The origin of cuniculus (> conejo) and its difficult, but legitimate, relation to cunnus (> coño)

Abstract

The rabbit is an animal native to the Iberian Peninsula, and according to Varro and Pliny it is in Hispania that is was first given the name cuniculus. Given its phonetic proximity to certain Basque forms, this noun has traditionally been considered a latinization of an Iberian word. However, not only should this Latin - Basque relationship be considered inversely, but also the fact that cuniculus is in its form a diminutive of cunnus. The link between the two can be seen with Sp. madriguera (< matricaria), which was the principal meaning of the Latin word, before it was applied to other kinds of underground tunnel networks. Cuniculus (‘rabbit’) was originally used to designate the ‘hare of the warren’ (lepus cuniculus). For this reason, although the coexistence of the forms cuniculus and cunnus in Latin, and conejo and coño in Romance may have been a difficult one, as between conil/conin and con, their etymological relationship is certainly legitimate, and it is pointless for us to continue to deny it.