Discosura
dis-co-SOO-ra
Genus
The disk-tailed one; named for the distinctive paddle- or racket-shaped outer tail feathers of these hummingbirds
Literally: Disk-tail
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| disco- | A round plate; a disk | Greek (disc, -i, -o, =us) | Combining form with connecting vowel -o- |
| -ura | The tail | Greek (ur, =a, -o) | Standalone feminine ending -a; functions as suffix meaning 'tailed' in genus names; gives the word its 1st-declension feminine gender |
A pure Greek compound: disco- (disk) + -ura (tail). The name is treated as a Latin 1st-declension feminine noun in the nominative singular, standard for zoological genus names. No epithet is being analyzed here as the user supplied only the genus name.
Pronunciation
- dis-co-SOO-ra Antepenult stress: the penult vowel (u) is short and followed by only one consonant (r), so the penult is light and stress retreats to the antepenult (co).
Commonly: dis-co-SOO-ra (common usage matches the formal pronunciation)
Other readings
dis- (Greek: separate, apart, two) + cosura, but this split is implausible given the clear disco- combining form in the dictionary and the biological context of the spatulate tail feathers.
Both roots (disc- and ur-/ura) are confirmed in the dictionary as Greek. The name almost certainly alludes to the racket- or disk-tipped outer rectrices (tail feathers) of the racket-tailed coquette hummingbirds placed in this genus. Discosura is treated as a Latin feminine noun (genus names are always latinized), though both its components are Greek — a standard and acceptable formation in zoological nomenclature.