adapidn.adj.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin Adapis rabbit (a1493 or earlier (see note); adopted as a genus name by G. Cuvier 1822, in his Ossemens Fossiles (ed. 2) III. 265) + -id suffix³, after scientific Latin Adapidae, family name.Post-classical Latin Adapis is given by Hermolaus Barbarus (a1493) as a Spanish name for the rabbit; he says it is mentioned by Polybius but no word of this (or similar) form is found in Polybius. Other post-classical Latin authors say the name is from ancient Greek ἀδάπανος , which has the meaning ‘without expense, costing nothing’ ( < ἀ a- prefix⁶ + δαπάνη cost, expense: see dapatical adj.) but is apparently interpreted by these authors as ‘that may not be consumed or destroyed’; the rabbit is said to be so called on account of its remarkable fecundity, by reason of which it is practically impossible to eradicate it.