Leucopsar
lyoo-COP-sar
Genus
the white starling
Literally: white starling
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| leuco- | white | Greek (leuc, -o) | combining form leuco- |
| -psar | speckled; the starling | Greek (psar, -o) | head noun; initial 'ps-' — 'p' is silent at the start of a word |
A compound Greek noun used as a genus name, treated as Latin neuter in nomenclature. The modifier leuco- ('white') qualifies the head noun psar ('starling'), following the standard Greek pattern of adjective-stem + connecting vowel -o- + noun-stem. No specific epithet is present; this is a genus name only.
Pronunciation
- lyoo-COP-sar Three syllables: leu-cop-sar. Penult vowel 'o' is short but is followed by two consonants (-ps-) across the syllable boundary (rule 5: short penult vowel + two following consonants → stress the penult).
Commonly: loo-COP-sar (some speakers reduce 'eu' to plain 'oo')
Other readings
A reading through cop- ('oar/handle' or 'pain') + ops- ('face/appearance') is superficially possible but yields no coherent meaning and is firmly rejected in favour of leuco- + psar-, which aligns perfectly with the animal: the Bali myna (Leucopsar rothschildi), an almost entirely white starling.
The initial cluster 'ps-' of psar follows the rule that initial ps- has a silent 'p'; in the middle of a compound (leuco-psar) both letters are fully pronounced, giving the '-kops-' cluster heard in the penult. Leucopsar rothschildi, the Bali myna or Rothschild's starling, is the only species in this genus — a critically endangered, almost wholly white starling native to Bali, Indonesia. The dictionary entry for psar notes both 'speckled' and 'the starling'; the genus name exploits the starling sense while the modifier leuco- ('white') overrides the 'speckled' nuance, aptly describing the bird's plumage.