# Ladybug



## rusita preciosa

In your language, what do you call that funny little red bug with black dots? 
 
English: *ladybug* - well, at least that makes some sense given the color, 
 
but
 
Russian: *божья коровка* [bojia korovka] - God's little cow


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
Η πασχαλίτσα 
i pasxal*i*tsa, _f._
lit. "Easter's little thing", probably because it appears during Easter (Πάσχα, P*a*sxa, in Greek).
[x] is a voiceless velar fricative, like a hard ch.


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## enoo

French : *Coccinelle* ou *bête à bon dieu *(that 2nd one translates as ~ "kind god's creature")


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## Dr. Quizá

Spanish: Mariquita (which also means gay or effeminate), vaquitas de San Antonio (Saint Anthony's little cow) and probably more names. It seems they are also called "lady cows" in English.


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## Encolpius

Hello, this can be an interesting thread, I hope many will participate. 

I personally like more the British *ladybird*, but I am wondering what other regional variants native English speakers know. 

We Hungarians use *katicabogár *(lit. Catherine's bug), but I call it *katalinka* (from Catherine, Kate, Kitty), BUT I know the regional variant *Isten tehénkéje* (lit.: God's little cow), never knew the Russian word.


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## Hakro

In *Finnish*:

*Leppäkerttu* or *leppäpirkko
*
Leppä is an old word for blood, here referring to the red colour of the bug. Both Kerttu and Pirkko are common female names, even today.


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## bibax

Latin: *coccinella*

from adj. coccinus (red, purple) from coccus/coccum (< Gr. kókkos, _a berry_)

Czech: *slunéčko sedmitečné* (scientific name, seven-dotted little-sun) or *beruška* (the most common colloquial name, a feminine/diminutive from beran _ram_)

Other regional names (mostly forgotten nowadays): bedrunka, medrunka, bedrnička, baruška, berunka, verunka, korunka, okorunka, peperunka, veverunka, pinkalinka, pinka, linka, ankalinka, apolinka, babrdlinka, babulinka, majdalinka, papulinka, popelinka, zlatolinka, halinka, halenka, helenka, kalinka, pólinka, skálinka, pelesa, pelesta;

pámbíčkova kravička (God's little cow), pámbíčkova ovečka (God's little sheep), pánbíčkova slepička (God's little hen), marianka (< Mary), mariječka (< Mary), panenečka (little virgin), babička sedmibolestná (seven-painfull grannie);

and many others.


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## jazyk

In Portuguese: joaninha (literally little Jane, little Joanna, or variations of said name).


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## FabiArgentina

What an interesting thread!
In Argentina they are called vaquitas de San Antonio (Saint Anthony's little cows)
I didn't know that in Brazil they call them joaninhas ( juanitas in Spanish, little Joan/ Jane) here, when we see a juanita (little Jane) we see a different bug, a dark one with a terrible odor and when it urinates on you, it burns your skin... but that's an issue for another thread


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## Favara

Catalan:
Panerola -> I'm not sure about the etimology.


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## Tamar

In Hebrew it's פרת משה רבנו  [parat moshe rabenu] 
para=cow, Moshe Rabenu=Moses.


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## Nizo

In *Esperanto*:

kokcinelo, Di-besto (_God-animal_), Maria-skarabo (_Mary beetle_).


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## Mahaodeh

In Arabic, its دعسوقة = da'souqa. Simply the name of the bug.


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## Malti

Encolpius said:


> I personally like more the British *ladybird*, but I am wondering what other regional variants native English speakers know.



Where I grew up (Devon) they were sometimes called *godscows *(God's cows), or more often *ladyflies* instead of ladybirds.


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## Joannes

In Dutch: *lieveheersbeestje* (equivalent of *bête à bon dieu*)

In West-Flemish: *pimpampoentje*.

More regional names on http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieveheersbeestjes#Etymologie


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## MoisesYU

In Chinese we call all this kind of insect 瓢虫(piáo chóng).


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## rusita preciosa

MoisesYU said:


> In Chinese we call all this kind of insect 瓢虫(piáo chóng).


 Does that mean anything else or it's just the name of the insect?


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## MoisesYU

rusita preciosa said:


> Does that mean anything else or it's just the name of the insect?


 
It just means the insect.


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## kusurija

In Lithuanian:
Boružė _or _boružytė. 

