Poecile
PEE-si-lee
Genus
The many-coloured or motley bird; named for the birds' distinctive patterned plumage
Literally: The variegated / many-coloured one (feminine)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poecil- | Variegated, many-colored; varied | Greek (poecil, -i, -o) | Latinized from Greek ποικίλος (poikilos); the root also underlies poikil- (dictionary id 5116). Feminine form ποικίλη (poikilē) used as a stand-alone noun/adjective. |
| -e | Feminine nominative singular ending (-ē in Greek) | Greek | Gives the genus name grammatical gender: feminine. Latinized as -e. |
Poecile is a monomial genus name. It is the Latinized form of the Greek adjective ποικίλη (poikilē, 'variegated, motley'), used here as a feminine substantive noun in the nominative singular. Established by Kaup (1829) for a group of tits and chickadees (family Paridae), it refers to the boldly patterned black, white, and chestnut plumage typical of the group. No specific epithet is present; this is the genus name alone.
Pronunciation
- PEE-si-lee Three syllables (PEE-si-lee). Penult 'ci' has a short vowel followed by a single consonant (l), so penult-stress conditions are not met. Stress falls on the ANTEPENULT 'Poe-'. The diphthong oe = long 'ee' (as in mete). Final -e is a long vowel = 'ee'. Middle 'c' before 'i' = 's'.
Commonly: In English birding circles the stress is the same but the diphthong is sometimes reduced to 'poy-', giving 'POY-si-lee'; this does not follow classical rules but is occasionally heard.
Other readings
A minority reading could split poe- (grass) + -cile, but the dictionary match for poecil- (variegated) is far stronger and biologically apt.
The root poecil- is a Latinization of Greek poikil- (dictionary entry 5116: 'varied; variegated'); both spellings are in the dictionary and refer to the same Greek root ποικίλος. The famous Stoa Poikile ('Painted Porch') in Athens shares the same root, showing the word's classical pedigree. Poecile was long treated as a subgenus of Parus but is now accepted as a full genus by most authorities (AOU/AOS, IOC).