Priotelus
pry-OT-el-us
Genus
the one with serrated tips (referring to the notched or saw-edged tail feathers)
Literally: saw-end / serrated at the tip
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prio- | a saw; to saw | Greek (prio, -n) | from Greek πρίων (priōn), genitive πρίονος; stem prion-; the -n- is dropped before the connecting vowel |
| -tel- | end, completion, purpose | Greek (tel, -o) | from Greek τέλος (telos); used here in the sense of 'tip' or 'end' (of a feather) |
| -us | nominative singular masculine ending | Latin | standard Latinized genus termination, masculine gender |
A single compound genus name formed from two Greek roots joined by elision (prion- + telos) and given a Latinized masculine nominative ending -us. The first element, prion- ('saw'), modifies the second, telos ('end/tip'), together meaning 'saw-tipped' or 'serrated at the tip.' This refers to the distinctive raquet-tipped, notched tail feathers of the Cuban and Hispaniolan trogons placed in this genus.
Pronunciation
- pry-OT-el-us Antepenult stress: penult vowel 'e' in '-tel-' is short (single consonant -l- followed by short -u-), so stress falls on the antepenult syllable '-ot-' (the 'o' of prio-). The full four syllables are Pri-o-tel-us, with antepenult = 'o-tel' unit resolving to stress on '-ot-'.
Other readings
A minority reading takes prio- as a compressed form of prior- (Latin, 'former, first') + telus, but this Latin–Greek hybrid is unlikely and unsupported by the original description; the Greek prion + telos reading is strongly preferred.
Priotelus is the genus of Caribbean trogons (family Trogonidae), containing two species: P. temnurus (Cuban trogon) and P. roseigaster (Hispaniolan trogon). The name alludes to the distinctively serrated or notched tips of their tail feathers. The root prion- (πρίων) drops its final -n- before the connecting vowel, a standard Greek compound elision; compare Prionops, Prionodon, where the -n- is retained because the next element begins with a consonant. A dictionary lookup confirmed 'prio, -n' (Greek, saw) and 'tel, -o' (Greek, end) are both present in the dictionary.