Editing American bison (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:American Bison AdF.jpg|thumb|left|Adult male (behind) and adult female (in front), in [[Yellowstone National Park]]]]

In American English, both ''buffalo'' and ''bison'' are considered correct terms for the American bison.<ref>{{cite web|title=Buffalo Facts|url=https://www.animalfactsencyclopedia.com/Buffalo-facts.html|access-date=August 11, 2020|website=Animal Facts Encyclopedia|language=en-us}}</ref> However, in British English, the word ''buffalo'' is reserved for the [[African buffalo]] and [[water buffalo]] and not used for the bison.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tikkanen|first=Amy|title=What's the Difference Between Bison and Buffalo? |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-buffalo-and-bison|url-status=live|access-date=January 14, 2022|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802155420/https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-buffalo-and-bison |archive-date=August 2, 2020 }}</ref>

In English usage, the term ''buffalo'' was used to refer to the American mammal as early as 1625.<ref>''[http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=buffalo#B5544800 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]'', Fifth Edition:</ref> The word ''bison'' was applied in the 1690s.<ref name=bisonetymology/>

''Buffalo'' was applied to the American bison by [[Samuel de Champlain]] as the French word ''buffles'' in 1616 (published 1619), after seeing skins and a drawing. These were shown to him by members of the [[Nipissing First Nation]], who said they traveled forty days (from east of Lake Huron) to trade with another nation who hunted the animals.<ref>Champlain, Samuel, Henry P. Biggar. 1929. The Works of Samuel de Champlain, vol 3. Toronto: Champlain Society. p. 105.</ref> ''Buffel'' in turn comes from Portuguese ''bufalo'' (water buffalo), which comes from Latin ''bufalus'' (an antelope, gazelle, or wild ox), from Greek ''boubalos''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/buffalo|title=buffalo (n.)|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=Apr 3, 2023}}</ref> The same Greek word ''boubalos'' is also the origin for the [[Bubal hartebeest]].

''Bison'' was borrowed from French ''bison'' in the early 17th century, from Latin ''bison'' ([[aurochs]]), from a Proto-Germanic word similar to [[wisent]] and, per Etymonline, first applied to American buffalo in the 1690s.<ref name=bisonetymology>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/bison|title=bison (n.)|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=Apr 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bison|title=bison noun|date=May 12, 2023 |publisher=Merriam Webster}}</ref>

In [[Plains Indian]] languages in general, male and female bison are distinguished, with each having a different designation rather than there being a single generic word covering both sexes. Thus:
* in [[Arapaho language|Arapaho]]: {{lang|arp|bii}} (bison cow), {{lang|arp|henéécee}} (bison bull)
* in [[Lakota language|Lakota]]: {{lang|lkt|pté}} (bison cow), {{lang|lkt|tȟatȟáŋka}} (bison bull)
Such a distinction is not a general feature of the language (for example, Arapaho possesses gender-neutral terms for other large mammals such as elk, mule deer, etc.), and so presumably is due to the special significance of the bison in Plains Indian life and culture.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}