Remarks |
Currently used, replaced 'Sleeper shark' used in Ref. 10161. 'Pacific', i.e., of the Pacific Ocean; 'sleeper', i.e., to rest in a state of sleep (p. 1108 in Ref. 11978); 'shark', of obscure origins but appears to have been introduced by members of the Sir John Hawkins' expedition ( a ballad of 1569 recorded 'There is no proper name for [the fish] that I know, but that certain men of Captain Hawkins's doth call it a shark'), ressembles Austrian dialect 'schirk', i.e., sturgeon (p. 471 in Ref. 11979). Also Ref. 4925, 6885. |