Rhea pennata
RHEE-uh pen-NAH-tuh
Species
The feathered rhea
Literally: Rhea feathered
Rhea · genus name
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhea | A kind of bird | New Latin (rhe, =a) | New Latin genus name, feminine singular, used as a standalone noun (=a ending). The name simultaneously honours Rhea, the Titan goddess of Greek mythology (mother of Zeus and the Olympians), whose name in Greek (rhe, =a, -o) also carries the sense of 'a flow, current' (from Greek rhein, to flow). The exact mythological motivation given by Möhring (1752) is uncertain, but the divine name was the intended allusion. |
pennata · specific epithet
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| penn- | a feather; a wing | Latin (penna, -ati) | Stem of penna; the -a of penna is dropped before the suffix |
| -ata | provided with, having (feminine adjectival suffix) | Latin | Latin feminine past-participial/adjectival suffix -atus/-a/-um meaning 'furnished with'; feminine form -ata agrees in gender with the genus Rhea (feminine) |
Rhea is a feminine New Latin genus name (from New Latin rhe, =a, ultimately alluding to the Titan goddess Rhea). The specific epithet pennata is a Latin feminine adjective (penna + -ata, 'furnished with feathers / winged') agreeing in gender with the feminine genus name. The name describes the bird as 'feathered' or, more evocatively, 'winged'. No gender-agreement change is required: -ata is already the feminine form, matching Rhea.
Pronunciation
- RHEE-uh Two-syllable word: stress falls on the penult (Rule 1). The penult vowel 'e' is followed directly by the final vowel 'a', making it long ('ee'). Initial 'rh' is pronounced as plain 'r' (the 'h' is silent in classical scientific pronunciation). Final 'a' is short 'uh'.
- pen-NAH-tuh Three syllables: pen-na-ta. The ending -ata is listed as a penult-stressing ending (Rule 4), so stress falls on the penult syllable 'na'. The penult vowel 'a' is long ('ah'). Final -a is short 'uh'.
Other readings
pen- ('almost') + nata ('born') is formally possible but produces the absurd meaning 'almost born'; rejected. nat- ('rump/buttocks') + -a is also possible but equally implausible given the obvious ornithological context.
The dominant segmentation is penna ('feather/wing') + feminine adjectival suffix -ata ('furnished with'), yielding 'feathered' or 'winged' — entirely apt for a large flightless bird that is nonetheless well plumaged. The saved word Rhea is feminine; the epithet pennata is already in its feminine form (-ata), so no ending change is needed. The match for pen- ('almost') + nata ('birth') is grammatically possible but semantically nonsensical in this ornithological context and is rejected. nat- ('rump, buttocks', Latin) at position 3–6 is also ruled out by context.