Mažvydas used the reflexive verb bespausdinti in the sense of “to press down, to weigh down”:

To name the concept of printing, in the third edition of his dictionary K. Širvydas used word combinations based on G. Knapskis’s “Thesaurus Polonolatinograecus” (1621) – mokslas išspaustuvės |druk. Expressae metallo literae charta impressa literis|.

In the eighteenth century, the concept of printing was expressed by the loanword druką (ŽCh), and in the nineteenth century by not only a loanword (N, K, S. Dauk, I, LC1886, 40), but also the Lithuanian equivalent spauda (N, K, A1884, 318).

The body of printed publications and books was initially called by the loanword drukas (M, I, A.Baran). The Lithuanian equivalent spauda gained currency only slowly. In “Deutsch-Littauisches Wörterbuch” (1870.I.5), F. Kuršaitis used the hybrid drukavonė, “printing,” while the Aušrininkai replaced drukavonę with spaustuvyste (1884, No. 96). As noted, one of the first to use the Lithuanian equivalent spauda⁶ in place of the loanword druka, “printing,” was G. Neselmanas in “Wörterbuch der Littauischen Sprache.” From G. Neselmanas’s dictionary, the word spauda entered F. Kuršaitis’s “Littauisch-deutsches Wörterbuch” and the journal “Aušra” (1884, 318).⁷

The word spauda in the new sense of “the body of books and periodicals” was first used by “Aušra” (1885, 75), and later by J. Balvočius as well. It seems that K. Būga established the word spauda in both senses in the literary language.

In his Polish–Lithuanian dictionary, L. Ivinskis first wrote the loanwords druką, drukas, and then the word combinations spaudimas knygų, spaudimas rašto; in his Polish–Lithuanian dictionary, S. Daukantas gave precedence to the Lithuanian expression spaudimas, while using the loanword druka as a synonym.

In the card file of the academic “Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language,” the loanword drukas in the sense of “type, printing type” is recorded only from the Eastern Aukštaitian dialects. One of the first to provide a good equivalent for type and printed letter, spaudmuo, was J. Baronas in his “Russian–Lithuanian Dictionary” (1923).

K. Pakalka

HOW LITHUANIAN BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY DICTIONARIES WERE PREPARED

After two institutions of higher education were established in Lithuania (the University of Lithuania in Kaunas in 1922 and the Academy of Agriculture in Dotnuva in 1924), where botany was taught, the lecturers became concerned with standardizing biological terminology and plant nomenclature. In 1926, Prof. L. Vailionis took the initiative in this matter. At his instigation, a Botanical Dictionary Commission of 10 members was formed in 1927; it included representatives of all branches of botany: 8 from Kaunas University and 2 from the Academy of Agriculture. Its chairman was J. Vailionis, and its secretary was J. Dagys. Having invited, by means of a special appeal, people interested in various questions of botanical terminology (biologists, physicians, pharmacists, linguists, foresters

⁶ The word spauda in the sense of “supports” was first used by K. Širvydas in the book “Punktai sakymų” (II, 1644).

⁷ F. Kuršaitis treated the word spauda as unknown in the dialects of East Prussia and marked it in square brackets.

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and others) to assist with the dictionary’s preparation, several people responded, sending old literature and manuscripts containing plant names. The Lithuanian Society for Regional Studies provided material support for the work of the Dictionary Commission.

J. Dagys, then a third-year student specializing in biology, was assigned to compile a card index of the Botanical Dictionary from the collected literature for a fee. In compiling the index, Latin plant names were used as the basis; the family name and the corresponding plant names in Lithuanian, German, Russian, Polish, and Latvian were entered. The plant’s habitat, distribution, practical uses, and flowering time were then indicated.

The main sources we used for collecting plant names were: 1) D-ro J. Staugaitis’s “Žodynas botaniškų vardų,” compiled in Šakiai in 1891; 2) J. Pabrėža’s “Botanika arba Taislius auguminis,” published in the USA, Shenandoah Pa, in 1900; 3) Part II of P. Matulionis’s “Žolynas,” Vilnius, 1906; 4) L. Ivinskis’s calendars (1846—1866); and 5) D-ro K. Grinius’s “Botanikos Žodynas,” the Lithuanian–Latin section. These were plant names collected from literature and people’s speech in the Marijampolė—Pilviškiai area up to 1904.

