I hear children call a rabbit a wabbit, but what about a hare?
Is there some childish name for it?
Is wabbit only used by children?
I hear children call a rabbit a wabbit, but what about a hare?
Is there some childish name for it?
Is wabbit only used by children?
It is most commonly said by Elmer Fudd, a hunter, on the Looney Tunes show, which is an American children's cartoon series. He has a particular speech impediment which causes him to pronounce all his "r"'s as "w"'s. This is often played for laughs because it is usually "Wabbit Season" (Rabbit Season) - the season for hunting rabbits. This causes him to repeatedly bump into Bugs Bunny, who tries increasingly hilarious ways of convincing Elmer that he is not a rabbit or to hunt down his rival, Daffy Duck. It's possible that children may have picked this pronunciation of "rabbit" from watching the show.
Unless we are quoting Elmer Fudd, we would not call a rabbit a "wabbit". Elmer Fudd
A person with a speech impediment might mispronounce their letter 'r's and some people in certain parts of England soften the 'r' sound and might be misheard as having said a 'w' instead.
The words 'hare' and 'rabbit' are names for different animals, though it is possible for people to be unaware of this and misuse the name. Difference between hares and rabbits