International Railroad Discussion > Question: switch "frog" in other languages

One of my students asked if the term "frog" for the track turnout component was slang, and I answered "No, in English-speaking countries it's the correct, technical name." And I've since found that the pattern in a horse's hoof is a strong contender for the word's origin, along with the shape of an actual amphibian-type frog seen frog above, which I thought was the source.
But I don't trust Google Translate to give me the term used in other languages. They appear to plug in the word for amphibian-type frog, but is that what railroaders in other countries use? 

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In Russian the term is krestovina (крестовина) which means frog / cross piece / crossing (from the shape)

In Czech, it's žáby. Frog.

In Brasil (portuguese) we call it "jacaré" (alligator".

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Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Frog (English) = Herzstück (German)

Following are a few additional terms in German for turnout components:

Turnout = Weiche
Switch (area) = Zungenvorichtungsbereich
Heel (area) = Zungenwurzelbereich
Closure (area) = Zwischenschienenbereich

Milepost_130 Wrote:
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> Frog (English) = Herzstück (German)
>
> Following are a few additional terms in German for
> turnout components:
>
> Turnout = Weiche
> Switch (area) = Zungenvorichtungsbereich
> Heel (area) = Zungenwurzelbereich
> Closure (area) = Zwischenschienenbereich

Herzstück means "heart piece". So unlike English & Russian (and others) , they don't use the word for "frog" which would be "Frosch"(?).

mile250 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One of my students asked if the term "frog" for
> the track turnout component was slang, and I
> answered "No, in English-speaking countries it's
> the correct, technical name." And I've since found
> that the pattern in a horse's hoof is a strong
> contender for the word's origin, along with the
> shape of an actual amphibian-type frog seen frog
> above, which I thought was the source.
> But I don't trust Google Translate to give me the
> term used in other languages. They appear to plug
> in the word for amphibian-type frog, but is that
> what railroaders in other countries use? 



A frog is "la rana" in italian. Maybe 
"interruttore della ferrovia rana"?