Strepera
STREP-er-uh
Genus
The noisy one — referring to the loud, ringing calls of the birds in this genus (the currawongs and pied currawongs of Australia)
Literally: Noisy one; the noisy (feminine)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| streper- | noisy, making a noise (from Latin strepere, to rattle, clatter, make noise) | Late Latin (streper) | adjectival stem; the root strepere is classical Latin; the combining form is recorded in Late/Low Latin |
| -a | feminine singular nominative ending | Latin | makes the word a feminine adjective/noun in apposition; genus names are treated as Latin nouns, so -a gives feminine gender |
Strepera is a single-word genus name formed from the Late Latin adjective stem streper- (noisy) plus the Latin feminine nominative ending -a, giving strepera, 'the noisy one' (feminine). It functions as a substantivised feminine adjective, standing as a noun in the nominative singular. No specific epithet is present — this is the genus name alone. The name alludes to the famously loud, far-carrying calls of the currawongs (family Artamidae).
Pronunciation
- STREP-er-uh Three syllables: STREP-er-uh. Penult vowel ('e' in '-er-') is short and followed by only one consonant (r), so the penult is light; stress therefore falls on the antepenult ('Strep'). Final -a = 'uh'.
Other readings
One might parse strep- (Greek strephein, to twist/turn) + -era, but the dictionary match for streper as a unit meaning 'noisy' is the cleanest and most biologically apt reading, and is confirmed by the Latin verb strepere.
The classical Latin verb is strepere (to make a noise, rattle, roar); the adjectival form streperus, -a, -um (noisy) is well attested in classical and Late Latin, making this etymology very secure. Strepera Lesson, 1830 is the accepted genus for the Australian currawongs (e.g. Strepera graculina, the pied currawong). The competing segmentations (trep- 'turn', pera 'pouch', per 'through') are positional artifacts and carry no biological or etymological support here.