Cyornis
sigh-OR-nis
Genus
dog-bird; a bird of the dog (a genus of flycatchers)
Literally: dog-bird
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyon- | a dog | Greek (=cyon) | Final -n of cyon elided before the vowel-initial ornis at the compound junction; Greek κύων |
| -ornis | a bird | Greek (orni, =s) | Head element of the compound; nominative singular ὄρνις |
A two-element Greek compound: cyon- (dog) + -ornis (bird), with the final -n of cyon dropped before the vowel that opens ornis. The genus name stands alone as a single nominative noun; no specific epithet is given. The combination 'dog-bird' is analogous to other Greek ornithological compounds (e.g. Cinnyris, Malacocincla).
Pronunciation
- sigh-OR-nis Penult stressed: the penult vowel 'o' is followed by two consonants (r + n), making it positionally long (rule 5).
Other readings
cyo- ('foetus', Greek) + ornis ('bird') is technically possible given the character positions, but 'foetus-bird' is biologically unmotivated; the cyon ('dog') reading is strongly preferred and matches ornithological tradition.
The dictionary lists both cyo ('the foetus') and =cyon ('a dog') as matches. The correct root is =cyon (Greek κύων, 'dog'); cyo is a false positive caused by character-position overlap. The final -n of cyon is regularly dropped when compounded with a vowel-initial second element such as ornis. Cyornis is a real genus of Old World flycatchers (family Muscicapidae); the name echoes a tradition of poetic or fanciful Greek compounds in bird taxonomy.