Fledermaus

Fans of the opera might be familiar with this week’s German word, Fledermaus,since German composer Richard Strauss wrote an operetta of the same name: Die Fledermaus (The Bat). Translated literally into English, this flying mammal would be called “fluttering mouse”. Not quite that far-fetched as one can see some sort of resemblance to a mouse with wings. The fluttering comes from the sound its wings make during the flight. There are a number of “fluttering animals”, or chiroptera, like the pterosaurs, and the Fledermaus happens to be called mouse due to its resemblance with this rodent.

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