alcatraz lillies pelican
The origin of Alcatraz island lists both Pelican and lillies. If you search enough on the internet, you'll eventually find both. Which is right? What is 'lillies', since this dictionary doesn't recognize it'
8 Answers
Hi Darrel, well I think Sally's post was very much to the point. so was James's.
remember, this is not a translation service.
Hola,
Alcatraz es otro pájaro.
alcatraz2. (Quizá del ár. hisp. *qa?rás, el de andares ufanos). 1. m. Ave marina pelecaniforme de color predominantemente blanco cuando adulta, pico largo y alas apuntadas y de extremos negros. Es propia de mares templados.
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados
all of you look at Diego Rivera's painting Vendedora de Alcatraces -- she's not selling pelicans.
The response is: " Sorry, we could not find "lillies" in the dictionary"
Important dictionary usage tip: They don't list plural forms.
However, I also now realize that the word was misspelled in your original post as "lillies," which I stupidly copied without thinking (sound of me slapping my forehead). The correct spellings are of course lily and lilies. Look up lily, and you'll find it in any English dictionary.
Alcatraz Island is named after the pelicans on SF Bay, as I explained in the thread referred to by Sally. There is no doubt whatsoever about this. However, the word alcatraz can also mean a type of flower which my dictionary glosses as arum. Lily in Spanish is lirio, so I don't know how lily came to be associated with alcatraz.
I had hoped to avoid a long description of what I needed. It seems that someone should simply have been able to translate 'lillies' and 'pelican' for me, and explain the difference. Please read my reply to James. Thank you.
James,
Go to the dictionary at the top of this page. Click it. In the entry field, enter "lillies". Do a search. The response is: " Sorry, we could not find "lillies" in the dictionary"
As I wrote, 'the dictionary doesn't recognize it'
Now go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_Island
THAT translates the origin as 'lillies'.
Now go here: http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/rs1.htm
Read the fifth paragraph, which states the name comes from Pelican.
Now read Sally's reply, above. Then link to it. In that discussion, some of the writing is Spanish, and I can't read it. But the English part does NOT give a definitive answer. It implies the origin is similar to BOTH words. But since one is a flower, and one a bird, I'd like to understand how that happened.
Who cares? Well, I do for a couple reasons. First, the dictionary above doesn't give a translation of 'lillies', and I want one.
Second, I live in the Bay Area, and I'd like to know about out famous tourist destination.
Third, if the National Park is wrong about the name, they should fix it on their website.
Fourth, on more than one occasion, this has come up in trivia competitions, including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. I'd like to know if they are right or wrong.
What is 'lillies', since this dictionary doesn't recognize it'
Darrell, no offense, but you say on your profile that English is your native language, and I find it hard to believe that any native speaker wouldn't know the word lillies, which is of course the plural of lilly. Unless you are very young, I would be interested to know how you have managed to avoid this word all your life.
Darrell,
This will take you to a discussion that might answer your question.
[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A126910]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A126910[/url]
