From the Latin _cuniculus_ have been formed, according to the proper analogy, the Italian _coniglio_, the Spanish _conéjo_, and the French _conil_, sometimes modified into _conin_ (see Diez, _Roman. Gramm._, vol. ii. p. 264.). From the old French _conin_ was borrowed the English _coning_ or _conig_, afterwards shortened into _cony_: and from this word have been formed _conigar_ and _coningry_ or _conigry_, for rabbit-warren (see Halliwell's _Dict._, in CONIG). _Conillus_, for a rabbit-warren, occurs in Ducange; _conejár_ is the Spanish term. The Germans, like the English, had no native name for the rabbit; an animal not indigenous in their country. Hence they borrowed the French name _conin_, which they altered into _kanin_; and have since formed the diminutive _kaninchen_. In Suabian, the form used is _küniglein_. See Adelung in v. The Dutch word is _konÿn_. The rabbit was probably introduced into England from France. Query: When did that introduction take place? Also, when did the later term "rabbit" supersede the old name _cony_? and what is the etymology of _rabbit_? The French _lapin_, which has supplanted the old word _conin_, is said to be formed from _lepinus_, an adjective of _lepus_. L. Your solution of the etymology of this word, as coming from _Coney_-borough, is no doubt correct: but I apprehend the last syllable has a more specific derivation. On the opposite sides of the Lough of Belfast, there are two localities in which this old English word is preserved. This district was, as you are aware, colonised by English settlers about 1590 A.D., when large grants were made to Sir Arthur Chichester, ancestor of the present Marquis of Donegal. At Carrickfergus, on the north side of the bay, there is a spot called the _Connyberry_, which is a corruption of "Coneyborough;" but on the opposite side, at Holyward, there is a populous rabbit-warren, known as the "Kinnegar;" which I take to be the _conynger_ or _coningeria_ about which your correspondent asks. J. EMERSON TENNENT. * * * * * NAMES AND NUMBERS OF BRITISH REGIMENTS. (Vol. vii., p. 155.) Z.'s _third_ application relative to the names and numbers of regiments has roused me into activity, {242} and I now forward you the required information, viz.: Query 1. What was the origin of giving British regiments the name of certain officers, instead of numbering them as at present? Regiments were numbered, but it was generally customary to designate them by the name of their colonel previous to 1751. 2. If in honour of an officer commanding the corps, was the name changed when that officer died or removed to another regiment, or what was the rule? The name of the regiment changed by death or removal of the colonel. 3. When did the present mode of numbering regiments begin, and by whom was it introduced?