Campephaga
cam-PEF-uh-guh
Genus
the caterpillar-eater
Literally: caterpillar-eater
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| campe- | caterpillar | Greek (campe) | Greek κάμπη (kampē); combining form campe- |
| -phaga | eating, devouring; one that eats | Greek (-phaga, phag, -o) | from Greek φαγεῖν (phagein), 'to eat'; used as a final element meaning 'eater of' |
The genus name is a single compound Greek word treated as feminine Latin (as is conventional for genus names). The first element campe- is the noun 'caterpillar' in combining form; the second element -phaga is the agent/eating suffix from phagein, 'to eat'. Together they form a compound noun: 'caterpillar-eater'. Campephaga is a genus of cuckoo-shrikes (family Campephagidae) named for their diet of caterpillars.
Pronunciation
- cam-PEF-uh-guh Antepenult stress: the penult vowel ('a' in '-pha-') is short and followed by only one consonant before a non-qualifying vowel, so stress falls on the antepenult ('pef'). The final -a is pronounced 'uh'.
Other readings
A minority reading splits the first element as campo- (Latin campus, 'field') + -phaga, yielding 'field-eater', but the Greek campe ('caterpillar') is the intended and accepted etymology, matching the birds' diet and the family name Campephagidae.
campe ('caterpillar') was confirmed in the dictionary (G, κάμπη). The cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae takes its name from this genus. phag / -phaga confirmed in the dictionary as Greek, meaning 'eating / to eat'. Final -a is the Latinized feminine nominative singular ending, standard for genus names; pronounced 'uh'.