Talk:Grand Teton

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USGS GNIS entry RedWolf 23:17, Oct 3, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology

Parts of the Northern United States were initially explored by the French from New France. This is shown by names such as Detroit, Des Moines, etc. "Grand Teton" means "big tit" in French, and this is a possible interpretation of the shape of the mountain.

Thus, I wonder about whether the indicated etymology is correct. David.Monniaux 15:01, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I thought that was true, also, but I did some research and it is apparently an urban legend. Please see
and references therein.
-- hike395 16:39, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)
From Huxley's "Encylopedia of Mountains", p. 296 - "early French travelers, coming from the west, named the three most prominent points the "Trois Tétons," the "Three Breasts;" these were the Grand, Middle, and South Tetons". Be suspicious of the "urban legend" research at the leanleft website - colloquial French as spoken by a ten-generations-removed-from-France half-breed trapper 200 years ago is unlikely to bear much resemblance to proper Parisian, and I would only pay much attention to a French language specialist's analysis. Of course, the conflicting etymologies is itself interesting content for this article... Stan 16:48, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Right. Especially since, as far as I know, téton or tétin was much more common to mean "breasts" in the 17th century than it is now (where it is somewhat colloquial). (I'm a native French speaker, by the way.) David.Monniaux 17:11, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)