Coracina
kor-uh-SY-nuh
Genus
little crow
Literally: little crow; little raven
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corac- | a crow, raven | Greek (cora, -c, -co, =x) | Greek κόραξ (korax); the stem corac- is the oblique/combining form of corax. Combining forms also include coraco-. The =x notation shows the standalone form is corax. |
| -ina | diminutive and feminizing suffix; 'little —' or 'resembling a —' | Latin | Standard New Latin diminutive/feminine suffix. Not found as a standalone entry in the dictionary (the tool returned unrelated entries), but universally attested in classical and New Latin nomenclature. Gives the genus name feminine grammatical gender. |
Coracina is a New Latin genus name coined by Vieillot (1816) for the cuckoo-shrikes (family Campephagidae). It is formed from the Greek stem corac- (crow, raven) plus the Latin diminutive-feminine suffix -ina, yielding a single feminine Latin noun in the nominative singular. There is no specific epithet; Coracina stands alone as a genus name. The birds were so named for their crow-like or raven-like appearance.
Pronunciation
- kor-uh-SY-nuh Penult rule 4: the suffix -ina is explicitly listed as a penult long-vowel ending, so the penult syllable 'ci' receives the stress. The 'c' before 'i' is pronounced 's' by the palatalization rule, and the stressed 'i' is long ('eye'-sound as in 'mine').
Other readings
An alternative reading treats -ina as a purely Latinizing/adjectival suffix rather than a strict diminutive, giving the sense 'crow-like' or 'pertaining to a crow' rather than 'little crow'. Both readings are defensible; the diminutive interpretation is the more commonly cited one in ornithological literature.
The segment finder also matched acin- (Latin, 'a berry') at positions 3–7, but this produces no meaningful etymology for a bird name and is a coincidental overlap. The corac- + -ina reading is overwhelmingly preferred.
The root cora, -c, -co, =x was confirmed in the dictionary as Greek, meaning 'a crow, raven' (entry 1504). The diminutive suffix -ina is not present as its own entry in the dictionary; it is identified from standard Latin/New Latin grammar. Confidence remains high because its use in scientific nomenclature is universal. Coracina (Vieillot, 1816) is the type genus of the cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae. The birds are not true crows but have a superficially crow-like coloration and build. The dictionary also lists coraco- as a combining form of the same root, best known in anatomy from the coracoid (crow-beak-shaped) process of the scapula.