Syrmaticus
sir-MAT-ih-kus
Genus
the long-tailed pheasant; the trailing-train pheasant
Literally: the one belonging to a trailing train
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| syrmat- | something dragged along; a trailing robe or train | Greek (syrm, =a, -ato, -o) | Oblique (genitive) stem of syrma is syrmat-os; the combining base syrmat- is drawn from that stem |
| -ic- | of, relating to, having the nature of | Greek (-tic) | Latinized adjectival suffix -icus; fused with the stem to give -ic- before the nominative ending |
| -us | nominative singular masculine ending | Latin | Standard termination for a Latin masculine genus name |
Syrmaticus is a single-word genus name formed from the Greek oblique stem syrmat- (from syrma, 'something dragged along') plus the adjectival suffix -icus (Greek -ikos, Latinized), giving 'of or pertaining to a trailing train'. It functions as a substantive adjective used as a Latin masculine noun in apposition to itself as a taxon. The name alludes to the spectacularly long, sweeping tail feathers that are dragged behind these pheasants.
Pronunciation
- sir-MAT-ih-kus The penult vowel (-i-) is short and followed by only one consonant (c), so the penult is light; stress therefore falls on the antepenult (-mat-).
Other readings
A purely Greek reading could segment syrm- + -ato- + -ic- + -us, treating -ato- as the combining-form infix, but the result is the same root and meaning; no substantively different segmentation exists.
The root syrm, =a, -ato-, -o is confirmed in the dictionary with the meaning 'sweepings, refuse; something dragged along'; in the context of these pheasants the relevant sense is 'something dragged along', i.e. a long trailing train or robe. The suffix -ticus / -icus is listed in the dictionary as 'belonging to (usually with roots of nouns referring to habitats)'; here it is used more broadly as a relational adjectival suffix, which is standard in zoological nomenclature. No OCR errors or missing roots were encountered.