Herp

[Jonathan Lighter]

The editors and contributors to _Reptiles_ magazine, aimed at pet-owners and breeders, use "herp" freely to include amphibians as well.

JL

"Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Baker, John"
Subject: Herp
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Richard Dawkins, in The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution (2004), writes on page 250 of the U.S. edition about the distinctive term "herp":

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While there are abbreviations without long forms, such as Ms. and Mrs. (the latter originally but no longer an abbreviation for mistress), I take it that herp is something simpler and commoner: a back-formation, probably from herpetology. Google Groups has "herps" from 12/11/1989 and a reference to the "Chicago "Herp" Society" on 3/19/1986.

Dawkins also introduces "concestor," his coinage for a common ancestor, used passim throughout the book. We'll see if it catches on.

John Baker

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