Alopochen
al-oh-POH-ken
Genus
fox goose
Literally: fox-goose
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alop- | fox | Greek (alopex) | stem alop(ec)-, from Greek ἀλώπηξ (alōpēx); the -ec- is dropped before the connecting vowel |
| -o- | connecting vowel | ||
| -chen | goose | Greek (chen) | from Greek χήν (khēn); used as a suffix in waterfowl genus names |
Alopochen is a single-word genus name formed as a Greek compound noun treated as feminine in Latin nomenclature. The head noun is chen (goose), modified by the genitive/adjectival stem alopo- (fox-). The compound literally reads 'fox-goose', referring to the Egyptian Goose's fox-like chestnut-brown plumage and facial mask.
Pronunciation
- al-oh-POH-ken Penult rule 4: the penult vowel 'o' in '-chen' is long (open syllable before a single consonant), so the penult 'po' is stressed. Wait — let me recount: A-lo-po-chen = 4 syllables; penult = 'po'; its vowel 'o' is followed by a single consonant 'ch' (= k), so the penult is long → stress falls on the penult 'po'.
Other readings
An alternative segmentation alop-o-chen (keeping -ec- as alop-) is effectively the same; some sources reconstruct the stem as alopec- (as in Alopecurus, fox-tail grass) with the -ec- elided before -o-.
Alopochen is the genus of the Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca). The name was coined by Stejneger (1885). The dictionary confirmed 'alopec' (Greek, fox) and 'chen' (Greek, goose) in the dictionary. The connecting-vowel -o- causes elision of the stem-final -ec- in alopec-, yielding alop-o- rather than alopec-o-; this is a standard Greek compounding pattern (cf. Alopecurus where the full stem is kept). The genus is treated as feminine in ornithological nomenclature, following the gender of chen.