Bear Euphemism Erased Original Name

The original Northern European word for bear has been lost because ancient people reportedly feared that saying it aloud might make the predator overhear them and attack. They used "bruin," meaning "the brown one," as a safer euphemism, and the term eventually developed into "bear." Since nobody knows which word it replaced, author Ralph Keyes described "bear" as the oldest-known euphemism.

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