In Japanese:
天道虫 _or_ 瓢虫 _or_ 紅娘[tento:mushi] (all 3) meaning: _approx._ insect of sky path (of Sun (God)) (IMHO it would be the same meaning as in Chinese)
_or_ 七星天道虫 [nanahoshitento:mushi] meaning: _approx._ insect of sky path with 7 stars/spots


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## fsabroso

Dr. Quizá said:


> Spanish: Mariquita (which also means gay or effeminate), vaquitas de San Antonio (Saint Anthony's little cow) and probably more names. It seems they are also called "lady cows" in English.


Hi:

In Spanish:

Perú, España - *Mariquitas*
España- *Sarantonton*
Chile - *Chinitas*
Argentina - *vaquitas de San Antonio
*Uruguay - *San Antonio
*México *- Vaquitas, Catarinas*
Colombia -* Petaca

From: *Lady Bug [ladybug], lady bird beetle [ladybird], mariquita, chinita, Vaquita de San Antonio, catarina, petaca.


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## rusita preciosa

kusurija said:


> In Lithuanian:
> Boružė _or _boružytė.


Does it mean anything else or it's just the name be the insect?


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## Erick404

Is there a reason for it being called a "cow" in so many languages?


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## MoisesYU

Erick404 said:


> Is there a reason for it being called a "cow" in so many languages?


 
I do not quiet understand. Ladybug is cow?? or in others languages it has the name like XXXcow?? In Chinese also exist a kind of insect called 天牛（cow of sky）,but these two kinds of insect are not the same.


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## bibax

> I do not quite understand. Ladybug is cow?? or in others languages it has the name like XXXcow??


Ladybug is called _God's (little) cow_ in English, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, ... (Russian and Czech use diminutives - the cow is too big).


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## rusita preciosa

Erick404 said:


> Is there a reason for it being called a "cow" in so many languages?


 I noticed the same! Actually, I see three consistent themes:
- cow
- female (various female names, lady-bug/bird/fly)
- religion (God, saints, Easter...)

Fascinating!


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## Joannes

From the web page I linked to before:



> De naam lieveheersbeestje is een herinnering aan de tijd dat de Germanen in Europa gekerstend werden. De bestaande Germaanse naam voor het kevertje, _Freyafugle_, vogel van de godin Freya, werd verchristelijkt tot onzelievevrouwebeestje of lieveheersbeestje. De eerste vertaling leeft voort in het Duits (_Marienkäfer_) en Engels (_ladybird_ of _ladybug_ ); de tweede in het Nederlands en Frans (_bête à bon Dieu_, al is _coccinelle_ gebruikelijker). De Franse naam is in het Iers verbasterd tot _bóín Dé_, wat ook _Gods koetje_ kan betekenen.


 
'The term *lieveheersbeestje* remembers of the time the Germanic peoples were christianized. The existing Germanic name for the bug, *Freyafugle*, 'bird of the goddess Freya', was christianized to *onzelievevrouwebeestje* or *lieveheersbeestje*. The first 'translation' lives on in German (*Marienkäfer*) and English (*ladybird* or *ladybug*); the second one in Dutch, French (*bête à bon Dieu*, although *coccinelle* is more common). The French term got to be imported in Irish as *bóín Dé*, which can also mean 'God's little cow'.'

Now are we to believe all the 'cow' versions actually originated in the Irish reinterpretation?


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## kusurija

rusita preciosa said:


> Originally Posted by *kusurija*
> In Lithuanian:
> Boružė _or _boružytė.
> 
> Does it mean anything else or it's just the name be the insect?


In Lithuanian, as I know, it means only that insect. Boružytė is diminutive from boružė. Boružė came maybe from slavic languages (cf. Czech beruška).
Also Borusija is alternative name (in Lithuanian as not accurate) for Prūsija (Engl.: Prussia). But it is only similar word, which has nothing to do with Boružė. 
Hope this helped and sorry, that I can't explain better about how it came from slavic languages.


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## furs

It's coccinella in Italian (same as in Latin).


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## Maroseika

Joannes said:


> Now are we to believe all the 'cow' versions actually originated in the Irish reinterpretation?



This motive is much more ancient, cf. Ancient-Indian indragopa - "the one who's heardsman Indra is". 

