[An-lang] Betta as a Javanese fish name

[Robert Blust]

Hello James,

This looks like Old Javanese *bĕtah* 'tenacious, stubborn, persistent,
tireless; possessing staying power, endurance, stamina' (first vowel
pronounced like the first or last vowel of English banana).  The modern
Javanese word appears to retain much the same sense and, of course, this
matches well
with how one might describe a Siamese fighting fish.

Best,

Bob Blust

On Thu, Jan 9, 2020 at 11:09 AM Rader, James <jrader at m-w.com> wrote:

> Greetings to list members—
>
>
>
> Questions about a Javanese fish name:  The Dutch ichthyologist Pieter
> Bleeker introduced  <Betta> as a taxonomic name for a fish genus. His
> earliest publication of the name was apparently in “Bijdrage tot de kennis
> der ichthyologische fauna van Midden- en Oost-Java,” _*Verhandelingen van
> het Bataviaatsch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen*_, 23, 1850.
> Bleeker lists “indigenous names” (“de inlandsche namen”) for many species
> of fish. For his <Betta trifasciata>, found in the vicinity of Ambarawa in
> central Java, he gives the name “Ik[an] wader bettah.” “Ikan” I presume is
> the Malay word for “fish.” The word “wader” is glossed “a freshwater fish”
> in Robson and Wibisono’s Javanese dictionary. Bleeker’s “bettah” is not
> self-evident. Robson and Wibisono list <betah> as a verb meaning “to feel
> comfortable” and “to endure” but I’m not sure what this word would mean
> conjoined to <wader> as a fish name, or even if this is the word in
> question.
>
>
>
> My thanks to anyone who can illuminate the matter—Jim Rader,
> Merriam-Webster, Inc.
>
>
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