Kempiella
kem-pee-EL-uh
Genus
A genus named in diminutive honor of a person surnamed Kemp (with the Latin diminutive suffix -ella); the name also visually echoes Greek empis 'gnat,' fitting the group's identity as dance flies.
Literally: Little Kemp; alternatively, 'little gnat' (if empi- is read as Greek)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kemp- | An English surname; the genus most likely honors a naturalist or entomologist named Kemp | English (proper name) (Kemp) | Proper-name base; the final -p is softened by the connecting vowel -i- before the suffix |
| -i- | Connecting vowel linking the proper-name base to the diminutive suffix; also resembles the Latin genitive singular -i (of Kemp) | Euphonic connector standard in honorific genus names | |
| -ella | Small; used as a diminutive suffix forming feminine nouns | Latin (=ell, =a, =um, =us) | Feminine form of -ellus/-ella/-ellum; gives the genus its grammatical gender (feminine) |
Kempiella is a single-word genus name formed on the pattern [proper name] + -i- + -ella, a highly productive pattern in zoological nomenclature (compare Drosophila → Drosophilella, Culex → Culicella, etc.). The suffix -ella makes the word a Latin feminine diminutive noun in the nominative singular, meaning 'little [Kemp].' No specific epithet is present; only the genus name has been provided.
Pronunciation
- kem-pee-EL-uh Rule 5 (penult stress): the penult syllable 'el' has a short vowel followed by two consonants (ll), so the penult is stressed. Final -a is pronounced 'uh'.
Other readings
K- + empi(s) + -ella: reading the interior 'empi' as Greek empis / empid- ('a gnat'; dictionary entry: empi, -d, =s), which would give 'little gnat' — plausible because Kempiella is a genus of empidid dance flies (family Empididae). Under this reading the initial K is anomalous and unexplained, making the proper-name reading more probable. The Greek root connection may nevertheless have been intentional wordplay by the original author.
'Kemp' is not in the roots dictionary (marked in_dictionary: false); it is treated as an English proper name used as a dedicatory base, which is standard in biological nomenclature (ICZN Art. 31). The genus Kempiella belongs to the family Empididae (dance flies, order Diptera). The visual and phonetic resemblance of 'Kempi-' to Greek empis (gnat) — found in the dictionary as 'empi, -d, =s, Greek, a gnat' — may be intentional, but the leading K cannot be explained by Greek etymology alone. No specific epithet was supplied; only the genus rank has been analyzed.