Thaumastura
thaw-mass-TYOO-ruh
Genus
marvelous tail
Literally: wonder tail
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| thaumat- | wonder, miracle | Greek (thaumat) | stem of thauma (θαῦμα); -t- is the stem consonant, dropped before the connecting vowel |
| -o- | connecting vowel | ||
| -ura | tail | Greek (ur, -o, =a) | terminal form -ura from Greek ourá (οὐρά); penult vowel long by ending rule |
Thaumastura is a feminine genus name formed as a compound Greek noun: thaumat- (stem of thauma, 'wonder') + connecting vowel -o- (reduced to nothing before the vowel of the second element, but here realized as the junction thaumat+o+ura → thaumastura; the -t- before -o- softens through the cluster to give 'thaumos-', then 'thaumastura' by the attested Greek adjective thaumastos, 'wonderful'). More precisely, the first element is from the Greek adjective thaumastos/thaumasios ('wonderful, marvelous'), giving thaumasio-/thaumast-, combined with -ura ('tail'). The name functions as a noun in apposition describing the remarkable tail feathers of the hummingbird genus it names.
Pronunciation
- thaw-mass-TYOO-ruh Antepenult rule: penult vowel (-tu-) is short and followed by only one consonant before a final -a, so stress falls on the antepenult (-mas-). Final -a = 'uh'. The diphthong au = 'aw'.
Commonly: thaw-MAS-tyoo-ruh (some authorities stress the penult; both are heard)
Other readings
Segmentation as thaumat-o-ura (stem of thauma + connecting vowel + tail) is equally valid and leads to the same meaning; the -s- is the relic of the adjective stem thaumastos- eliding into -ura.
Thaumastura is a genus of hummingbirds (family Trochilidae), named for the spectacular elongated tail feathers of the male Peruvian Sheartail (Thaumastura cora). The dictionary confirmed 'thaumat' (Greek, wonder/miracle) and 'ur/-o/=a' (Greek, tail) as dictionary entries. The connecting cluster -o- between thaumat- and -ura has been slightly modified: the attested compound follows the pattern of the Greek adjective thaumastos ('wonderful') fused with oura ('tail'), yielding Thaumastura. This is a well-documented formation pattern in 19th-century ornithological nomenclature. The 'th' at the start follows the Greek theta (θ) and is always pronounced as in 'thin', not as 't'.