Dyaphorophyia
dye-a-fo-ro-FY-ee-a
Genus
one of different or varied growth (form); the wattle-eyes, a genus of African birds whose facial wattles mark them as distinctly different in appearance
Literally: different-growing [thing]
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyaphoro- | different | Greek (diaphor, -o) | Greek prefix/adjective diaphoros 'different, diverse'; the spelling Dya- for Dia- is a standard orthographic variant in NL nomenclature, y for i |
| -phy- | grow, produce | Greek (phy, -a, -o) | combining form of phyein 'to grow'; connecting vowel -o- absorbed into stem |
| -ia | nominal suffix forming genus names | New Latin | standard NL feminine nominative singular genus-name ending |
The genus name is a single compound noun: the Greek prefix diaphoro- ('different') attached to the Greek root phy- ('growth, form') with the New Latin genus-name suffix -ia. The whole word is treated as a feminine noun in New Latin. The name alludes to the distinctive, varied, or aberrant form of these wattle-eye birds compared with related flycatchers.
Pronunciation
- dye-a-fo-ro-FY-ee-a Seven syllables: dy-a-pho-ro-phy-i-a. Penult is 'i', a short vowel not followed by two consonants, so stress falls on the antepenult 'phy'. The antepenult vowel y (= long i) is followed by no consonant before the next vowel, making it long, confirming antepenult stress.
Other readings
A minority reading could segment as dya (= di, 'two') + phoro ('bearing') + phyia ('growth'), giving 'doubly-bearing growth', but the dictionary entry diaphor, -o meaning 'different' fits far better contextually and matches the spelling block Dyaphoro- exactly.
The Dya- spelling is a known variant of Greek dia- (across, through; or in compounds, 'different') in 19th-century New Latin nomenclature. The specific dictionary entry diaphor, -o (Greek, 'different') is a compound already formed in Greek (dia + pherein), so the name Dyaphorophyia layers an already-compound Greek root with phyein. The genus contains the African wattle-eyes (family Platysteiridae); the name likely refers to their conspicuously different facial ornamentation (wattles) relative to other flycatcher-like birds.