Ocyphaps
oh-SY-faps
Genus
swift pigeon
Literally: swift dove / swift pigeon
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ocy- | Swift | Greek (ocy) | Modifier element; combining form of ōkys |
| -phaps | A dove, pigeon | Greek (=phaps) | Head noun; Greek feminine; functions as the grammatical noun of the genus name, treated as Latin feminine in taxonomy |
A pure Greek compound: the adjectival/adverbial root ocy- ('swift') modifies the head noun phaps ('dove, pigeon'), following the standard Greek pattern of prefixing a descriptive element to a noun. The genus name is treated as a Latin feminine noun in the nomenclatural code, matching the natural gender of the underlying Greek phaps. No connecting vowel is needed because ocy- ends in a vowel (y) that directly precedes phaps.
Pronunciation
- oh-SY-faps The penult syllable 'cy' contains the vowel y in an open syllable (cy | phaps), making it long; a long penult vowel triggers stress on the penult (rule 4).
Other readings
A minority reading might attempt o- (egg?) + cyph- (bent) + -aps, but cyph- and -aps together yield no meaningful ending, and the dictionary clearly supports ocy + phaps as the superior segmentation.
Ocyphaps is a monotypic Australian bird genus containing the Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes). The name aptly describes the bird's rapid, direct flight — it is literally the 'swift pigeon.' The root ocy (Greek ōkys, 'swift') also appears in Ocypode (the ghost crab genus, 'swift-footed') and Ocyurus. phaps appears in several pigeon/dove genera (e.g. Phaps, Leucosarcia, Petrophassa) and is a well-attested Greek word for pigeon used by Aristotle.