Banginis mūsų raštijos bangose
Lithuanian Baniginis 'Whale' on the waves of our writings

Summary/Abstract: As in some other languages, the Lithuanian name for the sea mammal Balaena is related to the mysterious animal that is referred to in the Bible (Hebr. tannīn, Gk. κῆτος, Lat. cetus). Both the mysterious biblical animal and (later) concrete mammal Balaena had been translated in quite different ways in 16–17th century Lithuanian texts. The difference between the texts of Lithuania Major and Lithuania Minor in naming the animal was obvious from the 17th century on: in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the loan-translation from Slavic didė žuvis, didžuvė, -is, etc. ‘a huge fish’ was popular, and in the texts of Eastern Prussia the word eršketras was initially used (really, the term for another huge fish, selachian [Acipenser sturio]), and later, from the 18th century on, the term bangos žuvis gained acceptance there. This combination of the two words was substituted for a compound bangžuvė, bangžuvis.

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