Plocealauda
plo-see-uh-LAW-duh
Genus (bird)
A lark resembling a weaver-bird
Literally: weaver-lark
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ploce- | a weaver, braider | Greek (ploce, -i, =us) | combining form; final -e retained before the vowel-initial second element; cf. genus Ploceus (weaver birds) |
| alauda | a lark | Latin (alaud, =a) | feminine noun; forms the head of the compound and determines the grammatical gender (feminine) of the genus name |
A compound genus name formed by directly juxtaposing the Greek combining form ploce- (weaver) with the Latin noun alauda (lark). No connecting vowel is needed because alauda begins with a vowel. The name is treated as a Latin feminine noun in apposition, meaning 'a lark that is (also) a weaver' — alluding to the bird's morphological or behavioural similarities to both weaver-birds (family Ploceidae) and larks (family Alaudidae). The word is a Greco-Latin hybrid, which was common practice in 19th-century ornithological nomenclature.
Pronunciation
- plo-see-uh-LAW-duh Penult rule 2: the penult syllable 'lau' contains the diphthong au (= 'aw'), so the penult receives stress. The 'c' in 'ce' is softened to 's' because it precedes 'e'. Final -a = 'uh'.
Other readings
One could theoretically read 'ploce-' as from ploc- (weave, braid) + the combining vowel -e-, but the dictionary form ploce (= 'a weaver') as a standalone noun is the more economical and better-attested reading, as confirmed by the parallel genus name Ploceus.
Plocealauda is a small genus of larks (family Alaudidae) from Africa; the species Plocealauda dufresni (Thick-billed Lark) is its best-known member. The name is a deliberate Greco-Latin hybrid coinage, mixing Greek ploce- with Latin alauda; such hybrids were not unusual in 19th-century ornithological nomenclature but would be discouraged under modern best practice. Both roots were confirmed in the dictionary: ploce, -i, =us (Greek, 'a weaver, braider') and alaud, =a (Latin, 'a lark').