Sphecotheres
sfek-OH-ther-eez
Genus
the wasp-hunter (a bird that hunts wasps)
Literally: wasp-hunter
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| sphec- | a wasp | Greek (sphe, -ci, =) | Stem form sphec- (cf. =sphex, genitive sphēcos); the same root as Sphex (a digger-wasp genus) |
| -o- | connecting vowel | standard Greek combining vowel | |
| -ther- | hunt for; summer | Greek (ther, -o) | The combining form ther-o- means 'to hunt'; -theres thus = 'one who hunts' |
| -es | agent or doer suffix | Greek | Greek agentive ending; together -theres = 'hunter' |
Sphecotheres is a Greek compound: sphec- (wasp) + -o- (connecting vowel) + -ther- (hunt) + -es (agentive suffix). The whole word is a single noun used as a genus name, treated as grammatically masculine in Latin. It means literally 'one who hunts wasps.' The genus (figbirds, family Oriolidae) was named by Vieillot (1816); figbirds are known to hawk insects including wasps.
Pronunciation
- sfek-OH-ther-eez Antepenult stress: penult syllable 'ther' has a short vowel (e) followed by only one consonant (r) before the next syllable, so it is light; stress therefore falls on the antepenult 'o'. Final -es is pronounced 'eeze' per the -es rule.
Other readings
sphec-o-THER-i-um reading -ther- as 'wild beast' (ther, -i, -io, =ium) is possible but gives the less satisfying 'wasp-beast'; the agentive -es reading (wasp-hunter) is strongly preferred.
The wasp root appears in two dictionary forms: sphe, -ci (combining form spheci-) and =sphex (the standalone form, genitive sphēcos, giving the stem sphec-). Sphecotheres uses the sphec- stem directly before the connecting vowel -o-. 'ph' in sphec- is pronounced as 'f' in scientific Latin, giving the initial 'sf-' cluster. Sphecotheres viridis (the Australasian figbird) is the type species; the genus is now placed in Oriolidae.