Edit:

Together they can make the combined-arms-gulls.

  • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    You have to go pretty far back (to proto-Celtic, it looks like) to find a linguistic ancestor for the word “gull” that doesn’t just mean “that specific bird.”

    But in proto-Celtic, it looks like “weilanna” probably meant “wailer.” As in, “one who wails,” though we don’t know exactly what the suffix “-anna” means. A similar word in that language would’ve been “wailos,” which even though it sounds similar seems to have been unrelated to our modern term “wolf,” as it comes from a different proto-indo-european root.

    Anyway, the word “gull” does refer to the sounds that it makes more than anything else. So in figuring out what a landgull, airgull, and firegull might be, we need to find something noisy. Or just something annoying, given the derisive connotation of “wail.”

    Edit: This is, of course, assuming that we’re looking for different existing types of animals to be these creatures, rather than just (for instance) creating new, elemental forms of gulls; or “reskinning” seagulls with different elements; or inventing all-new animals to fill those roles.

    • jaybone@lemmy.zip
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      6 hours ago

      Wailos or wailer is wolf, is that because they “wail” (howl?) Or is that just a coincidence?

    • Nougat@fedia.io
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      10 hours ago

      I propose that cobras be referred to as firegulls. The hissing for the noise, and the venom spit into your eyes is “hot” (spicy).