Res Humanitariae

The article presents an analysis of Lithuanian folk entomonyms (insect names). The methodological approach is based on complex linguistic research, where semasiological and onomasiological aspects are combined. The main sources of empirical material are the LKŽe and 13 dialect dictionaries. Detailed analysis of lexicographical sources helped to establish the boundaries of the thematic group of entomonyms. Entomonyms are studied as the result of a nomination and motivation process. The analysis helped to determine the relationship between motivated and unmotivated members of the thematic group, the dominant nomination types, ways, instruments, the most important features of motivation, and the variety of models of motivation.

The article analyses synchronically motivated Lithuanian common names of animals whose lexical motivators explicitly represents the fur colour characteristics. The main source of empirical material is the LKŽe. The purpose of research is to study the formal and semantic structure of animal names, to establish the features of the colours which are selected during the process of nomination, to determine the inventory of colorative lexical motivators. The methodological practice is based by the complex linguistic research when semasiological and onomasiological aspects are combined.