More examples of the "cow motive" (from those not mentioned yet):
Bulg. божа кравица, кравичка 
Polish  boża krówka
Lith. diçvo karvýtë
Roman. vaca domnului
Serbian божjа овчица (God's sheep)
Germ. Herrgottschaffchen (God's sheep)
Fr. poulette a Dieu (God's hen)

"Sun motive":
Upper Sorbian бože stónèko (God's sun)
Ukrain. сонечко (little sun)
Germ. Sonnen-Käfer (sunny bug); Sonnen-Kälbchen (sunny calf)
Mongolian цог хорхой (hot insect)


Motive of Virgin Mary:
Ossetian майрæмы карк - Mary's hen


Another motives:
Turc gelin böceği - bride's insect
Tajik халилихӯрак, какана - don't know etymology, maybe somebody knows?


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## kusurija

Maroseika said:


> This motive is much more ancient, cf. Ancient-Indian indragopa - "the one who's heardsman Indra is".
> 
> More examples of the "cow motive"
> ...
> ...
> Polish boża krówka
> Lithuanian diçvo karvýtë dievo karvytė: _I'm not sure, if this is in ordinary use, I'm afraid its used rarely _
> Roman. vaca domnului
> ...
> ...
> Tajik халилихӯрак, какана - don't know etymology, maybe somebody knows?


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## Miguel Antonio

jazyk said:


> In Portuguese: joaninha (literally little Jane, little Joanna, or variations of said name).


In Galician there are two forms:
- _Xoaniña_ (litte Jane)
- _Maruxiña_ (little Mary, like the Spanish _mariquita_)



MoisesYU said:


> I do not quiet understand. Ladybug is cow?? or in others languages it has the name like XXXcow?? In Chinese also exist a kind of insect called 天牛（cow of sky）,but these two kinds of insect are not the same.


In Galician, the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) is called _vacaloura _, i.e. "blonde cow".


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## Awwal12

2*Rusita Preciosa:*


> I noticed the same! Actually, I see three consistent themes:
> - cow
> - female (various female names, lady-bug/bird/fly)
> - religion (God, saints, Easter...)
> 
> Fascinating!


Спокойно, спокойно!  Everything in linguistics has rational explanation.
1. About the "phemale" theme. In Enlish "ladybird", "Lady" just means the Mother of the God (well, according to Wiki). I wouldn't mark such a theme out as separte one, after all. Or it may be related to some pre-Christian goddess... in some cases.
2. About the "cow" theme - well, but ladybird's dots should remind spots on the cow, shouldn't they?  Furthermore, ladybird is quite slow too, and also has large body with comparatively small legs.
3. About the "religion" theme - I must note that this insect is quite useful for farmers, because it feeds on greenflies. 
About the systematization of the collected data - it would be useful to classify them depending on language group and family.

By the way, there is a term for ladybirds in Japanese, but do ladybirds inhabit Japan?


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## rusita preciosa

Awwal12 said:


> 2*Rusita Preciosa:*
> 
> Спокойно, спокойно!  Everything in linguistics has rational explanation.
> About the systematization of the collected data - it would be useful to classify them depending on language group and family.


 
I did meet my objectives of posting this question, thanks to all contributors, and I am happy with the outcome.
 
Please feel free to conduct the "data systematization exercise" just as you mentioned here, and we will all enjoy the results. 
 
(And yes, let's chill out).


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## alFarrob

Miguel Antonio said:


> In Galician, the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) is called _vacaloura _, i.e. "blonde cow".



In portuguese, too.


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## apmoy70

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:
> Η πασχαλίτσα
> i pasxal*i*tsa, _f._
> lit. "Easter's little thing", probably because it appears during Easter (Πάσχα, P*a*sxa, in Greek).
> [x] is a voiceless velar fricative, like a hard ch.


I apologize for quoting my self, but besides «πασχαλίτσα» [pasxa'lit͡sa] (fem.) --> _Easter's little thing_, it's also named «λαμπρίτσα» [lam'brit͡sa] (fem.) after the colloquial name for Easter, «Λαμπρή» [lam'bri] (fem) --> _bright [day]_, and «μαρουδίτσα» [maru'ðit͡sa] (fem.) --> _little Mary_. The names «πασχαλίτσα» [pasxa'lit͡sa] (fem.), «λαμπρίτσα» [lam'brit͡sa] (fem.) and «μαρουδίτσα» [maru'ðit͡sa] (fem.) are diminutives.


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## ancalimon

In Turkish we call them:

Uğur böceği

böcek: bug
böceği: the bug of

uğur: augury, omen, luck

When a ladybug is on you, you wish something and if the bug flies (naturally it always does) your wish comes true. 

