Henicorhina
hen-ih-KOH-rih-nuh
Genus
the one-nostriled (wren); a bird distinguished by a particular nasal feature
Literally: single-nosed
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| henico- | single, one | Greek (henic, -o) | combining form with -o- connecting vowel absorbed into henico- |
| -rhin- | a nose; a nostril | Greek (rhin, -o) | stem rhin-, connecting vowel dropped before final vowel |
| -a | feminine singular nominative ending | Latin/Greek | gives the genus name feminine grammatical gender, as is conventional |
Henicorhina is a compound Greek noun used as a genus name, treated as feminine Latin. The head is rhin- (nose/nostril) modified by henico- (single). The -a is the Latinized feminine nominative ending. No specific epithet is present — the user supplied only the genus name.
Pronunciation
- hen-ih-KOH-rih-nuh Five syllables: hen-i-co-rhi-na. Penult 'rhi' has a short vowel followed by a single consonant (rh = one sound) then the vowel 'a' — not long by any penult-lengthening rule, so stress moves to the antepenult 'co'. The antepenult vowel 'o' is followed by single consonant 'rh' and then the vowel 'i', satisfying the rule for a long antepenult (vowel + single consonant + vowel beginning with i/e/y), confirming stress on 'co'.
Other readings
henico- + rhina (=a: a shark / file): 'single shark' — less likely for a bird; the 'nose' reading of rhin- is more biologically apt.
hen- (a year) + ico- + rhina: 'year-old shark/nose' — grammatically strained and implausible.
Henicorhina is a real genus of Neotropical wood-wrens (family Troglodytidae), described by Sclater & Salvin 1869. The 'rhin, =a' entry in the dictionary (meaning 'shark; file/rasp') is a homograph of rhin- 'nose'; the biological context strongly favors the nasal meaning. The rh- digraph represents Greek ῥ (rhô) and is treated as a single consonant for stress purposes.