# snail, slug



## silver frog

Hello! How do you say *snail* or *slug* in your language?

Please note a snail has a shell, while a slug doesn't. Some languages however may use a single expression for both. 

These are the terms I know of:

Italian
snail: chiocciola, lumaca (incorrect but common)
slug: limaccia, lumaca

French
snail: escargot
slug: limace

German
snail: Schnecke

Swedish
snail: snäcka

Spanish
snail: caracol
slug: babosa

Thanks!


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
Snail: «Σαλίγκαρος» (sa'liŋgaros _masculine noun_) or colloquially «Σαλιγκάρι» (saliŋ'gari _neuter noun_). It derives from the Byzantine «Σάλιακας» ('saʎakas _masculine noun_) or its diminutive «σαλιακάριον» (saʎa'karion _neuter noun_). In Ancient Greek it was called «κοχλίας» (kox'lias _masculine noun_) from PIE Base *konkh-, _mussel, shellfish_, cognate with English _conch_.
Slug: «Γυμνοσάλιαγκος» (ʝimno'saʎaŋ'gos _masculine noun_) lit. "naked-snail".

[ŋ] is a velar nasal 
[x] is a voiceless velar fricative, known as the hard ch
[ʝ] is a voiced palatal fricative
[ʎ] is a palatal lateral approximant


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## Favara

Catalan
snail: cargol, caragol
slug: llimac


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## Outsider

Portuguese
snail: caracol
slug: lesma


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## Hakro

*Finnish:*

Colloquially both snail and slug are called _etana_, but in fact the animal with a shell should be called _kotilo_. On the other hand, _kotilo(t)_ means a whole species of animals.


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## ilocas2

Most used in colloquial Czech:

snail - šnek
slug - slimák

there are some other names, more scientific


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## hui

Hakro said:


> *Finnish:*
> 
> Colloquially both snail and slug are called _etana_, but in fact the animal with a shell should be called _kotilo_. On the other hand, _kotilo(t)_ means a whole species of animals.



The root of _kotilo_ is either _koti_ (home) or _kota_ (a Saami hut similar to a teepee).


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## phosphore

Serbian:

snail - puž
slug - puž golać


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## Rallino

In Turkish:

Slug:* Sülük*
Snail: *Salyangoz* or *Sümüklüböcek*


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## rusita preciosa

Russian: same word for both *улитка* /ulitka/

Sometimes the slug is called *слизняк* /sliznyak/ (colloquial word meaning something like "slimer")


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## Orlin

phosphore said:


> Serbian:
> 
> snail - puž
> slug - puž golać


Bulgarian:
snail - охлюв (ohlyuv);
slug - гол охлюв/плужак (gol ohlyuv/pluzhak).
The differentiation is roughly the same: the adjective гол = naked indicates that a slug has no shell, and a different word (though rare) can also be used for a slug.


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## ThomasK

[Moderator's Note: Merged with a previous thread]
A slimy topic, but... How do you translate (and distinguish) those ? Which inspire metaphorical use/ expressions?

Dutch: both *slakken*, one *huisjesslak *(house-...), the other *naaktslak *(naked ...).

Metaphor/E: *zo traag als een slak *(as slow as), maybe *uit zijn schelp komen *(to leave one's shell, to show oneself, take courage)


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## apmoy70

Hi TK (long time no see)

In Greek:

*Snail:* «Σαλίγκαρος» [sa'liɳgaros] (masc.) < Byz. Gr. masc. noun «σαλίγκας» [sa'liɳgas] (from Κoine Gr. «σιαλικός» sĭăli'kŏs (masc.) --> _pertaining to saliva_ < «σίελος» 'sĭĕlŏs (masc.) --> _saliva_, with obscure etymology) + masc. magnifying suffix «-αρος» (-aros), or colloquially, «σαλιγκάρι» [saliɳ'gari] (neut.) <  Byz. Gr. masc. noun «σαλίγκας» [sa'liɳgas] + neut. diminutive suffix «-άρι(ον)» (-ari(on)). Both are used equally and interchangeably.
*Slug:* «Γυμνοσάλιαγκας» [ʝimno'saʎaɳgas] (masc.) < Classical adj. «γυμνός, -ὴ, -όν» gŭ'mnŏs (masc.), gŭmnḕ (fem.), gŭ'mnŏn (neut.) --> _naked, nude_ (PIE base *nogʷ-, _nude, naked_; cf Skt. नग्न (nagna), Lat. adj. nūdus (masc.),  nūda (fem.), nūdum (neut.) > Fr. nu/nue, It. nudo/nuda, Eng. nude; Proto-Germanic *nakwathaz > Ger. nacht, Eng. naked, Dutch naakt) + Byz. Gr. masc. noun «σαλίγκας» [sa'liɳgas] (folkish «σάλιαγκας» ['saʎaɳgas]). Therefeore, «γυμνοσάλιαγκας» is the naked «σαλίγκαρος».

