Eels for old men?

[jess tauber]

Does anyone on the list know whether conflations of respectful/address forms for 'male elder' (that is, 'old man', 'grandfather, or 'uncle') with 'eel (the fish)' are relatively common? I've found the split for both Yahgan and Salishan in the Americas, which might indicate common etymological source (the actual forms suggest it), but I'm looking to see whether this has other possible sources.

Thanks.
Jess Tauber
phonosemantics at earthlink.net
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