Philentoma
fil-EN-toh-muh
Genus
lover of insects
Literally: insect-lover
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| phil- | love, loving | Greek (phil, -o) | combining form; final -o dropped before the vowel-initial second element |
| entoma | an insect | Greek (entom, =a, -o) | neuter plural of entomon, literally 'cut-in-two' (the notched body of insects); here used as the head element giving the genus its grammatical gender (feminine by convention for genus names) |
Philentoma is a compound genus name formed from two Greek roots: phil- (love) + entoma (insects). The two elements are joined directly because entoma begins with a vowel, so no connecting vowel is needed. The name is treated as a feminine Latin noun in apposition (standard for genus names). It was coined for a genus of flycatcher-like birds (family Vangidae) that feed on insects.
Pronunciation
- fil-EN-toh-muh Four syllables: fil-en-to-ma. Penult 'to' has a short vowel followed by a single consonant before final -a, so the stress falls on the ANTEPENULT 'en'.
Other readings
A minority reading could force a split phil + en + tom + -a (loving + within + cut), but this is needlessly complex and ignores the well-established compound word entoma (insect).
The genus Philentoma was established for a small group of Asian flycatcher-like birds; the name aptly describes their insectivorous diet. The root entoma is the same root that gives us 'entomology' (the study of insects). The phil- element is the same as in 'philanthropy', 'philosophy', etc.