In an earlier question here I used an example of animal names versus words (often verbs) that have rather similar spelling and can be linked by observations of behaviour or the functional use to humans. The reactions to the example differed from nonsense to coincidence, while I see a clear pattern with a logical explanation.
So again some examples: A hound hunts A dog digs A sheep is shaven (for its wool) compare German Schaff) A cat catches (rodents) A cow chews (grass a lot with 4 stomachs...) A fly... flies A rabbit is rapid A squirrel secures (this relates to the hiding of food in the ground for the winter.) A sparrow (passerine bird) which appears and passes on forraging for food; French ‘il se apparu’ meaning ‘he appeared’ A wasp (French il va se poignez (Va-se-p...) meaning ‘he is going to be poignant (sharp/fierce)) An otter in the water A beetle: voir cette bête aller An owl flies at night: vole (la nuit) A worm morrows (anagrammic antonym) A bug (bukken means ‘to bend’ in Dutch. The name seems to indicate bending to the earth to see what kind of bug it is.
When does nonsense or coincidence become a pattern in linguistics?