Saturday, 3 October 2026

The word “strafokamil” in the Egyptian travel account of Hierodeacon Jonah

Strafokamil: strafo (bird) + kamil (camel) = strangely enough, an ostrich. The word was introduced by the hierodeacon Iona, who travelled through Egypt in the seventeenth century: "The bird is like a camel and very large, its hoof has two toes."

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