Ornithes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A taxonomic group comprising all feathered, winged, warm-blooded vertebrates commonly known for their ability to fly and diverse species
2. A class of animals characterized by feathers, beaks, laying hard-shelled eggs, and most species possessing the power of flight
3. A category of vertebrates distinguished by feathers, wings, and a high metabolic rate, representing the broad grouping of all birds in biological classification

Etymology: "Ornithes" is the plural of "ornis," the term used for a group of birds. The Greek word "ornis" (genitive "ornithos") meant simply "bird," and its stem "ornith-" went on to supply a whole family of scientific terms, from "ornithology" to "ornithopter." The name for this group comes to English through German. The German zoologist's coinage "Ornis," borrowed from the Greek, was used to label the bird fauna of a region or the collective bird life of an area, and from there it was taken up as a taxonomic label. Biologists kept the Greek plural ending, so "ornithes" carries the Greek inflection rather than an English one. The same Greek root, "ornith-," appears in "ornithine," an amino acid named after its discovery in bird droppings.

Synonyms: birds, avian species, fowl, feathered creatures, ornithoids