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Vespero_
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Vespero_ (Tunjukkan profil) 9 Agustus 2012 05.03.17

Right, so Blato means both "cockroach" and "computer chip," but my question is why?

I love etymology, especially in Esperanto, and this seems like a neat one. I mean, Esperanto existed before computers did, so most computer terms used in Esperanto are original to the language, so what's a cockroach got to do with a computer chip?

If anyone could shed some light on this, I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks much,
Vespero.

creedelambard
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creedelambard (Tunjukkan profil) 9 Agustus 2012 06.32.34

Integrated circuits (at least the ones in DIP packages) resemble multi-legged insects, so that might be where the term came from.

This is a wild guess, take it only for what it's worth.

acdibble
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acdibble (Tunjukkan profil) 9 Agustus 2012 07.06.54

creedelambard:Integrated circuits (at least the ones in DIP packages) resemble multi-legged insects, so that might be where the term came from.

This is a wild guess, take it only for what it's worth.

I'd have to agree with this. Jen blato.

erinja
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erinja (Tunjukkan profil) 10 Agustus 2012 00.27.50

It might be a borrowing from another language that uses the same word for both things.

French uses the same word (puce) for both a flea and a computer chip.

oicim
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oicim (Tunjukkan profil) 10 Agustus 2012 13.00.11

I seem to remember this being similar to the word for cigarette-paper and leaf in German. Perhaps its because the roach has wings that are like paper or are leaf-life.

erinja
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erinja (Tunjukkan profil) 10 Agustus 2012 21.07.37

I doubt there's a link with German.

The German word for cockroach is something completely different, and the roach's Latin name (blattodea) comes from the ancient Greek word for cockroach.

Many (though certainly not all) Esperanto names of plants and animals are derived from their Latin names, so we can expect that blato comes from this name blattodea. Similarly, the word strigo (a kind of owl) comes from the owl family strigidae, genus strix.