Gymnogyps
JIM-no-jips
Genus
The bare-headed vulture
Literally: naked vulture
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| gymno- | naked, bare | Greek (gymn, -o) | combining form; the -o- is the standard Greek combining vowel built into this root |
| -gyps | a vulture | Greek (gyp, =s) | nominative singular form -gyps; head noun of the compound |
A Greek compound noun used as a Latin genus name (treated as masculine). The combining form gymno- modifies the head noun -gyps ('vulture'), yielding a noun-in-apposition compound: 'the naked/bare vulture.' The name alludes to the unfeathered head and neck characteristic of New World vultures, most famously the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus).
Pronunciation
- JIM-no-jips Antepenult stress: the penult syllable '-no-' contains a short vowel followed by only one consonant (g), so none of the penult-stress conditions are met; stress therefore falls on the antepenult 'gym-'. Initial G is before y, so g = 'j' (palatal rule); both instances of y render as short i.
Other readings
The -gyps segment also has a homophone gyps, -o meaning 'chalk' (plaster), but 'vulture' is the overwhelmingly correct reading here given the zoological context.
Both roots are confirmed in the dictionary. The 'chalk' homophone gyps, -o (id 2684) is a false friend here; the correct root is gyp, =s (id 2683) meaning 'vulture', which is a well-attested Greek word (γύψ) used throughout ornithological nomenclature (e.g. Gyps fulvus, the Griffon Vulture). The name was coined by Charles Bonaparte in 1842 for the California Condor lineage.