Editing Arctic hare (section)

== Etymology ==
The Arctic hare is named for the region in which it was first discovered, the Arctic tundra. Its [[Generic name (biology)|generic name]], ''Lepus'', is borrowed from [[Latin]] and refers to hares, rabbits (as inferred from the earlier [[Hellenistic Greek]] {{Lang|grc|λεβηρίς}} (''levirís''), rabbit), and the [[Lepus (constellation)|constellation of the same name]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2024 |title=Lepus (n.), Etymology |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/lepus_n?tl=true&tab=etymology |website=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/OED/4563020907}}</ref> The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''arcticus'', is also borrowed from Latin, and is more directly derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Wikt-lang|el|ἀρκτικός}} (''arktikos''), "near the Bear, northern".<ref>Liddell, Henry George and Scott, Robert. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2315193 "Arktikos."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630102053/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2315193&redirect=true|date=30 June 2023}} ''A Greek-English Lexicon''. Perseus Digital Library.</ref><ref>{{OEtymD|arctic|access-date=2 December 2024}}</ref>

In the [[Cree language]], the Arctic hare is named {{Lang|cr|meestapoos}}, coming from the words for "large", {{lang|crk|meesta}}, and "rabbit", {{wikt-lang|crk|wâpos}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hohn |first=E. Otto |date=1973 |title=Mammal and Bird Names in the Indian Languages of the Lake Athabasca Area |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40508379 |journal=Arctic |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=163–171 |doi=10.14430/arctic2912 |jstor=40508379 |issn=0004-0843|url-access=subscription }}</ref>