Chalcostigma
kal-ko-STIG-muh
Genus
a bird bearing a copper-coloured mark — alluding to the bright metallic throat patches (gorgets) characteristic of these Andean hummingbirds
Literally: copper spot
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| chalco- | copper | Greek (chalc, -o) | combining form of χαλκός; connecting vowel -o- retained before consonant |
| stigma | a spot; a brand; a pricking | Greek (stigm, =a, -at, -ato, -o) | head noun, neuter; inflected stem is stigmat-; used here in its standalone Greek form |
A Greek-origin compound noun formed from the combining form chalco- (copper) plus the head noun stigma (spot/mark). The connecting vowel -o- is retained because stigma begins with a consonant. The genus name is treated as Latin neuter, following the gender of Greek -ma nouns. There is no specific epithet; this is a uninomial genus name.
Pronunciation
- kal-ko-STIG-muh Penult rule 5: penult vowel (i) is short but followed by two consonants (gm), making the penult heavy; stress falls on the penult
Other readings
chalc- (coppery, from chalc, -eo) + ostigma — less likely; chalc-eo gives the sense 'coppery' but the -o- combining form chalco- is the more standard and better-supported segmentation
ch is pronounced as hard k per consonant rules Final -a is pronounced 'uh' per vowel rules The stem stigmat- appears in derived forms (e.g. stigmatic) but the nominative singular stigma is used as the terminal element here Chalcostigma is a genus of Andean hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) commonly called thornbills; the name refers to their iridescent copper-coloured gorgets