Bears and why they mostly are called otherwise

[Rick Mc Callister]

[snip]

	Isn't bay cognate to Spanish baya "berry, red", bayo "bay"? [from
something like Celtic *baca?] In which case, the word originally meant
"berry"?

>Since there is no evidence that "bay" was ever used as anything other than a
>part of the word for "bay horse" or, as horsemen say, "bay", (not
>"bay-colored horse", no one says that), it cannot be considered a color term
>at all, but only a specific marker for horse type.  Neither "bay" nor any
>other "horse color", like "pinto", "dun" and "paint", can be applied to any
>other creature or inanimate object.
[snip]

Rick Mc Callister
W-1634
Mississippi University for Women
Columbus MS 39701