Turnix
TUR-niks
Genus
The quail-like bird; named by deliberate clipping of the Latin word for quail
Literally: A quail
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnix | A quail | Latin (coturni, -c, =x) | Apocope (clipping) of classical Latin coturnix; the initial syllable co- is dropped to form a novel but recognisable genus name |
Single-word genus name. Turnix is a direct truncation of the Latin nominative singular coturnix ('a quail'), treated as a Latin feminine noun in the third declension, stem turnic-. Bonnaterre (1791) dropped the opening syllable co- to create a distinct but transparently quail-referencing name for the buttonquails.
Pronunciation
- TUR-niks Two-syllable word: stress falls on the penult (Rule 1)
Other readings
No alternative segmentation is plausible; the word is a straightforward clipping of coturnix.
Turnix is an apocope of the classical Latin coturnix (dictionary form: coturni, -c, =x; NL/L, 'a quail'). The full form coturnix is also the name of the true-quail genus Coturnix. The buttonquails (Turnix) are not true quails; the similar name reflects their superficial resemblance. The dictionary records both the truncated combining stem turni, -c, -ci (NL, 'a quail') and the full classical Latin coturni, -c, =x (L, 'a quail'), confirming the clipping relationship.