone mention *fishing*, *crabbing*, and *frogging*?
> 
> And what about *crowing* and *sealing*?



Bird watchers go *birding*.


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## MarkLondres

The British verb to watch birds is *"to twitch"*


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## Mita

In Spanish:
Caballo --> cabalgar
Pez --> pescar
Mosca --> mosquear


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## Edwin

elroy said:
			
		

> Taking your lead, I looked up "frog" on dictionary.com but didn't find an entry for it as a verb.  Strange.  I could swear someone once told me it can be used to mean "to catch frogs."  Granted, this isn't a very common practice, so the usage is probably endemic, but I would have still expected dictionary.com to recognize it.



I think the ususal term is ''to go frogging'' or ''to go frog gigging''. A "gig'' is a spear used to catch frogs. I doubt if people say " I am going to frog tonight."


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## astronauta

Mark, stop bullying me!!!

Mita, mosquear en espen~ol es sospechar, gracias por recordarmelo!!!


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## GregorioC

to quail
to steer (sorry!)
to grub (?)
to kid


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## MarkLondres

hi gregorio, we have had steer, kid is a good one though. what does to quail mean


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## astronauta

Por cierto, en Espana decimos "marear la perdiz" para expresar que nos estan dando rollo, distrayendo.


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## Henrik Larsson

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> hi gregorio, we have had steer, kid is a good one though. what does to quail mean



i think that to quail = to feel intimidated


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## Edwin

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> hi gregorio, we have had steer, kid is a good one though. what does to quail mean



quail =   draw back, as with fear or pain



> Had it been only a killer, an armed criminal, he would have quailed in his boots before the purely physical threat, but this was different. ...


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## helenduffy

Does " to nit-pick" count?

To quail: to lose heart or courage in danger or difficulty, to cower, to flinch


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## paulita

Hola, 
tengo uno más para la lista "cock", significa también ladear (la cabeza) o levantar (una priena)


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## helenduffy

Hi, Here's another one: 
To carp: to complain or find fault
(A Carp is a kind of fish)


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## MarkLondres

Hmmm im not comfortable with nit-pick, but if we can have nit pick then we can have frog march, thus finding the elusive frog verb, nit pick is also up there with "tick"

quail i am inclined to agree is acceptable, we already have two cocks cock and cock (up)

carp is a great fish verb, along with flounder, drum, perch etc.

anyone for verbs from the plant kingdom?

Grass (up)
turf (out)...


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## Laia

astronauta vegetariana said:
			
		

> I would think all the ones I listed may subscribe to that category except torear, which means to bull-fight....
> 
> I'll think of more!


 
*Torear* no significa sólo bull-fight... 

- Entretener las esperanzas de alguien engañándole.
- Hacer burla de alguien.
- Fatigar, molestar a alguien, llamando su atención a diversas partes u objetos.
*-* Conducir hábilmente un asunto que se presenta difícil o embarazoso.

fuente: RAE

Por poner algún ejemplo: cuando un niño consigue siempre lo que quiere de sus padres, se dice que *este niño torea a sus padres*.


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## Christian

to porpoise (have an undulating path)


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## Edwin

MarkLondres said:
			
		

> anyone for verbs from the plant kingdom?
> 
> Grass (up)
> turf (out)...



Your dog may *tree* a possum.
Trees *flower* in the spring.
You can *plant* a tree.
One can *pine* for a lost love.


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## Laia

going on with the plant kingdom...
I know it's not a plant, but I've always admired the verb "to water".
He watered the plants.
Is like a picture in my mind!!!
(es muy visual)


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## MarkLondres

Laia said:
			
		

> going on with the plant kingdom...
> I know it's not a plant, but I've always admired the verb "to water".
> He watered the plants.
> Is like a picture in my mind!!!
> (es muy visual)


 
Earth, water, fire and air all verbs but not plants.

My favourite animal verb has to be COW

"The Bulls stand resolute, they will not be cowed by the cows".


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## Christian

two different cows.


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## astronauta

hehehe, to plant means something else...

Me ha dejao plantada = he stood me up.


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