Gallinula

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of wading birds found in marshy areas, commonly referred to as moorhens or marsh hens
2. A category of relatively small aquatic birds characterized by their long toes and preference for wetland habitats
3. A group of birds belonging to the family Rallidae, known for their distinctive calls and often colorful plumage in some species

Etymology: Gallinula is the scientific genus name for moorhens, the waterbirds of the rail family, and it was coined in Latin by the naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1800 (publishing as Lacépède, Histoire naturelle des oiseaux). It is a diminutive of Latin "gallina," meaning "hen," so the name means something like "little hen," an allusion to the chicken-like look of these birds. The chicken connection runs through the Latin word itself, which is related to "gallus," meaning "rooster" or "cock." The Latin "gallina" is the usual word for a female domestic fowl, and the ending "-ula" is a diminutive suffix, added here to make the name suggest a smaller, hen-like bird. Lacépède was drawing on classical Latin vocabulary, not on any ancient Roman name for moorhens.

Synonyms: moorhen, swamp hen, marsh bird, waterbird, rail

Antonyms: INVALID