La grenouille rubète est-elle une grenouille rouge ?

Abstract

The frog which is called rana rubeta in latin, φρῦνος in greek, doesn’t owe its name to the red color, like rubeo, but to a root rub- meaning « itch ». This root is also represented by the words rubus, a bramble, ruscus, a frog and a prickly plant (Ruscus aculeatus L.), and perhaps by *rubeolus> « rouvieux », an old French name of the scabies, *rubeola> « rougeole » (measles), because these diseases scratch. Rubeta could be the toad, Bufo bufo, that has venimous pustules on his back. According to litterary texts, it was employed by witches in magic potions to kill human beings, and in medical texts, the juice of this animal cured the scabies (similia similibus curantur).

Keywords

• rana rubeta
• ruscus
• rubidus
• φρῦνος
• frog
• scabies