J. Staugaitis, an active public figure and great enthusiast of the Lithuanian language, had fully collected and meticulously recorded plant names from old Lithuanian dictionaries (those of Sirvydas, Neselmanas, Kuršaitis, Milkes, and others). In the manuscript of the Botanical Dictionary he compiled, arranged according to Latin plant names, the Lithuanian equivalents were listed in columns, with the source from which each word was taken abbreviated after it. As many as several dozen synonyms were collected for some plants. Let us take Myosotis palustris — pelkinė neužmirštuolė as an example. In J. Staugaitis’s dictionary we find 21 names for it, namely: dangaus ašarikas J, dangaus ašarikė Ch, geltžolė _K₂ (Coadj), Ch, gelžolė _K₂ (Coadj.), miego žolė J (N), minėtenė Mat, minetenės pelkinės Iv, minietenė Al (žem), minietenė pelkinė Iv, naktibalda Mat, nemiršėlės Iv, neužmiršikė Ž, neužmiršk manęs B (Ek), rasutės St (Plokščiai), saulės ašarėlės St, varlakutės (near Alvitas), varlės ašarėlės K.G., varnakutis Al, vergismeinė _K₁, žaizdra Ch, žaizdros žolikės J (Prök). Of the names given, only two were collected by J. Staugaitis himself from living speech (rasutės and saulės ašarėlės), and two others were added in K. Grinius’s hand, having been heard from people (varlakutės and varlės ašarėlės); the other 17 came from literature. From other sources we also found these names for the same plant: katrytės (Pn), landonės žolė (Pet), varlakoję (Klv), varliakėliai (Kėd), varlių rūtėlės (Pn). Thus, a total of 26 names had been gathered, from which the Botanical Dictionary Commission had to select the best and recognize it as the principal name, while either retaining the others as synonyms, adapting them to modern Lithuanian spelling, or rejecting them altogether as incorrect. Such selections of the best name were made at meetings of the Botanical Dictionary Commission; corrections concerning language were made by the editor, who consulted linguists J. Balčikonis and Pr. Skardžius in doubtful cases.

Some plant names are listed at the end of J. Staugaitis’s Botanical Dictionary without Latin names because the author did not know, or was unsure, where to place them. The list of such names, with their sources indicated, fills 18 pages. For some, German equivalents are given or their uses are described. Here are a few examples. Aklys — a remedy for cattle suffering from swelling under the tongue: crush it, mix with whey or vinegar, rub it under the tongue, and give it with feed. Bajoras — fruit-

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for the cows, so that evil eyes would not bewitch them and spoil the milk: in spring, when they are let out to pasture, the herb is mixed with a verbena sprig and burned as incense. Besotė — a woman who drinks an infusion made from its berries gets “insatiable”: she eats and eats, yet remains unsated and weak. Bulbė laukinė — a remedy for convulsions in small children; the dried herb is boiled and drunk. Dantžolė — its root is a remedy for the worst toothache: crush it with sugar and apply it to the tooth with cotton wool. Drugė, drugžolė — a remedy for fever: when the chills begin, fumigate the temples with it over hot coals, or drink a decoction of it. Godas — a remedy for people and livestock: when someone is given a drink made from its boiled roots, they eat very greedily or insatiably. Kepurnink’s — when tangled hair forms under the arms and around the legs, one should drink tea made from it morning and evening; then it will become tangled in the hair on the head. Koklis — a remedy for cows to make them give more cream; so they steam it in new pots to improve the cream. Lagerstas tikrasis — a remedy for fattening and making goats obese. Ritzolė — a remedy for cows, so they do not break their limbs after running about. Silpnažolė — a remedy for severe shortness of breath in the elderly. Trukžolė — a remedy for obesity and wasting away. Vengrykštis, vengrukštis — for colds; it drives away nine illnesses. Žmogžolė — a remedy for weakness. These explanations show that J. Staugaitis also collected material on the use of plants in folk medicine.

Dr. K. Grinius’s Botanical Dictionary, arranged alphabetically in the form of a card index in large metal boxes, also provided us with much new material. As I recall, it also contained elements of folklore associated with plant names. That dictionary also included plant names whose scientific (Latin) name was unknown to the author, for example, stypžolės — herbs used by some men as an aphrodisiac.

