Megaceryle
meg-uh-SER-ih-lee
Genus
great kingfisher
Literally: large kingfisher
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| mega- | large, great | Greek (meg, -a, -alo) | combining form mega- used before a consonant |
| -ceryle | a kingfisher | Greek (ceryl, =us) | Greek κήρυλος (kērulos); the standalone form cerylus becomes ceryle when used as a genus name (feminine, following New Latin convention) |
A compound Greek noun used as a New Latin genus name. The first element mega- (great) modifies the head noun ceryle (kingfisher). The name is treated as feminine in New Latin, following the convention for genus names ending in -e derived from Greek feminine or neuter forms. There is no connecting vowel because mega- already ends in -a, which runs directly into the c- of ceryle. The name was coined by Kaup (1848) for the giant kingfishers, a genus that includes the largest kingfisher species in the Americas (Ringed Kingfisher) and Africa (Giant Kingfisher).
Pronunciation
- meg-uh-SER-ih-lee Five syllables: meg-uh-SER-ih-lee. The penult vowel (-i-, written y) is short and followed by only one consonant (l), so the penult is light. Stress therefore falls on the ANTEPENULT (-cer-). The final -e is a word-final vowel = long 'ee'. The c before e is pronounced 's' (soft-c rule).
Commonly: meg-uh-SER-ile (some speakers collapse the last two syllables into one, treating -yle as a single unit rhyming with 'mile'); the five-syllable scholarly form is preferred
Other readings
A strict alternative segmentation mega- + acer + -yle is conceivable (Latin acer = sharp), but the dictionary confirms ceryl = kingfisher, making that reading unnecessary and incorrect.
The Greek source word κήρυλος (kērulos) referred to a seabird, often identified by ancient authors as a kingfisher or halcyon; the dictionary entry confirms 'a kingfisher' as the meaning. Megaceryle is a genus of large kingfishers in the family Alcedinidae, comprising four species: the Ringed Kingfisher (M. torquata), Giant Kingfisher (M. maxima), Crested Kingfisher (M. lugubris), and Amazon Kingfisher (M. amazona). No roots were missing from the dictionary; both segments are confirmed with high confidence.