In Ancient Greek, different dialects had different names for the snail: «Kοχλίας» kŏ'xlias (masc.) --> _snail with a spiral cell_ (with obscure etymology) > Modern Cretan regiolect «χοχλιός» [xox'ʎos] (masc.), «σέσιλος» 'sĕsīlŏs (masc.) & «σέσηλος» 'sĕsēlŏs (masc.) --> _snail with a spiral cell_ (with obscure etymology), «νηρείτης» nē'reitēs (masc.) --> _sea-snail with a spiral cell_ (with obscure etymology, cf Lith. nerti, with general meaning _to dive, swim_); unfortunately the only ancient name for the slug I was able to discover is the one given by Hesychius: «Σέμελος» 'sĕmĕlŏs (masc.).
Ι can't remember any metaphor we use with either the snail or the slug as protagonists (the main hero in our metaphors for slowness, unhurriedness, is the turtle/tortoise).


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## DearPrudence

In *French*:

*a snail: un escargot* 
Apparently comes from Occitan "escargol" / "caragol" so you'll have to ask them what it means originally 

Related expression:
*un escargot* = a slow person
*sortir de sa coquille* (literally: _get out of your shell_) = open up

And far less common, apparently also:
"*un **limaçon / un colimaçon*"

"*colimaçon*" is used in the expression "*escalier en colimaçon*" (spiral staircase)

For the etymology, just copying wiktionnaire:
Du normand _calimachon_ (« escargot »), anciennement _caillemasson_, composé de _écale_ et _limaçon_, c’est-à-dire « limaçon à coquille ».


*a slug = une limace*
Figuratively, you can also use it to refer to a slow person.


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## ThomasK

I suppose the _calimachon _and the Greek _kochlias _could be related. But interesting to hear that turtles are models for slowness; we can use that too and I see that in Amsterdam turtle thresholds , _*schildpaddrempels*_, are used to slow down the trafic.


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## ahmedcowon

In Arabic:

*snail*: حلزون /ħalazoon/, the root "حلزن ħ-l-z-n" is not used by any other word

*slug*: بزاقة /baz'zaaqa/ related to بزاق /buzaaq/ "spitting"


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## ThomasK

Spitting? A spitting animal, or does that refer to the slimy matter at the bottom? BTW: _slimak _in Russian , so I read, but I don't know to which (slug/ snail) it refers... 

Just by the way: these little creatures are called gastropods, bellyfeet. I love that kind of... imagination...


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## إسكندراني

As in 'it looks like spit' 
And I don't know which language حلزون (Halazo:n) is from, but we use it to mean 'spiral' as well.


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## ThomasK

Sorry, just trying to be funny - or could there be a link with the slime?


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## Ghabi

Hi! _bazzaaqa_ is like "one who spits all the time" in terms of morphology, and I don't find it funny since we call the critter "snot worm" (鼻涕蟲) in Cantonese.


