Odontorchilus
oh-don-TOR-ki-lus
Genus
the toothed-bill (bird whose bill edges resemble a serrated orchid-flower lip)
Literally: toothed orchid(-lip)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| odont- | a tooth | Greek (odon, -t, -to) | stem form odont- of Greek odous; refers to the slightly serrated bill edges of these wrens |
| -o- | connecting vowel | standard Greek combining vowel; its vowel also serves as the initial vowel of the following root orchi- | |
| rchil- | the testicle; a plant (orchid) named from the shape of its roots | Greek (orchi, -d, -do, =s) | initial o- elided because the connecting vowel already supplies it; the orchid-flower lip alludes to the shape or texture of the bill |
| -us | nominative singular masculine ending | Latin | standard Latin masculine termination applied to Greek stems in New Latin taxonomy |
A New Latin masculine noun formed from two Greek stems joined by the connecting vowel -o-. The initial o- of orchi- is elided against that connecting vowel, yielding odont-o-rchil-us. The genus name stands alone as a uninomial; it describes a physical feature of the bill (toothed, orchid-like serration).
Pronunciation
- oh-don-TOR-ki-lus Five syllables: o-don-tor-chi-lus. Penult 'chi' has a short vowel (i) followed by a single consonant l, so stress falls on the antepenult 'tor'. Antepenult vowel o is short (followed by single consonant r, not two vowels after).
Other readings
odont-o-chil-us: 'toothed lip' (odont- + chil, =us, Greek 'a lip'), which is equally apt for a bill description and avoids the elision; in this reading the 'r' at position 6 would be anomalous—possibly a scribal or typographic intrusion in the original description. Many authors favour this reading.
The elision of the initial o- of orchi- against the connecting vowel -o- is the neatest explanation for the spelling, but it is unusual enough that the alternative segmentation odont-o-chil-us ('toothed lip') deserves equal weight and may be the coiner's actual intent. The Latin diminutive suffix -lus is not the source of the final syllable here; -us is simply the standard New Latin masculine nominative ending on the Greek stem rchil-. Odontorchilus is a small genus of wrens (Troglodytidae) from South America; the name refers to the fine tooth-like serrations visible on the cutting edge of the bill.