Rabbit is from late 14c., "young of the coney", from the French robète, diminutive of flemish or Middle Dutch robbe "rabbit". Of unknown origin according to the online etymology dictionary.
It is interesting, however, that in Arabic RaBBat is "lady, mistress, female idol". Rabbits are known for their prolific breading habits (a mother rabbit can have forty or more babies a year), and, thus, symbolize fertility, abundance and the cycle of life which is very yin / feminine symbolism.
A Rabbit and a RaBBat. . . (they should do this in chocolate!)
In fact "rabbit / coney" in Hebrew is shaphan which is linguistically similar to the Hebrew saphan "treasure", and shepha "abundance".
Abundant Colored Eggs
Robe (similar to the Dutch robe "rabbit") is from Old French robe "long, loose outer garment", from West Germanic *raubo "booty".
Well, booty is treasure, and sometimes abundant treasure. So a rabbit which symbolizes abundance is possibly named from a word with connotations of abundance, and people make garments out of rabbit skin, sometimes robes, or blankets.
Full Skin Rabbit Fur Coat, furoutlet.com
Eostre
Easter!
It is interesting, however, that in Arabic RaBBat is "lady, mistress, female idol". Rabbits are known for their prolific breading habits (a mother rabbit can have forty or more babies a year), and, thus, symbolize fertility, abundance and the cycle of life which is very yin / feminine symbolism.
In fact "rabbit / coney" in Hebrew is shaphan which is linguistically similar to the Hebrew saphan "treasure", and shepha "abundance".
Robe (similar to the Dutch robe "rabbit") is from Old French robe "long, loose outer garment", from West Germanic *raubo "booty".
Well, booty is treasure, and sometimes abundant treasure. So a rabbit which symbolizes abundance is possibly named from a word with connotations of abundance, and people make garments out of rabbit skin, sometimes robes, or blankets.
Bye, oh baby bunting. Daddy's gone a hunting. To fetch a little rabbit skin. To wrap his baby bunting in.Daddy fetches a rabbit (shaphan) skin to wrap(or robe) his treasure (saphan, i.e., his baby) in.
Eostre is a Germanic female goddess of fertility and springtime. Therefore, we could say she is a RaBBAT, and rightly associated with rabbits.
Easter is from Old English easterdæg, from Eastre (Northumbrian Eostre), from Proto Germanic *austron- "dawn", from *aust- "east", literally "toward the sunrise".
Easter is celebrated the Sunday after the first full (pregnant) moon after the spring equinox. The vernal equinox is the time when the hours of light during a day begin to take precedence over the hours of darkness. It is a time of newness, new life, and resurrection. It is the dawn of the zodiacal year when the sun moves from Pisces (12th sign) to Aries (1st sign; the ram at its beginning, i.e., a lamb).
Crouching Aphrodite, Louvre Museum
Easter is celebrated the Sunday after the first full (pregnant) moon after the spring equinox. The vernal equinox is the time when the hours of light during a day begin to take precedence over the hours of darkness. It is a time of newness, new life, and resurrection. It is the dawn of the zodiacal year when the sun moves from Pisces (12th sign) to Aries (1st sign; the ram at its beginning, i.e., a lamb).
A Baby Ram
In Greek Easter is known as Lambros / Lampros translated as "shining, bright", like the eastern horizon, and dawn of the day. It is the glorious rising of the sun. It is the kind of brightness that only comes after experiencing darkness. . . it is the morning! Resurrection! Salvation!!
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:23
East is ultimately from PIE *aus- (1) "to shine", especially of the dawn. Cognate with Greek aurion "morning".
Venus is the bright, shining (east-er) morning star (dawn star), and the name of the Roman Goddess of love, sex and beauty. Her counterpart in Greek is Aphrodite. Here she is depicted in lambros "shining, bright" marble.
Venus is the bright, shining (east-er) morning star (dawn star), and the name of the Roman Goddess of love, sex and beauty. Her counterpart in Greek is Aphrodite. Here she is depicted in lambros "shining, bright" marble.
Ishtar (Innana in Sumerian) is the Assyrian / Akkadian / Babylonian goddess of love, sex, war and fertility. A possible origin of her name is from the stem Assur, meaning "leading one, chief"(like the morning?). She was the divine personification of the planet Venus. Her symbol was the eight-pointed star which signified the planet Venus(eight points to emphasize its abundant shininess?). In Sanskrit "eight" is astau. The Greek name for Ishtar was Astarte. So perhaps the Greeks named Ishtar after her symbol, the eight pointed star, rather than after her shininess (Eoster/Easter).
In Hebrew "eight" is shemoneh or shemonah, and sheman is "fatness, or fertile place," shamen is "fat, robust, rich". Fertile and fat. That sounds pregnant. Even the look of the number 8 is pregnant. The number eight is similar in appearance to the infinity sign, which we might say is a eight on its side (giving birth?)
In Hebrew "eight" is shemoneh or shemonah, and sheman is "fatness, or fertile place," shamen is "fat, robust, rich". Fertile and fat. That sounds pregnant. Even the look of the number 8 is pregnant. The number eight is similar in appearance to the infinity sign, which we might say is a eight on its side (giving birth?)
Infinity is the womb of creation and, therefore, a womb of abundance. Fertility and abundance is also symbolized by those. . . rascally rabbits.
In this way the infinity sign could be thought of as a yin / feminine type of symbol, and perhaps even a symbol representing the "fertile place" sheman, which is, the female goddesses, or the RaBBat, Eoster / Ishtar / Astarte / Venus, who heralds (or we might say, gives birth to) the new day, the day of resurrection. . .
Easter!
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