Arizelopsar
a-ri-ze-LOP-sar
Genus
"the greatly emulous starling" — a starling notable for its rivalry or resemblance to other birds
Literally: very-rivaling starling
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ari- | much; very; warlike | Greek (ari) | intensive prefix |
| -zelo- | emulate, envy, rival | Greek (zelo) | connecting vowel -o- already present in the root's combining form; the root abuts psar directly |
| -psar | speckled; the starling | Greek (psar, -o) | head element; genus in the starling family (Sturnidae) |
A compound Greek noun used as a Latin-gender genus name (masculine, following the pattern of -psar genera such as Poecilopsar). The three elements are stacked without an additional connecting vowel because zelo- ends in -o already: ari- (intensifying prefix) + zelo- (to rival/emulate) + -psar (the starling). No specific epithet is present; this is a genus-only name.
Pronunciation
- a-ri-ze-LOP-sar Penult rule 5: penult vowel 'o' is short but followed by two consonants ('ps'), so the penult 'lop' is stressed.
Other readings
ari + elo (marsh) + psar: 'marsh starling' — less clean because it leaves the 'z' unaccounted for
ari + elops (sea-fish; mute) + -ar: possible but -ar is not a meaningful suffix here
Arizelopsar is an accepted genus of starlings (Sturnidae), validating the -psar head element. The segmentation ari-zelo-psar accounts for every letter with no remainder and all three roots confirmed in the dictionary. Initial 'ps' in -psar: in the middle of a compound word both letters are pronounced (as 'ps'), giving the cluster '-lop-sar' at the juncture.