Also,  uğurla: bid someone godspeed

Also

The word UĞUR might be related with the word Oğuz (Oghuz) and Ogur. And the words Oghuz and Ogur might be related with the word ÖKÜZ meaning ox~bull in different contexts. (the word Oghuz~Ogur means different things in different contexts)


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## AutumnOwl

*Swedish:*
_Nyckelpiga_ (old: _Jungfru Marie nyckelpiga_) - key (serving)maid/housekeeper; nyckel (key) related to close (something) and piga - female servant; someone in charge of the housekeys, Virgin Marys's keykeeper
Dialectal words:
_Gullhöna_ - golden hen is the most common
_Jes vallpika_ - Jesus and vallpiga = a young girl who takes care of the cattle when they are out grazing
_Jeshöna_ - Jesus hen
_Gullko_ - golden cow
Akahynä (Gutnic name, island of Gotland) - aka = ??, hynä = hen


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## Grefsen

AutumnOwl said:


> *Swedish:*
> _Gullhöna_ - golden hen is the most common


Instead of "golden hen," it's "Mary's hen" in *Norwegian:*

marihøne


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## Encolpius

Farsi > [kafsh-dooz-ak] < little shoe maker < kafsh (shoe) + dooz (maker) + ak (little), in Persian adjectives follow nouns


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## AutumnOwl

MoisesYU said:


> I do not quiet understand. Ladybug is cow?? or in others languages it has the name like XXXcow??


If you look closely at a ladybug you will see that she have two small horns on her head, just like a cow: *http://tinyurl.com/cksm2or*


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## Youngfun

As somebody already said, in Italian it's _coccinella_, the same as Latin. Somebody knows what the Latin word means?



rusita preciosa said:


> Does that mean anything else or it's just the name of the insect?


You want to know the literal meaning of 瓢虫, right?
The second part 虫 means "insect".
The first part 瓢 had 2 meaning shift. Originally it means gourd. The gourd is then cut in half, each one is used as a gourd ladle: this is another meaning of 瓢.
The ladybug is like a half-sphere, similar in shape with the gourd ladle.

That is the Standard Chinese and scientific word.
There are lots of regional terms. According Wikipedia: *胖小 *(fat little)、*红娘 *(red lady)、*花大姐 *(flower big sister)、*金龟*、*金龟子* (these two: golden [little] turtle). Some species make stinky secretions and are called *臭龟子 *(stinky little turtle). And probably a hundred more regional terms looking in all the Chinese topolects.

In particular, the species _Coccinella septempunctata, _which is the most common in Europe and is also very common in North America, is called *七星瓢虫 *- ladybug with seven stars/spots.
Some are the same as Japanese, the latter one only partially the same.

In my native dialect (Qingtianese) it's called *拉屁龟龟 *- lit. farting turtle-turtle; regardless if it stinks or not. The repetition of the noun twice in Chinese indicates "cuteness".
As an off-topic curiosity, the speakers of my dialect living in Italy use this nickname to call the old Fiat 500.


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## AutumnOwl

Youngfun said:


> As somebody already said, in Italian it's _coccinella_, the same as Latin. Somebody knows what the Latin word means?


*Coccinelid* is derived from the Latin word _coccineus_ meaning _scarlet_. 


*^* Brown, L., ed. (2007). _The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary_. *1* (6 ed.). pp. 441.

There is also an insect named cochineal, which is used to make scarlet dye, used both for fabrics and cosmetics, as well as in food (dead lice on your lips and in your food  )


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## apmoy70

Youngfun said:


> As somebody already said, in Italian it's _coccinella_, the same as Latin. Somebody knows what the Latin word means?


Hi Youngfun,

The name derives from the Latinized name *coccus*, of Gr. *«κόκκος» kókkŏs* (masc.) --> _the berry of Quercus Coccifer_, used in ancient times for extracting the pigment for dyeing red colour. Interestingly, the colloquial name of colour red in Modern (and Koine & Byzantine) Greek, is *«κόκκινο»* ['kocino] --> _pertaining to coccus_.
 The etymology of *«κόκκος» kókkŏs* is obscure (some philologists see a possible link with the Spanish *cuesco*)


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## Youngfun

Thanks, AutumnOwl and apmoy70. The ladybug is a fascinating insect.


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## marco_2

In Polish it is *biedronka. *The etymology is not clear - according to Bruckner it comes from an old adjective _biedry, _which meant the same as Russian бодрый (cheerful, bright). In some dialects there is also *boża krówka *(God's little cow). My grandfather, who came from eastern Poland, used also the noun *zozulka*, which was used in some Ukrainian dialects (_zazula / zezula / zozula _also means _a cuckoo _in many Slavic dialects).


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