གཅན་གཟན།

gcan gzan:


According to the late rGan Padma-rgyal-mtshan (from CIHTS, Sarnath), gcan gzan “(wild) carnivore” is derived from gcog “to break” and “to devour/gnaw,” that is, a carnivore is an animal that “breaks” (gcog)  the bones of its prey and “devours” (gzan) its flesh. Or perhaps a carnivore is an animal that “cuts/kills” (gcad) its prey and “devours” (gzan) its meat.