Neopsittacus
nee-oh-SIT-uh-kus
Genus
new parrot (a parrot genus distinct from the classical parrots)
Literally: new parrot
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neo- | new, recent, young | Greek (neo) | combining form of neos; used as a prefix to indicate a new or derived genus |
| -psittac- | a parrot | Greek (psittac, -o) | stem psittac- from Greek psittakos; the initial 'p' of 'ps-' is silent at the start of the whole compound |
| -us | masculine nominative singular ending | Latin (=us) | standard masculine genus-name ending in zoological nomenclature |
A single compound Greek noun Latinized as a masculine second-declension noun in -us. The prefix neo- ('new') modifies the stem psittac- ('parrot'), forming a noun meaning 'new parrot.' This construction is typical of zoological genus names that wish to signal close affinity with an existing genus (here Psittacus, Linnaeus 1758) while marking the taxon as distinct.
Pronunciation
- nee-oh-SIT-uh-kus Antepenult stress: the penult vowel 'a' in '-tac-' is short and followed by only one consonant before the final -us, so stress falls on the antepenult syllable '-sit-'.
Other readings
Some authorities parse neo- + psittakos as a pure Greek compound before the Latin -us ending is applied; the segmentation is the same either way.
The initial cluster 'ps-' follows the rule that an initial 'p' before 's' is silent in English pronunciation: hence 'nee-oh-' not 'nee-oh-p-'. Within a compound word, however, both letters of 'ps' are sounded; here 'ps' is word-medial so both are theoretically pronounced, but English speakers routinely drop the 'p' in 'psittacus' even mid-word — the respelling reflects the fully articulated form. Neopsittacus is a small genus of lorikeets (Psittacidae) endemic to New Guinea, comprising the Musschenbroek's lorikeet (N. musschenbroekii) and the emerald lorikeet (N. pullicauda). The root 'psittac' was confirmed in the dictionary; 'neo' was confirmed in the dictionary.