Pipra
PIP-ruh
Genus (bird)
the woodpecker (a genus of manakins, named by Linnaeus in 1764 from the Greek word for a woodpecker-like bird)
Literally: woodpecker
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| pipr- | a woodpecker | Greek (pipr) | Greek πίπρα, a small bird; Latinized with the feminine nominative singular ending -a to form a genus name treated as feminine gender in Latin |
| -a | Latin feminine nominative singular ending | standard Latinization suffix giving the genus name its grammatical gender (feminine) |
Pipra is a single-word genus name. It is a direct Latinization of the Greek noun πίπρα (pipra), meaning 'a woodpecker.' Linnaeus treated it as a feminine Latin noun of the first declension. The Greek root pipr- takes the Latin ending -a to conform to Latin taxonomic convention. No specific epithet is given here; the name stands alone at genus rank.
Pronunciation
- PIP-ruh Two-syllable word: stress always falls on the penult (first syllable). Penult vowel 'i' is short. Final -a is pronounced 'uh'.
Other readings
One might consider a connection to Latin piper ('pepper') given the similar spelling, but the dictionary root pipr (Greek, 'woodpecker') is the primary and best-attested match for this ornithological genus name.
Pipra (Linnaeus, 1764) is a genus of manakins (family Pipridae) in the order Passeriformes, not woodpeckers. The Greek word πίπρα referred to some small, active bird (variously glossed as 'woodpecker' or a similar bird); Linnaeus applied it broadly to a new genus of small Neotropical birds. The dictionary confirms pipr as Greek meaning 'a woodpecker' (entry id 4993). The ending -a is a standard Latin first-declension feminine nominative, not a separate dictionary root.