Astur
ASS-tur
Genus
the hawk (a genus of hawks)
Literally: hawk
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astur | a hawk (a type of hawk or goshawk) | Latin (astur) | Latin noun, masculine, nominative singular; used directly as the genus name |
Astur is a single-word genus name. It is a Latin noun (masculine) used in the nominative singular, standing alone as the head of the taxon name. There is no specific epithet here; this is a genus-level name only.
Pronunciation
- ASS-tur Two-syllable word: stress falls on the penult (rule 1). The penult vowel 'a' is short (single consonant cluster -st- where no diphthong or long-vowel marker is present, and the final syllable is a closed -ur).
Other readings
Some sources trace Astur through Greek ἀστήρ (aster, 'star'), but the standard and primary etymology is Latin astur, 'a hawk' (cognate with accipiter-group terms), not the star root. The star reading is very unlikely.
'Astur' is not found as a standalone entry in the dictionary tool; the identification is based on well-established classical Latin 'astur' (a hawk, particularly the goshawk), confidence high. The genus Astur (Lacépède, 1799) was the original genus for goshawks; today many species formerly placed here are in Accipiter. Latin astur is related to, or possibly borrowed from, Greek ἀστύρ / ἀστέρ in some ancient sources, but the direct Latin form means specifically 'a hawk' and is the accepted etymology for this taxon.