The other night, while preparing the classic Spanish tapa gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce) my mind turned to the numerous names given the shrimp/prawn in the various European languages I know something about:
English: shrimp/prawn French: crevette German: garnele Spanish: gamba/camaron Italian: gambero
What's striking about this list is the lack of cognates aside from gamba/gambero. The English "shrimp," my dictionary tells me, is derived from a Danish/Swedish root (damn Vikings!), but the divergence among the Latin languages is interesting. Usually, such a divergence implies the lack of a Latinate origin for the word, but is it conceivable that the Romans didn't have a word for an (edible) organism that was plentiful in the waters surrounding Italy? I am truly perplexed and seeking any enlightenment that you gastronome/linguists can offer.
Mark Lipton