Pelecanus
pel-eh-KAY-nus
Genus
the pelican
Literally: pelican
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelecanus | pelican (a large water bird) | Latin (pelecanus) | Latin noun, masculine, second declension (nominative singular); itself a Latinization of Greek pelekan |
Pelecanus is a single-word genus name, a Latin noun in the nominative singular. It is a direct Latinization of the Ancient Greek πελεκάν (pelekán), itself derived from πέλεκυς (pelekys), meaning 'axe' or 'hatchet', probably an allusion to the bird's large, broad, axe-like bill. As a genus name it stands alone, with no epithet here.
Pronunciation
- pel-eh-KAY-nus Penult rule 4: the penult vowel 'a' in '-ca-' is long (open syllable before a single consonant), so stress falls on the penult 'ca'.
Commonly: pel-ih-KAY-nus (the unstressed first 'e' is often reduced to a short 'i' in everyday speech)
Other readings
Some scholars segment it as pelec- (Greek pelekys, 'axe') + -anus (Latin adjectival suffix, 'pertaining to'), yielding 'axe-like [bird]', but the word reached Latin as a whole unit from Greek and the -anus ending is not productive here in the usual Latin adjectival sense.
The dictionary entry for 'pelecanus' is found under the root 'pelec-' / 'pelecanus', confirmed in the dictionary as a Latinization of Greek πελεκάν (pelekan) The deeper Greek root πέλεκυς (pelekys, 'axe') is not separately listed in the dictionary but is well-attested in classical scholarship (confidence: high) Pelecanus is the type genus of the family Pelecanidae, the pelicans, and gives that family its name