On the subject of butterflies
Most Scottish people have no idea that this popular butterfly has a name with possible ancient Arabic origins ... read on!
I am happy to have a garden of my own, and pay credit to my lovely wife for planting this climbing hydrangea all those years ago, that brings birds and bees galore to our home.
The name "Admiral" is interesting: it stems from the Arabic word : "Emir" (“commander,” or “prince”), in the Muslim Middle East, a military commander, governor of a province, or a high military official. The word entered English in 1593, from the French émir.. in Arabic "أَمير" .
Are you surprised that a Scottish Butterfly has a name with possible Arabic origins?
(by the way, I am fully aware that another working hypothesis is that the original name was Red Admirable, and that the linguistic controversy continues, haha)!
Footnote: You can follow this debate by googling 'Red Admiral': my own view is that both origin explanations have some validity, but words tend to morph over time, and it is often difficult to find out the truth. Many names of common plants, animals, birds and insects were local until the C18th, the 'Age of Reason', when local unsung heroes and wildlife enthusiasts started to attempt more rigorous species classification and agree on a common nomenclature - of both English and Latin names. We owe them all a huge debt.
Perhaps the greatest of these was Carl Linnaeus ... a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin, and his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus (after 1761 Carolus a Linné).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus