of, or related to a particular animal, by latin roots

Some are common knowledge, e.g. dog, cat, monkey, bird. I felt special that I knew a handful of the less common ones (cow, horse, wolf, bear, fox). Here is a list of some useful and some completely random animal adjectives.

Seeing the word asinine in the list yields great insight into its etymology.

Animal	Adjective
alligator	eusuchian
ant	formicine, myrmecine
anteater	myrmecophagine
antelope	alcelaphine, bubaline
ape	simian
armadillo	tolypeutine
ass	asinine
auk	alcidine
barracuda	percesocine
badger	musteline
bat	pteropine
bear	ursine
bee	apiarian
bird	avian, muscicapine, oscine (song), passerine (perching), penduline, volucrine
blackbird	icterine
bluebird	turdine
bobolink	icterine
buffalo	bubaline
bull	taurine
bullfinch	pyrrhuline
bunting	emberizine, pyrrhuloxine
buzzard	buteonine, cathartine
calf	vituline
camel	cameline
cardinal	pyrrhuloxine
cat	feline
chamois	rupicaprine
civet	viverrine
cormorant	phalacrocoracine
cow	bovine, vaccine
crab	cancrine
crane	alectorine
crow	corvine
cuckoo	cuculine
deer	cervine, elaphine
dodo	didine
dog	canine
dolphin	delphine
dormouse	myoxine
dove	columbine
duck	anatine, fuliguline
eagle	aquiline
elephant	elephantine
elk	cervine
ermine	musteline
falcon	accipitrine
ferret	musteline
finch	fringilline
fish	piscine, piscatorial
flea	pulicine
fox	vulpine
frog	bufotenine, ranine
gerbil	cricetine
gibbon	hylobatine
goat	caprine, hircine (smelly)
goose	anserine
gull	larine
hare	leporine
hawk	accipitrine, falconine
hog	suilline
hornet	vespine
horse	equine
hummingbird	trochiline
jay	garruline
kangaroo	macropodine
kestrel	falconine
kingfisher	halcyonine
kite	milvine
leech	hirudine
lemur	lemurine
leopard	pardine
lion	leonine
lizard	lacertilian, saurian
lobster	homarine
macaw	psittacine
magpie	garruline
mallard	anatine
marten	musteline
martin	hirundine
meadowlark	icterine
mink	musteline
mockingbird	mimine
mongoose	viverrine, herpestine
moose	cervine
mosquito	aedine, anopheline
moth	arctian
mouse	murine
mule	muline Note: stallion x jenny (female donkey) = hinny mare x jack (male donkey) = mule
nightingale	philomelian
opposum	didelphine
oriole	icterine
otter	lutrine
ox	bovine
oyster	ostracine
parakeet	psittacine
parrot	psittacine
partridge	perdicine
peacock	pavonine
pheasant	alectorine, phasianine
pig	porcine, suilline
pigeon	pullastrine
plover	charadrine
polecat	musteline
porcupine	hystricine
quail	coturnine
rabbit	leporine
raccoon	procyonine
ram	arietine
rat	murine
rattlesnake	crotaline
raven	corvine
reptile	reptilian, serpentine
rhinoceros	ceratorhine
robin	turdine
sable	zibeline
sea horse	hippocampine
seal	phocine, otarine
sheep	ovine
shrew	soricine
silkworm	bombycine
skunk	mephitine
skylark	alaudine
slug	limacine
smelt	atherine
snake	anguine, elapine, colubrine (garter,king), ophidian, reptilian, serpentine, viperine
snipe	charadrine
sparrow	passerine
squirrel	sciurine
stag	cervine, elaphine
stoat	musteline
stork	ciconine
sturgeon	acipenserine
swallow	hirundine
swan	cygnine
swift	cypseline
swine	porcine, suine
tick	acarine
tiger	tigrine
titmouse	parine
toad	batrachian
tortoise	chelonian, testudine
turkey	meleagrine
turtle	chelonian
viper	viperine
vulture	vulturine
wasp	vespine
weasel	musteline
wolf	lupine
wolverine	musteline
wombat	phascolomian
woodcock	charadrine, scolopacine
wren	troglodytine
zebra	zebrine

[via]

of psis, define sylle and reference elli

Another use of ellipsis, the omission of unnecessary repeated information, is in zeugma. Zeugma, from the Greek word for "yoke", is stringing several sentences which share a common binding word together as one. For example:

• "Mr. Jones took his coat and his leave."
• "Friends, Romans, Countryman, lend me your ears!"

A much more interesting subset of zeugma is called a syllepsis, in which sentences are still joined by a common word, but a different meaning of the word is used each time. Some examples:

• "You held your breath, and the door for me" -Alanis Morrisette
• "Are you getting fit or having one?" -Hawkeye in M*A*S*H

egg on my face

yoke has many definitions, mostly related to a burden, such as the beam over oxen shoulders to support a load, shoulders in general, or oxen in general.

yolk is just the yellow part of the egg.

posted immediately

"stat", used most frequently by doctors to mean "immediately" comes to us from the Latin word "statim" with the same meaning.

analog(ue)

I had thought that perhaps analog meant the opposite of discrete and analogue was the noun form of analagous (the subject of an analogy) but both spellings are the same word (like colour/color) and both spellings can have either meaning.

[via wiktionary]

sally contracted him to build her seashell stand

I just need to share this amazing (and long) tongue-twister that comes together so elegantly and is reminiscient of buffalo buffalo buffalo in that you need to stress words just right or it would (wood) not make sense.

Esau Wood sawed wood. Esau Wood would saw wood. All the wood Esau Wood saw, Esau Wood would saw. In other words, all the wood Esau saw to saw, Esau sought to saw. Oh, the wood Wood would saw! And, oh the wood-saw with which Wood would saw wood! But one day, Wood's wood-saw would saw no wood, and thus the wood Wood sawed was not the wood Wood would saw if Wood's wood-saw would saw wood. Now, Wood would saw wood with a wood-saw that would saw wood, so Esau sought a saw that would saw wood. One day, Esau saw a saw saw wood as no other wood-saw Wood saw would saw wood. In fact, of all the wood-saws Wood ever saw saw wood, Wood never saw a wood-saw that would saw wood as the wood-saw Wood saw saw wood would saw wood, and I never saw a wood-saw that would saw as the wood-saw Wood saw would saw until I saw Esau Wood saw wood with the wood-saw Wood saw saw wood. Now Wood saws wood with the wood-saw Wood saw saw wood.

[via wikipedia]

ante up

the latin word ante means "before" and is useful by itself but also as a root for many other words and phrases such as:

• ante - by itself a poker term for the small buy-in fee placed before the round starts.
• ante meridian - commonly seen as a.m., ante meridian translates to "before midday." (this leads to post meridian or p.m. which translates to "after midday")
• antemortem - uttered almost daily on cbs (home of c.s.i.), this word means "before death."
• antebellum - in the united states this typically refers to "before the civil war," but the phrase literally just meas before any war.
• many similar "before" words in romance languages: antes (spanish); avant (french); avanti/anti- (italian)