Trichoglossus
try-koh-GLOS-us
Genus
hairy tongue (one with a hair-like tongue)
Literally: hair tongue
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| tricho- | hair | Greek (trich, -o) | combining form tricho- joins to the following root via the connecting vowel -o- |
| -gloss- | the tongue | Greek (gloss, =a, -o) | stem gloss- from Greek glōssa; head noun of the compound |
| -us | masculine nominative singular ending | Latin | standard Latinized masculine second-declension termination applied to a Greek compound for use as a genus name |
Trichoglossus is a Latinized masculine noun formed from two Greek roots joined by the connecting vowel -o-. The modifier tricho- (hair) precedes the head noun gloss- (tongue), a typical Greek compound order. The whole compound is then given the Latin masculine nominative singular ending -us to function as a second-declension genus name. The compound can be read descriptively as 'one with a hair-like tongue', alluding to the brush-tipped, papillose tongues these lorikeets use to feed on nectar and pollen.
Pronunciation
- try-koh-GLOS-us Four syllables: tri | cho | glos | sus. Penult = 'glos': its vowel (o) is short but is followed by two consonants (ss), so penult stress applies by Rule 5. Stress falls on GLOS.
Commonly: trick-oh-GLOS-us (many English speakers shorten 'tri-' to rhyme with 'trick' rather than 'try')
Other readings
tri- (Latin, three) + cho- + gloss- + -us is theoretically parseable but makes no sense biologically and is ruled out by the clear Greek compound trich-o-gloss-
gloss- could alternatively be read as related to Latin glossa (a foreign or obscure word), but the Greek 'tongue' meaning is unambiguous in context
Both core roots confirmed in the dictionary: trich, -o (Greek, 'hair', entry 6941) and gloss, =a, -o (Greek, 'the tongue', entry 2597). The -us ending is a standard Latin Latinization suffix and not a separate dictionary root for 'pig' (=sus, entry 6476) — that coincidental overlap is irrelevant to the meaning. Trichoglossus is the type genus of lory and lorikeet parrots (family Psittaculidae); the name was coined by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1811.