Microhierax
my-kroh-HY-er-aks
Genus
little hawk
Literally: small hawk
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro- | small | Greek (micr, -o) | base micr- with combining vowel -o- before the next element |
| -hierax | a hawk | Greek (hiera, -c, =x) | the dictionary entry shows three forms: base hiera-, combining form hierac-, and the standalone nominative hierax (=x). The full standalone word hierax is used here as the head noun. |
A pure Greek compound used as a masculine genus name in the nominative singular. The combining form micro- (Greek mikros, 'small') is prefixed directly to the complete Greek word hierax ('hawk'), the connecting -o- serving as the link vowel. The result, Microhierax, is treated as a masculine Latin second-declension-style noun under ICZN rules. There is no separate -ax suffix: -ax is the inflectional ending of hierax itself (cf. the stem hierac- seen in e.g. Hieracium). Note that a homophone root hier-/hiero- means 'sacred', but the dictionary entry hiera, -c, =x unambiguously provides hierax = 'a hawk', confirmed by context: Microhierax is a genus of falconets (family Falconidae), the world's smallest raptors.
Pronunciation
- my-kroh-HY-er-aks Five syllables: my-kroh-HY-er-aks. Penult is '-er-': its vowel e is short and followed by only one consonant (r) before the final syllable, so penult stress rules do NOT apply. Stress falls on the antepenult '-HI-'. The antepenult vowel i is long because it is immediately followed by another vowel (e in '-er-'), giving the long-i sound 'HY'.
Other readings
Segmenting micr-o-hier-ax and reading hier- as 'sacred' (hier, -o = Sacred) would give 'small sacred one', but this is etymologically incorrect: the head noun is hierax (a hawk), not a derived adjective of hieros.
Both relevant roots are confirmed in the dictionary: micr, -o (Greek, 'Small') and hiera, -c, =x (Greek, 'A hawk'). No roots missing. The genus Microhierax contains five species of falconets native to South and Southeast Asia; the name is perfectly apt for the world's smallest birds of prey. The element hierax (ἱέραξ) appears in several other scientific names, e.g. Hieraaetus (hawk-eagle) and the plant genus Hieracium (hawkweed, named because hawks were said to eat it to sharpen their sight).