We used J. Pabrėža’s dictionary in a version published in America and adapted to the standard language. It undoubtedly contained some inaccuracies, because the compiler was not always able to render the Samogitian dialect and the distinctive transcription used by J. Pabrėža accurately into the standard language. Some of the distortions were corrected with the help of a copy of J. Pabrėža’s botanical glossary, transcribed accurately from the manuscript held at the Wróblewski Library by student Bielinis and sent to L. Vailionis (although the author was not identified in it). We regarded J. Pabrėža as the greatest authority on the formation of plant names, because he was the pioneer of this work and provided the flowering plants of Lithuania with a complete nomenclature. Admittedly, some of the plant names he selected are polonisms; for example, the violet is called piolka (ln. fiolek), and nasturtium — nasturcija arba misturcija (ln. nasturcia). But his “Botanika arba Taislius auguminis” contains a great many names collected from the mouths of the people. The plant names translated from Latin in Pabrėža’s dictionary are also quite good, for example, bokštytė (Turritis), česnakinė (Alliaria), driežlėlė, or gyvatsnapė (Ophioglossum), dumblė (Limosella), nenaudė (Adoxa), vanagė (Hieracium), vilkakojė (Lycopus), šimtūnė (Centunculus), undgrakšta (Hydrocharis), and others. It was very good that J. Pabrėža used Lithuanian mythological names for many plants; for example, Jasione montana was given the name of the bee goddess Austėjos, Festuca that of the lambs’ god Eraičino, Sisymbrium that of the underworld god Pokliaus, and the moss genus Bryum the name of the moss god Silnyčio. If a Catholic priest considered it possible to preserve the names of pagan deities in people’s memory, that attests to his great patriotism, which prompted him to preserve the fading gems of our language.

The Botanical Dictionary Commission also highly valued the contribution to establishing plant nomenclature made by Prof. P. Matulionis, a teacher of Lithuanian foresters. In his “Žolynas” we found about

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2,000 plant names. In compiling this nomenclature, P. Matulionis relied mostly on the plant nomenclature established by J. Pabrėža, but also added many things. P. Matulionis slightly altered some of the plant names introduced by J. Pabrėža; for example, the genus Mespilus, which Pabrėža called šliandra (szlądra), he revised to šliaudrą (or perhaps this was a typographical error). J. Pabrėža called the genus Andromeda balžuva, while P. Matulionis revised it to balažuvę. Matulionis replaced Pabrėža’s name for the genus Chara, šaltinute, with šaltinuole.

The Botanical Dictionary Commission did not limit itself to literary sources, but also sought to supplement the plant nomenclature from living speech. Almost all the commission’s members submitted collections of plant names they had heard in their native regions. In addition, Doc. J. Elisonas did much work collecting plant names; he had long taught natural sciences at the Panevėžys Gymnasium. He would instruct his pupils to collect herbarium specimens during the summer and to write on their labels what local people called each plant. There were a great many such herbarium sheets (about two thousand) in the natural science collections of the Panevėžys Gymnasium and Teachers’ Seminary. Director J. Elisonas kindly allowed me to examine those herbaria and copy the plant names from them (with precise references to the county and rural district where each name had been collected). J. Alekna, an inspector of primary schools in Biržai District, also showed me a fine herbarium collected by his pupils in Biržai County, which contained quite a number of Lithuanian plant names.

In this way, the material was collected and organized as a card index; subsequently, from 1929 to 1933, the Botanical Dictionary Commission reviewed it and supplemented it with many neologisms, and its secretary prepared the text for publication. A publisher was sought for a long time for this rather substantial work, but the search bore no fruit. Finally, Prof. L. Vailionis, chair of the Botanical Dictionary Commission, resolved to publish the work at his own expense, and it was published in 1938. Thus, twelve years passed from the beginning of the work until the publication of Part I of the dictionary (the plant-name list).

The next area of work was the preparation of a dictionary of botanical terminology (plant anatomy, morphology, ecology, phytopathology, physiology, genetics, and geobotany). It was begun in 1939. Since Prof. L. Vailionis died that year, Prof. V. Vilkaitis became chair of the Botanical Dictionary Commission and held the post until 1941. The commission was expanded by two members: E. Gimbutiene to collect genetics terms and J. Rauktys to collect forestry terms.

