Why are sharks called sharks??

Question

i'm doin a report and need to know a.s.a.p

Answer 1

The word, shark, means thief in (I think)Greek. Long ago people thought sharks were bad and named them sharks.

Answer 2

To quote the etymology dictionary:

1569, of uncertain origin; apparently the word and the first specimen were brought to London by Capt. John Hawkins's second expedition (landed 1565; see Hakluyt).

"There is no proper name for it that I knowe, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a 'sharke' " [handbill advertising an exhibition of the specimen, 1569]

----
It's as if the guy just made up the word.

Answer 3

You can find the reason behind most words by typing into the search box of any search engine:

the word you are investigating
definition
origin

I tried this for "shark", typing in

shark definition origin

and found the information you need.

Answer 4

well I don't know why they R called sharks
but can give U a bit of information about them
Males are called "Bulls"
Females are called "Cows"
Baby Sharks are called "Pups"

Answer 5

well shark must have come from lanuage discribing the shark

Answer 6

Take a good dictionary and look it up. The dictionary usually has a discussion of this.

Answer 7

According to Wiki...

"The name may have been derived from the Mayan word for fish, xoc, pronounced "shock" or "shawk"."

Hope this helps!

Answer 8

so...learn to do some research...and no, this doesn't count as research.

It's either arbitrary, or the word is derived from something that described something about a shark.

look up the etymology.

Answer 9

Because if they were called Dolphins, people might confuse them with penguins.

Answer 10

Because if they were called clown fish noone would take them seriously.