Fregetta
freh-GET-tah
Genus
the little frigate-bird — a small seabird reminiscent in its swift, gliding flight of the larger frigate-birds
Literally: little frigate
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| fregat- | a frigate (a type of fast warship; also the frigate-bird) | Italian (fregat, =a) | stem of Italian fregata; terminal -a dropped before the diminutive suffix |
| -etta | small (feminine diminutive suffix) | New Latin (-ett, =a, =um, =us) | feminine form -etta; gives the genus its feminine grammatical gender |
Fregetta is a single-word genus name formed by attaching the New Latin feminine diminutive suffix -etta to the stem fregat- (Italian fregata, frigate). The result is treated as a feminine Latin noun in the nominative singular. Bonaparte (1855) coined it as a deliberate diminutive of the already-established genus Fregata (the true frigate-birds), distinguishing the smaller storm-petrels by that one suffix.
Pronunciation
- freh-GET-tah Penult stress, Rule 5: the penult vowel (e) is short but is followed by two consonants (tt), making the syllable heavy and drawing stress to the penult.
Other readings
A naive segmentation might read reg- (Latin rex/reg-, king) + -etta, but the well-attested dictionary form fregat, =a makes the frigate reading certain.
The genus contains two species of storm-petrels (family Oceanitidae). The name is an intentional diminutive echo of Fregata, coined to signal a superficial resemblance to frigate-birds in flight while marking the smaller size of these birds.