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Pronounced, originally, to rhyme with "honey" and "money". The obvious vulgar homophony explains why the word is obsolete today and, when it is used (as, for example, in the toponym "Coney Island"), is invariably pronounced to rhyme with "phony" and "bony." Mind you, the pun would already have been perceived in the original Latin (cuniculus/cunnus) and indeed this pair may ultimately be related; cuniculus (whence also conejo, coniglio, coelho, Kanin[chen], etc.) meant not just "rabbit" but also "rabbit hole."


> Pronounced, originally, to rhyme with "honey" and "money".

Or "bunny"? :-)

Of course, that word is of a completely different etymology (Scottish).




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