Bears and why they mostly are called otherwise

[Dr. John E. McLaughlin]

[Bob Whiting wrote]

> You mean a pinto bean is really a horse? :)  Just joking, John, and I take
> your point.  But I do think you have overstated it.  Horse colors do get
> transferred (practically any term can be transferred), but usually with
> the marker '-colored' attached (e.g., 'dun-colored', 'roan-colored').  The
> problem is that 'pinto' and 'paint' are not colors but refer to patterns
> of markings.  And a pinto bean and a pinto horse both have mottled colors.

Bob, you're quite right, and that underscores why horse colors cannot be
considered as "basic" color terms in Berlin and Kay's definitions.  The fact
that you can't have a "dun coat", but can have a "dun-colored coat"
illustrates the horse-associated nature of these colors.  "Roan" is actually
a little broader in scope (compare the sable antelope (Hippotragus niger)
which is black, the extinct blue buck (Hippotragus leucophaeus), and the
roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus), all of subsaharan Africa).  Another
unique characteristic of these horse colors, is that they really can't be
associated with products that are not animals or derived from animals, such
as leather, wool, horsehair things, and other animals.  I'm not sure which
came first--pinto bean or pinto horse.  They're probably independent uses of
the adjective "pinto".

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