different between cony vs coly

English

Alternative forms

• (rabbit): coney, cunny, connie

Etymology

From Middle English coni, from conies, borrowed from Anglo-Norman conis, the plural of conil, from Vulgar Latin *cuniclus (“rabbit”), from Latin cuniculus (“rabbit”), from Ancient Greek ???????? (kúniklos). The original pronunciation was /?k?ni/ (for the spelling compare honey and money), but the similarity to cunt (and particularly homophony with cunny) led through taboo avoidance both to the word's displacement in the main by rabbit and bunny and to the spelling pronunciation /?k??ni/ becoming standard. Compare Galician coello, Portuguese coelho, Italian coniglio, and Spanish conejo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k??ni/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?ko?ni/

  Rhymes: -??ni

Noun

cony (plural conies)

1. A rabbit, especially the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (formerly known as Lepus cuniculus).
2. (Britain, dialect) Rabbit fur.
3. Locally for other rabbit-like or hyrax-like animals, such as the Cape hyrax (das, dassie) or the pika (Ochotona princeps, formerly Lagomys princeps).
   1. Used in the Old Testament as a translation of Hebrew ??????? (shafan), thought to be the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis, syn. Hyrax syriacus).
4. (obsolete) A simpleton; one who may be taken in by a cony-catcher.
   • 1599, Diet's Dry Dinner:

     It is a most simple animal; whence are derived our usual phrases of cony and cony catcher.

5. An edible West Indian fish, a grouper given in different sources as: Epinephelus apua, the hind of Bermuda; nigger-fish, Epinephelus punctatus; Cephalopholis fulva.
6. Several species of tropical west Atlantic groupers of family Epinephelidae, such as the mutton hamlet, graysby, Cuban coney, and rooster hind.
7. (Britain, dialect) The burbot.
8. (obsolete) A woman; a sweetheart.

Synonyms

• (rabbit): bunny, hare
• (tropical West Atlantic groupers): coney
• (burbot): coney-fish

Translations

References

• cony in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• C[harles] T[albut] Onions, editor (1973) , “cony”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 3rd edition, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, OCLC 639811675, page 420
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3.

Anagrams

• coyn, cyno-, cyon

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin cunnus, compare Portuguese cona and Spanish coño.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?ko?/

Noun

cony m (plural conys)

1. (vulgar) vagina; vulva

Interjection

cony!

1. (vulgar) Expression of frustration or surprise.

Alternative forms

• coi (euphemistic)

Further reading

• “cony” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “cony” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “cony” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “cony” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

English

Wikispecies

Etymology

New Latin colius, probably from Ancient Greek ?????? (koliós, “a kind of woodpecker”).

Noun

coly (plural colies)

1. Any bird of either of the genera Colius or Urocolius, endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.
   • 1999, Michael A. Mares, Mousebird, entry in Encyclopedia of Deserts, page 378,

     Coliiformes is the only order of birds endemic to Africa. Six species from two genera (Urocolius and Colius) are recognized, all of which are sedentary. Mousebirds (also known as colies) range through sub-Saharan open savannas and are often common in such areas.

Usage notes

Extant species of order Coliiformes are classified into the genera Colius and Urocolius, both in family Coliidae.

Synonyms

• (bird): mousebird

See also

• Coliiformes (order)
• Coliidae (family)

Anagrams

• cloy