Dicrurus
dic-ROO-rus
Genus
the forked-tailed one
Literally: forked tail
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| dicr- | forked | Greek (dicr, -o) | from Greek δίκρος (dikros); combining form dicro- used before consonants, but here directly before a vowel-initial root so no connecting vowel is needed |
| -ur- | the tail | Greek (ur, =a, -o) | from Greek οὐρά (ourá); stem ur- appears in many zoological names, e.g. Uro-, -urus |
| -us | Latin nominative singular ending, masculine gender | Latin | standard Latinization of a Greek compound |
Dicrurus is a single-word genus name, a Greek compound (δίκρουρος, dikrouros) Latinized by adding the masculine nominative ending -us. The two Greek roots dicr- (forked) and ur- (tail) combine directly, the stem vowel of ur- (-a in ura) being dropped before the Latin ending. No epithet is present; this is a genus name only.
Pronunciation
- dic-ROO-rus Penult rule 4: the penult vowel is 'u' followed by a single consonant; most penults with vowel u take penult stress.
Other readings
A superficial reading might split crur- (Latin, leg/shank) + -us, giving 'leg-shank', but this ignores the initial di- and does not match the biology. The dicr- + ur- segmentation is strongly supported by the birds' conspicuously forked tails.
The genus Dicrurus Vieillot, 1816 contains the drongos (family Dicruridae), all characterised by their deeply forked tails — a name that fits perfectly. The Latin root crur- (leg/shank) appears at position 2–6 in a purely mechanical scan, but it crosses the morpheme boundary and does not reflect the actual etymology. ur, =a, -o (Greek, 'tail') is in the dictionary and is the correct reading of the medial segment; our, =a is a variant spelling of the same root.