The Great Patriotic War interrupted this work. It was resumed in 1945 at the initiative of the Botanical Section of the Institute of Biology of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR. Doc. M. Natkevičaitė-Ivanauskienė and S. Čižauskaitė spent three years collecting botanical terms from the literature. In 1950, when the Lithuanian branch of the All-Union Botanical Society was established, responsibility for directing the preparation of the Botanical Dictionary was entrusted to the board of that organization. The Botanical Dictionary Commission was reorganized and expanded with new members. It included representatives of the botanical departments of Vilnius State University (A. Minkevičius, P. Snarskis, M. Ivanauskienė, P. Bluzmanas, I. Šarkinienė), Vilnius Pedagogical Institute (V. Galinis), Kaunas Botanical Garden (K. Grybauskas, A. Urbonas), and the Forestry Technical School (J. Gelaževičius). Members of the Terminology Commission of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences—J. Kruopas, N. Grigas, A. Balašaitis, and K. Gaivenis—were also invited to commission meetings to discuss terminology. The commission

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J. Dagys chaired the committee. The dictionary commission met for about 10 years. After all the terms had been approved at those meetings, the dictionary was edited in the next stage according to the plan of the Institute of Botany; the editorial committee consisted of chief editor J. Dagys and members A. Lekavičius and V. Mališauskienė. The dictionary was completed in 1962 and submitted to the Mintis publishing house, which published it in 1965. The published Dictionary of Botanical Terms is in fact Part II of the earlier Lithuanian Botanical Dictionary. Preparation of this part took about 20 years.

The work did not end there. The Botanical Dictionary Commission, now operating as a branch of the Lithuanian Society of Botanists at the Institute of Botany of the Lithuanian SSR Academy of Sciences, undertook to review, refine, and supplement the plant-name inventory anew, and to prepare a new edition of Part I of this Botanical Dictionary. The work is being carried out systematically: several new specialists have been brought into the commission’s work: G. Jankavičiūtė for algae names, J. Mazelaitis for fungi names, A. Kuzas for moss names, A. Lučinskienė, head of the Vilnius University Botanical Garden, for ornamental plant names, and R. Jankevičienė as commission secretary. Members of the Terminology Group of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences always take part in the meetings. The work is already halfway complete.

J. Dagys

TERMINOLOGICAL IDIOMS WITH PERSONAL NAMES

Terminological idioms are most common in colloquial folk speech. Although advances in science and technology and new conditions of social and political life call for ever more new terms, both single-word and compound, folk terminological idioms nevertheless enter modern scientific terminology relatively rarely. Even more rarely do they appear in scientific terminology as calques from other languages.

Terminological idioms are most common among plant names, e.g.: kiškio kopūstai “wood sorrel,” varlės ašarėlės “forget-me-not”; less commonly in animal terminology — medžioji ožka “roe deer,” Biržių vagis “dragonfly”; and still less commonly in technical fields, e.g. in astronomy — dangaus ryškštė “comet,” in geology — perkūno kulka “belemnite,” and so on.

A separate small group of terminological idioms consists of those that are connected in some way with onomastics, since one of their components is a personal name, e.g., Marės lapai¹, Jonio dobilai, and so on. The names occurring in such idioms are almost exclusively Christian, and therefore they also indicate, to some extent, the approximate historical date when such terms arose; that is, they began to form in Lithuanian after some period had elapsed

¹ The following literature and manuscript collections were used in writing the article: J. Dagys, Lietuviškas botanikos žodynas, I, Kaunas, 1938; I. Edelmanė, Daži augu nosaukumi, kas saistāmi ar krāsu, garšu un smaržu nosaukumiem, — Veltījums Akadēmiķim Jānim Endzelīnam 1873—1973, Rīgā, 1972, p. 274—292; J. Elisonas, Zoologijos sistematikos terminų žodynėlis, Kaunas, 1920; Jacoby, Litauischen Litterarischen Gesellschaft, II, Heidelberg, 1887, p. 133—143; J. Kalvaitis, Lietuviszkų wardų klėtelė, Tilžė, 1910, p. 72—84; K. Mülenbacha, Latviešu valodas vārdnīca, II, Rīga, 1925—1927; the card index of the Academic Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language and the collections of the Atlas of the Lithuanian Language held at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature. Some terminological idioms were recorded by the author herself from dialects.

The meanings of the terminological idioms are given in the appended list.

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