Pelargicadj.

Etymology: < ancient Greek Πελαργικός, designating the northern slope of the Acropolis of Athens, either alteration of Πελασγικός Pelasgic adj. (the two occur as variants in Herodotus and Thucydides), or < ancient Greek πελαργός stork ( < a first element also seen in πελιός livid, dark bluish grey (see peliosis n.) + ἀργός white (see argil n.), on account of the black and white plumage of the bird) + -ικός -ic suffix. Compare Byzantine Greek πελαργικός of the stork.In the text translated in quots. 1824 and 1830 (Aristophanes Birds) the Greek poet is punning on the possibility that τὸ Πελαργικόν , the name of part of the Acropolis of Athens, may originally have meant ‘stork's nest’. On the basis of the variant τὸ Πελασγικόν , the name was also explained as being derived from the name of the Πελασγοί (see Pelasgian n.), who were said to have built the Acropolis wall (see N. Dunbar in Aristophanes Birds (1995) 497–8).