Onychorhynchus
oh-NIK-oh-RINK-us
Genus
the one with a clawed or hooked beak
Literally: claw-beak
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onych- | nail, claw, talon | Greek (onych, -o) | stem of Greek ὄνυξ (onyx, onychos); combining form onycho- |
| -o- | connecting vowel | standard Greek combining vowel linking onych- to rhynch- | |
| -rhynch- | snout, beak, bill | Greek (rhynch, -o) | from Greek ῥύγχος (rhynchos) |
| -us | nominative singular masculine ending | Latin (=us) | standard Latinized Greek genus-name ending; grammatical gender masculine |
The name is a compound of two Greek roots joined by the connecting vowel -o-. Onycho- (claw/nail) modifies rhynch- (beak), giving the sense 'claw-beak' or 'hooked beak'. The whole compound is Latinized with the masculine nominative ending -us, as is standard for genus names. There is no specific epithet here; this is a genus name alone.
Pronunciation
- oh-NIK-oh-RINK-us The word has six syllables: o-ny-cho-rhyn-chus. The penult 'rhyn' contains a short vowel followed by two consonants (nch), so penult-stress rule 5 applies, giving stress on 'RHYN-'. However, 'o-NY-cho' also carries a strong secondary stress on the second syllable because it is the head of the first compound element. In classical pronunciation the primary stress falls on the penult: oh-nik-oh-RINK-us. Common anglicised usage shifts to oh-NIK-oh-rink-us, stressing the antepenult of the first element.
Commonly: oh-NIK-oh-rink-us (antepenult stress on the first element, as commonly used in English)
Other readings
One could theoretically read onych- as referring to the gemstone onyx (same Greek root ὄνυξ, named for its nail-like colour), but in zoological context 'claw' is the correct reading, alluding to the striking, hook-tipped bill of the Royal Flycatcher.
Onychorhynchus is a small Neotropical genus of tyrant flycatchers (family Tityridae) famous for the spectacular fan-shaped, coloured crest of the males. The name alludes to the strongly hooked tip of the bill, which resembles a curved claw (talon). The Greek root ὄνυξ / ὄνυχος also gives English 'onyx' (the stone) and medical terms such as onychomycosis (nail fungus). The Greek root ῥύγχος also appears in Rhynchops (skimmer), Rhynchosia, and many other genera; it is confirmed in the dictionary as rhynch-, -o.