Milvus
MIL-vus
Genus
the kite
Literally: a kite
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| milvus | a kite (the bird of prey) | Latin (milv, -in, =us) | Latin second-declension masculine noun, =us form used as a standalone word at the end; combining forms are milv- and milvin- |
Milvus is an unanalyzed Latin noun, not a compound. It is used directly as a genus name and treated as grammatically masculine (second-declension, nominative singular -us). Any species epithets in the genus must agree in gender with this masculine noun (e.g. Milvus milvus, Milvus migrans).
Pronunciation
- MIL-vus Two-syllable word: stress falls on the penult (first syllable here), which is always the case for disyllables (Stress Rule 1).
Milvus is a classical Latin word attested in Roman authors (e.g. Pliny the Elder) for the kite, a medium-sized raptor. The dictionary entry milv, -in, =us confirms all three forms: milv- (combining stem), milvin- (adjectival/genitive stem), and milvus (nominative standalone). The genus Milvus (Lacépède, 1799) contains the Red Kite (Milvus milvus) and the Black Kite (Milvus migrans), both birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. The specific epithet of the Red Kite, Milvus milvus, is an exact repetition of the genus name — a tautonym, permissible under ICZN but not under ICN.