Abominable Snowman

Abominable Snowman : English name for the YETI of Central Asia.

Etymology:

Coined by Calcutta Statesman columnist Henry Newman in 1921 as a translation of the Sherpa (Sino Tibetan) METOHKANGMI, which a telegraphist miscoded as “Metch kangmi.” Newman claimed it meant “abominable snowman.” The phrase became a popular term with journalists from the 1920s through the 1960s. The name does not come from the creature’s supposed horrible odor, as some have alleged. The term also serves as a generic name for unknown Asian hominids.

Variant names:

ABSM, Snowman.

Physical description:

See YETI.

Distribution:

Himalaya Mountains of Nepal and Tibet.

Further Reading and Sources:

• Charles K. Howard-Bury, Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance, 1921 (London: Edward Arnold, 1922), p. 241;
• Henry Newman, Indian Peepshow (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1937), pp. 156–160;
• Ralph Izzard, The Abominable Snowman (Garden City, N.Y.:Doubleday, 1955), pp. 28–29.

SEE ALSO:

• Hominids
• Cryptozoology

SOURCE:

Mysterious Creatures – A Guide to Cryptozoology written by George M. Eberhart – Copyright © 2002 by George M. Eberhart

Go Back to the Previous Pages