Cyanocitta
sye-an-oh-SIT-uh
Genus
the blue jay
Literally: blue chattering bird; blue jay
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| cyano- | dark blue | Greek (cyan, -o) | combining form cyan- + connecting vowel -o- |
| -citta | a chattering bird; a jay | Greek (=citta) | terminal element, used as the head noun; gives the genus its feminine gender |
A compound noun formed from the Greek combining form cyano- (dark blue) joined directly to the Greek noun citta (a chattering bird, jay). The whole word functions as a Latin feminine noun in the nominative singular, as required for a genus name. No connecting vowel is needed because citta begins with a consonant and the -o- of cyano- serves as the link. The name describes both the colour and the character of the bird.
Pronunciation
- sye-an-oh-SIT-uh Penult rule 5: the penult vowel (i in -cit-) is short but followed by two consonants (tt), so the penult is stressed.
Commonly: sye-AN-oh-sit-uh (sometimes heard in common speech, shifting stress to the antepenult)
Other readings
cyano- + -citta is the only well-supported split. The overlapping matches noci-, cit-, ano- are artefacts of the substring search and do not reflect the actual formation of the word.
The genus Cyanocitta was erected by Bonaparte (1838) and contains the Blue Jay (C. cristata) and the Steller's Jay (C. stelleri); the name perfectly captures both their vivid blue plumage and their loud, garrulous calls. The overlapping substring matches for noci- (Latin, 'harm'), cit- (Latin, 'swift'), and ano- (Greek, 'up' or 'anus') are coincidental and play no role in the etymology.