Megatriorchis
meg-uh-try-OR-kis
Genus
the great Triorchis — a large hawk of the ancient 'three-testicled' kind
Literally: large three-testicled [hawk]
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| mega- | large, great | Greek (meg, -a, -alo) | combining form mega- used before tri- |
| tri- | three | Greek (tri) | prefix shared by Greek and Latin; here Greek context |
| -orchis | the testicle; a plant named from the shape of its roots | Greek (orchi, -d, -do, =s) | nominative singular form orchis; the classical hawk-name Triorchis (Aristotle) rested on the ancient belief that certain hawks possess three testes; Megatriorchis simply prefixes mega- to that established name |
The name is an all-Greek compound noun used as a single uninflected Latin genus name (neuter or masculine, treated as masculine). It is formed as mega- (large) + tri- (three) + orchis (testicle, nominative singular), giving the compound 'large Triorchis.' Triorchis was already a classical bird-name (cf. Aristotle, Historia Animalium), referring to a hawk credited with three testes; Megatriorchis was coined (Schlegel, 1862) to denote a larger relative of that type — Doria's Goshawk (Megatriorchis doriae).
Pronunciation
- meg-uh-try-OR-kis Penult rule 5: the penult vowel 'o' (in '-or-') is followed by two consonants, r and ch (= k), making the penult heavy by position → stress falls on the penult '-OR-'.
Other readings
mega- + atri- + orchis is formally possible but yields 'large black-testicle,' which has no ornithological support; the tri- reading is strongly preferred.
Triorchis as a bird-name originates in Aristotle (4th c. BCE) and was reused by early modern ornithologists; it is not a dictionary entry in the roots dictionary as a standalone compound, but its components (tri- and orchis) are both attested there. The ch in orchis is pronounced as hard k (MODE 2 consonant rule). Megatriorchis doriae (Schlegel, 1862) is the only species in this monotypic genus; it is endemic to New Guinea.