Animal Names-1: How did donkey get its names

We are starting a long journey with our ancestors. It is like going back in a time machine to as far back as 200,000 year in human history to find out why and how our ancestors created the first words and how these words underwent repeated mutations in their passage to us. It is also like going on a biological expedition in the past to experience the magic moments when our ancestors encountered a new plant or an animal and needed a word to communicate that experience to other members of their population.  Let’s imagine the feelings of our ancestor at their first view and experience of a donkey braying denchu-denchu melodiously! How would they have described the experience to the others?  Perhaps by repeating the sound denchu-denchu just as a child mimics bho-bho or meon-meon of dog and cat respectively. And how the new word would have been transmitted down the generations?

Transmission of word – channel 1

Original communication

DENCHU DENCHU  डेंचू डेंचू

D

E

N

CH

U

D

E

N

CH

U

1st mutation ( CH>K, च>क)

DENKU DENKU डेंकू डेंकू

D

E

N

K

U

D

E

N

K

U

2nd mutation (E>O; ए>ओ)

DONKU DONKU  डोंकू डोंकू

D

O

N

K

U

D

O

N

K

U

3rd mutation (U>EY; उ>ई)

DONKEY DONKEY डोंकी डोंकी

D

O

N

K

EY

D

O

N

K

EY

Transmission of word – channel 2 (diversion from channel 1 after the first mutation)

Original communication

DENCHU DENCHU  डेंचू डेंचू

D

E

N

CH

U

D

E

N

CH

U

1st mutation (CH>K; च>क)

DENKU DENKU डेंकू डेंकू

D

E

N

K

U

D

E

N

K

U

2nd mutation (D>DH; द>ध)

DHENKU DHENKU धेंकू धेंकू

DH

E

N

K

U

DH

E

N

K

U

3rd mutation (K>G; क>ग)

DHENGU DHENGU धेंगु धेंगु

DH

E

N

G

U

DH

E

N

G

U

4th   mutation (U>A; उ>आ)

DHENGA DHENGA धेंगा धेंगा

DH

E

N

G

A

DH

E

N

G

A

5th mutation (E>A; ए>अ)

DHANGA DHANGA धंगा धंगा

DH

A

N

G

A

DH

A

N

G

A

6th mutation (deletion of N; न का लोप)

DHAGA DHAGA धगा धागा

DH

A

G

A

DH

A

G

A

7th mutation (inversion of sequence; अक्षरों का क्रम उलट)

GADHA गधा Hindi, Urdu, word

G

A

DH

A

8th mutation (G>KH; ग>ख)

KHADHA खधा

KH

A

DH

A

9th  mutation (DH>T; ध>त)

KHATA खता

KH

A

T

A

10th mutation (A>O; आ>ओ)

KHOTA खोता Punjabi word

KH

O

T

A

Transmission of word – channel 3 (diversion from channel 2 after the 7^th mutaion)

7th mutation (inversion of sequence; अक्षरों का क्रम उलटा)	GADHA,गधा Hindi, Urdu, word				G	A	DH	A
8th mutation (addition of BHAR meaning burden; भार शब्द का जुड़ना)	GADHA + BHAR			G	A	DH	A	BH		A	R
9th  mutation (rearrangement of sequence; (क्रम का बदलना)	GARDABH, गर्दभ Sanskrit  word			G	A	R	DH		A	BH	A

Ass, the synonym for donkey seems to be a degeneration of Ashva (अश्व), the Sanskrit word for horse. Looks like a case of mistaken identity by some ancestors who were not very familiar with the horses.

Ashva > Asya > Assya > Ass

Khar (खर) is another name for donkey in Sanskrit and Hindi. Its derivation seems to be from Kshar ashva (क्षार अश्व) which means horse of the sea salt: Kshar ashva > khar asya > khar ahya > khar. The only place in the world where the ass is found in the wild is the Great Rann of Kutch, which is salt Marsh located in Gujrat, India and Sindh, Pakistan. 

It is interesting to note that it took three mutations to get the English word donkey from the natural sound dhenchu but seven, nine and ten mutations respectively to get Hindi GADHA, Sanskrit GARDHABH and Punjabi KHOTA! The original home of donkey is in Africa.  The donkey must have travelled a lot more to reach India than it did to reach Europe. Note that almost all the mutation shown in the probable etymology of donkey and its synonyms take place in the same phonetic group of letters of the Devanagari alphabet table.     

You may also like to see what the linguists have to say on how donkey got its names:

Donkey

 Word Origin & History

donkey

1785, slang, perhaps from dun "dull grey-brown," the form perhaps infl. by monkey. Or possibly from a familiar form of Duncan (cf. dobbin). The older Eng. word was ass.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/donkey

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Ass

Word Origin & History

ass

beast of burden, O.E. assa (Old Northumbrian assal, assald), prob. from O.Celt. *as(s)in "donkey," which (with Ger. esel, Goth. asilus, Lith. asilas, O.C.S. osl) is ultimately from L. asinus, probably of Middle Eastern origin (cf. Sumerian ansu). Since ancient Gk. times, in fables and parables, the animal.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ass