Temnurus
tem-NYOOR-us
Genus
notched tail
Literally: cut tail
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| temn- | cut | Greek (temn, -o) | combining form temno-; the final -o- is dropped before a vowel-initial second element |
| -ur- | the tail | Greek (ur, =a, -o) | Greek oura / ura; stem ur- used in compounds |
| -us | Latin nominative singular masculine ending, used to Latinize the Greek compound into a genus name | Latin | gives the word grammatical gender: masculine |
Temnurus is a compound of two Greek roots, temn- (cut) + ur- (tail), given a Latin nominative -us ending to form a masculine genus name. The combination describes a tail that is cut, notched, or graduated — a reference to the deeply forked or racket-shaped tails seen in the treepies (Corvidae) placed in this genus.
Pronunciation
- tem-NYOOR-us Penult stress: the penult vowel is 'u' followed by a single consonant (r), and the rule states that most penults whose vowel is u carry the stress (Rule 4).
Commonly: tem-NUR-us (without the y-glide, also widely heard)
Other readings
No alternative segmentation is plausible; temn- + ur- + -us is the only clean split.
Temnurus is a genus of treepies (family Corvidae) named for their distinctively notched or graduated tails. The Greek root for tail appears in two dictionary forms: ur- / ura- and our- / oura-; both are attested, and ur- is the form used here. The -us ending is a Latinization convention standard in Linnaean nomenclature; it does not affect the Greek etymology of the stem.