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## Encolpius

ThomasK said:


> A slimy topic, but... How do you translate (and distinguish) those ? Which inspire metaphorical use/ expressions?
> 
> Dutch: both *slakken*, one *huisjesslak *(house-...), the other *naaktslak *(naked ...).
> 
> Metaphor/E: *zo traag als een slak *(as slow as), maybe *uit zijn schelp komen *(to leave one's shell, to show oneself, take courage)



- why do you use plural slakken and not just slak?  Any intention? 
- as for the magyar we use the "German/Ducth" model 
slak 1.> csiga [the origin is unknown]
slak 2. > salak [the origin is German < schlagen] 
snail > házas csiga [huisjes+slak]
slug > meztelen csiga [naakt+slak]

Czech: they do not know nakedness > snail hlemýžď or in spoken: šnek [<German] - slug slimák [ like Schleim, slime]
Polish, Slovak not distinguished, I think, use 1 word: slimák (sk), ślimak (pl)
Slovene, BSC: snail > polž (sl), puž (bsc), the word plž exist in Czech, too [plž<plzký slimy] - slug polž slinar [slimy] (sl), puž golać [naked] (bsc)
....


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## ThomasK

Well, I only meant that we can use the same word for both, that the animals' names are just kind of compounds based on the element _slak_.

Thanks for your information!


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## bibax

I should add that the modern (from 19th c.) Czech scientific terminology is rather artificial. *Hlemýžď* now means _snail_ but in Old Czech it meant also _turtle_ (now *želva*, a loan from Polish) and in some region even _earthworm (dew worm)_. *Plž* means _gastropod_ (generally) < plaziti se = _to slither_ (as a snail).

*hlemýždí tempo* = snail pace/rate/tempo;
*pomalý jako hlemýžď/šnek* = slow like a snail;


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## ThomasK

This is funny in both senses: that turtles and snail are seen as somehow considered related.​


Encolpius said:


> slak 2. > salak [the origin is German < schlagen]
> ....


Well, my Dutch etymological dictionary refers to an adj. _slac_, meaning slow. I suppose that is more plausible.


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## Outsider

In Portuguese, snail is *caracol*. Spanish has the same word, the origin of which, according to the DRAE, is Latin *cochleāre*_._

Slug in Portuguese is *lesma*, from Latin *limax*, *limacis* according to the Priberam online dictionary. (So it seems to be a cognate of French _limace_.) This word is used figuratively for slow or lazy people, and also in some regions to mean a sleazy person (in a sexual sense).

The Spanish word for slug appears to be *babosa*, which literally means "drooling" or "slobbering".


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## Ghabi

In Chinese "snail" (蝸牛) is often associated with one's dwelling: one may refer to one's poky apartment as one's "snail (shell) abode" (蝸居), and those who can't afford to buy a flat, which mean most people in present-day China, can be called "shell-less snails" (無殼蝸牛).

The ancient poets and philosophers also seem to be fascinated by the lovely creature. There is the classical saying "a war fought on the tentacle of a snail" (蝸角之爭), meaning "a storm in a teacup", and the trails left by the gastropod (on walls etc) is known as "snail script/writing" (蝸篆).


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## ThomasK

Thanks, O and G. This caracol is tempt us into an excursus [which does not sound very good in English], but I recognize the general idea of slowness: Dutch _slakkengang_, a snail's pace, and then _snail mail _in English, a lovely word for _surface mail _(right?). 

Snail shells as dwellings: not familiar with that metaphor, I must say... 

The cultural-historic reference with regard to Chinese is interesting...


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## AutumnOwl

In Swedish en _snigel/flera sniglar_ are a slug/many slugs, and en _snäcka/flera snäckor_ are a snail/many snails, but usually those air-breathing snails living on land are called _snigel_, the same as for slugs, while the snails living in water are called _snäcka_. I would call this a_ snigel,_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_snail , the only land-living snail I would call _snäcka _is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_pomatia , _vinbergssnäcka_, because its size. They are not native in Sweden, but I do see them now and then on my way to work every summer, as they have survived here since medieval times when they were imported by monks.

As for snails as a metaphor, to say _"att dra sig inom sitt skal"_, to withdraw into ones shell, is an expression for someone who is timid and shy or someone afraid to be hurt. The Swedish poet Karin Boye used that comparison in her poem _"Till en sfinx"_ http://www.karinboye.se/verk/dikter/dikter/till-en-sfinx.shtml , the English translation uses the not so poetic word mollusc.


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## ThomasK

That reminds me of the Viking _snäcka/snäckor_, or is there no link? - And thanks for the reference to the poem (and the translation).


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