Microstilbon
my-kro-STIL-bon
Genus
the little gleaming (bird)
Literally: small glittering one
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro- | small, little | Greek (micr, -o) | combining form micr- + connecting vowel -o- |
| -stilb- | to glitter, to gleam | Greek (stilb, -o) | stem of στίλβω (stilbō); appears in stilbite, stilbene |
| -on | neuter nominal ending; forms a noun denoting the thing characterised by the root | Greek | Greek neuter nominative singular; makes the genus name grammatically neuter |
A single compound Greek noun used as a genus name. micr(o)- (small) + stilb- (to glitter) + -on (Greek neuter noun ending). The whole word is treated as a Latin neuter noun in biological nomenclature. No specific epithet is present; Microstilbon is a monotypic hummingbird genus (Microstilbon burmeisteri).
Pronunciation
- my-kro-STIL-bon Antepenult stress: the penult vowel (-bon) is short and followed by only one consonant (n) with no special ending, so stress falls on the antepenult syllable (-STIL-), which is the third from last. The antepenult vowel i is short (followed by two consonants lb).
Other readings
One could theoretically read -stilbon as the adjective στίλβων (stilbōn, 'gleaming'), the present participle of stilbō, giving 'the small gleaming (thing)' — effectively the same sense. The suffix -on alone as a neuter noun ending is the more standard zoological reading.
Microstilbon is a monotypic genus of hummingbirds (family Trochilidae), containing only Microstilbon burmeisteri (the Slender-tailed Woodstar), named by Sclater in 1887. The root stilb- was confirmed in the dictionary (stilb, -o: to glitter/gleam). It also appears in the mineral name stilbite and the chemical stilbene. The connecting vowel between micro- and stilb- is -o-, standard for Greek compounds, but here it is absorbed/elided since stilb- itself begins with a consonant cluster, so micro- links directly.