Rostratula
ross-TRAT-yoo-luh
Genus
the little-beaked one
Literally: little beaked one
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| rostr- | beak, bill, snout; beak-like projection | Latin (rostr, -i) | from Latin rostrum (beak, snout), stem rostr- |
| -at- | provided with, having the quality of | Latin (-atus / -ata / -atum) | past-participial / adjectival suffix forming 'rostratus' = beaked, furnished with a beak |
| -ul- | diminutive suffix: small, little | Latin (-ulus / -ula / -ulum) | diminutive; here in feminine form -ula, giving the genus feminine grammatical gender |
| -a | nominative singular feminine ending | Latin | marks the word as a feminine Latin noun in the nominative singular |
Rostratula is a single-word genus name formed entirely from Latin. The base noun is rostrum (beak). The suffix -atus/-ata converts it into an adjective meaning 'furnished with a beak' (rostratus). The diminutive suffix -ulus/-ula then produces rostratula, a feminine noun meaning 'little beaked one'. As a genus name it stands alone and is treated as a feminine Latin noun in the nominative singular.
Pronunciation
- ross-TRAT-yoo-luh Penult rule 5: the penult vowel (a in -trat-) is short but followed by two consonants (t + l are not a mute+liquid pair here treated as position), so the penult is stressed. The penult syllable is 'trat', giving stress there.
Other readings
Some authorities parse -atula as an undivided diminutive suffix -atulus/-atula, which is functionally equivalent and gives the same meaning.
Rostratula is the genus name of the painted-snipes (family Rostratulidae), small wading birds characterised by their long, slightly down-curved, bill. The Latin word rostrum originally meant 'gnawing instrument' (from rodere, to gnaw), then came to mean the beak of a bird, the snout of an animal, or the ram of a ship. The diminutive ending -atula (= -atus + -ulus/-ula) is well-attested in Latin biological nomenclature to suggest a smaller or daintier version of the base concept.