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Why 'bunny'?

dizzyg

Warren Veteran
Question of the day...

Why do we call them bunnies?

Where does the word come from?

:rabbit2::bunny:
 
I'm not sure where the word comes from but it's the word for baby rabbits, isn't it? :? Well, I know newborns rabbits are called kits...but somehow i'm thinking that young rabbits that are weaned are called bunnies :?
 
Why is carpet called carpet? :lol: it's not a pet in the form of a car and it isn't a pet of the car. :?
 
Seems "bun" could ave been an old english dialect word for many small game creatures such as squirrels and rabbits..first recorded in the 16th century
them changed to bunny as a term of endearment for the cuddly pets they can be
 
I just googled this...

The word bunny bears no resemblance to rabbit, so, where does it come from? Curiously, bunny is closer to the original word and for centuries rabbit was applied only to the young of the species. Until the 18th century the most common word for these creatures was cony, hence Coney Island where settlers found an abundance of rabbits. The word cony was not pronounced as the Coney in Coney Island, however. It was pronounced "cunny". Unfortunately, cunny was also the common English word for a certain unmentionable part of the feminine anatomy. When faced with the task of naming this species in public, delicately-raised souls had two options. They could either use the word for the animal's young (rabbit) or they could deliberately mispronounce cony as (you guessed it) bunny.
 
I just googled this...

The word bunny bears no resemblance to rabbit, so, where does it come from? Curiously, bunny is closer to the original word and for centuries rabbit was applied only to the young of the species. Until the 18th century the most common word for these creatures was cony, hence Coney Island where settlers found an abundance of rabbits. The word cony was not pronounced as the Coney in Coney Island, however. It was pronounced "cunny". Unfortunately, cunny was also the common English word for a certain unmentionable part of the feminine anatomy. When faced with the task of naming this species in public, delicately-raised souls had two options. They could either use the word for the animal's young (rabbit) or they could deliberately mispronounce cony as (you guessed it) bunny.

:shock: Wow, that's really interesting, I never would have thought there was actually a story behind it.
 
I just googled this...

The word bunny bears no resemblance to rabbit, so, where does it come from? Curiously, bunny is closer to the original word and for centuries rabbit was applied only to the young of the species. Until the 18th century the most common word for these creatures was cony, hence Coney Island where settlers found an abundance of rabbits. The word cony was not pronounced as the Coney in Coney Island, however. It was pronounced "cunny". Unfortunately, cunny was also the common English word for a certain unmentionable part of the feminine anatomy. When faced with the task of naming this species in public, delicately-raised souls had two options. They could either use the word for the animal's young (rabbit) or they could deliberately mispronounce cony as (you guessed it) bunny.

Thank you Boudicca. You've solved 2 mysteries for me. :) "Polite" midwives used to refer to the cotton wool filled pad used on the "feminine anatomy" after childbirth as a "bunny" too. I could never understand how there could possibly be a relationship until now. Thank you.
 
I just googled this...

The word bunny bears no resemblance to rabbit, so, where does it come from? Curiously, bunny is closer to the original word and for centuries rabbit was applied only to the young of the species. Until the 18th century the most common word for these creatures was cony, hence Coney Island where settlers found an abundance of rabbits. The word cony was not pronounced as the Coney in Coney Island, however. It was pronounced "cunny". Unfortunately, cunny was also the common English word for a certain unmentionable part of the feminine anatomy. When faced with the task of naming this species in public, delicately-raised souls had two options. They could either use the word for the animal's young (rabbit) or they could deliberately mispronounce cony as (you guessed it) bunny.

The Latin for rabbit is cuniculus, which literally means a little c**t.
 
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