this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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Asklemmy
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Clam expert here. It comes from the Salish word gสทidษq, a word whose exact etymology is not well understood. Why that became anglicized as "geo-", I am not linguistically experienced enough to know!
how many times have you had to explain when people expressed surprise that clam experts exist? lol
Oh, all the time!
The Salish languages mostly use a phonetic alphabet, and if I recall correctly, only one has standardized an alphabet which only happened in the 1970s. So the written word got obliterated compared to the pronunciation. The 'ge' is meant to sound like 'get'. But since 'geo' exists, we hear and read 'Jee-oh' before ever thinking 'Geh-oo'.
/former geoduck farmer and language student where geoducks were the mascot.
Best mascot ever, tied with the banana slugs!
You should go tanning.
Then you would be Dan, the tan clam man.
He should drive a van.
Eh maybe not that, careful about the tan clam man with the van