Doricha
DOHR-ih-kuh
Genus
Named after Doricha of Naucratis, a Thracian courtesan of antiquity celebrated by the poet Sappho and mentioned by Herodotus
Literally: The woman Doricha; poetically perhaps 'little gift' or 'gift-woman,' though used by Reichenbach as a whole classical proper name
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doricha | Greek feminine proper name; the historical courtesan Doricha of Naucratis. Likely contains the root doro- (gift, spear, or hide/skin) with a hypocoristic feminine ending -icha, but the name is used by Reichenbach as an indivisible classical proper noun, not as a descriptive compound. | Greek (Δωρίχα) | Treated as a Latin feminine noun, nominative singular, because the name ends in -a; genus names ending in -a are feminine by convention |
| dor(o)- | a gift; a spear; a hide, skin (speculative underlying root of the personal name) | Greek (doro) | Root found in dictionary as doro (Greek); its role here is etymological background only, not a direct combining form used by the author |
| -icha | hypocoristic or diminutive feminine suffix found in Greek personal names | Greek | Not a standard scientific suffix; not found as an independent dictionary entry |
Doricha is a genus name standing alone (no species epithet was submitted). It is an indivisible Greek feminine proper name adopted as a Latin feminine nominative singular noun. The ending -a automatically confers feminine grammatical gender under ICZN convention. Reichenbach used it as a poetic classical allusion, not as a descriptive root compound.
Pronunciation
- DOHR-ih-kuh Three syllables: penult 'i' is short and followed by only one consonant (ch) before final -a, so it is light; stress therefore falls on the antepenult 'Dor-'. Antepenult vowel o is followed by a single consonant r then the vowel i, satisfying the rule for a long antepenult vowel ('oh'). Final ch = hard k (before a); final -a = 'uh'.
Other readings
dori- (Greek, 'sacrificial knife', dictionary form dori/-d/=s) + -cha (unclear) — possible but unlikely; the knife meaning does not suit a hummingbird genus
dor- (Greek, 'hide, skin', dictionary form dor/=a/-o) + -icha — possible etymological reading but overridden by the well-attested proper name Doricha in ancient sources
Doricha is a Greek historical proper name (Δωρίχα), not a descriptive compound; it is used by Reichenbach (1854) as a classical feminine allusion to the courtesan Doricha of Naucratis, Egypt, known from Sappho fr. 15 and Herodotus 2.135. The dictionary contains doro (Greek: a gift, a spear, a hide/skin), dori/doris (Greek: a sacrificial knife), and dor/dora (Greek: a hide, skin), all of which are found in the tools, but none is the direct source of the name as used here. The segment -icha is not found in the dictionary and is treated as a hypocoristic Greek feminine name-ending from general knowledge (in_dictionary: false). Doricha (hummingbirds) is sometimes treated as a synonym of Calothorax; availability should be verified against current checklists (e.g. IOC World Bird List, ZooBank).