Mino
MY-no
Genus
The myna — a genus of starlings named after the local vernacular word for these birds
Literally: Mino (a vernacular name for the myna bird)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mino | The myna bird; from Hindi mainā, the common name for mynas and starlings | Hindi (via French/Portuguese vernacular) (mino / mainā) | Used as a stand-alone genus name; the dictionary match for ino- (Greek, 'fiber; muscle; occiput') at position 1–4 is a positional coincidence and not etymologically relevant here |
Mino is a uninomial genus name treated as a Latin feminine noun in apposition. It was coined by René Lesson in 1827 for a group of Australasian mynas (family Sturnidae). The name is a Latinized form of a vernacular word for the myna bird, ultimately traceable to Hindi mainā, which spread into European languages (French/Portuguese mino, myna) through colonial-era naturalists.
Pronunciation
- MY-no Two-syllable word: stress falls on the penult (only syllable before the final), i.e. penult rule for two-syllable words.
Other readings
Some sources link the name to Latin minium ('red lead', referring to the bright orange-yellow bill and facial skin of these birds), which is in the dictionary as mini-, minia-, minium (Latin, 'red lead'). This is plausible as a secondary motivation by the author, but the primary origin is the vernacular bird name.
The root ino- (Greek, 'fiber; muscle; occiput') found by the dictionary scanner at position 1–4 is a substring coincidence and is not the etymology of this name. The root minium (Latin, 'red lead') is a plausible secondary motivation given the vivid orange-yellow bare facial skin of Mino mynas, but the primary derivation is from the Hindi/vernacular bird name mainā. Availability as a genus name is established: Mino Lesson, 1827 (ZooBank / Catalogue of Life).