List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names

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This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants is largely derived from Latin and Greek, as are some of the names used for higher taxa such as orders and above. At the time when Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) published the books that are now accepted as the starting point of binomial nomenclature, Latin was used in Western Europe as the language of science, and scientific names were in Latin or Greek: Linnaeus continued this practice.

Although Latin is now largely unused except by classical scholars and for certain purposes by botanists and the Roman Catholic Church, Latin can still be found in scientific names. It is helpful to be able to understand the source of scientific names. While the 'Latin names' do not always correspond to the current English common names, they are often related, and if their meanings are understood they are easier to recall.

Often a genus name or specific descriptor is simply the Latin or Greek name for the animal (e.g. Canis is Latin for a dog). These words are not included in the table below, because they will only occur for one or two taxa. The words listed below are the common adjectives and other modifiers that repeatedly occur in the scientific names of many organisms.

The list also includes a collection of scientific words and common prefixes used in English. Words that are very similar to their English forms are not included.

Not all the words or parts of words used in scientific names for living things are derived from Latin. Some are derived from Greek, some from languages local to the places where the organisms are found, and many from the names of the people who were involved in the discovery of an organism. However, all are treated grammatically as if they were Latin words. In particular, this means that words based on personal names end in -i for males and -ae for females. So "Humboldt's penguin" has the binomial name Spheniscus humboldti. Note too, from this example, that despite the fact that Humboldt is a proper name, a species descriptor will not be capitalized.

Greek, unlike Latin, is a living language. However, scientific nomenclature generally uses latinised spellings and uses Ancient Greek rather than Modern Greek vocabulary. While Latin is mostly found in use with biological studies, the remaining sciences and arts depend on an almost exclusively Greek lexicon. Medicine, for example, has an 80% Greek lexicon, although when biological studies are included the rate drops to 65%.

The list includes personal names only where their Latin form is markedly different from their English or other original language form. Words that are very similar to their English forms are not included.

Note that not all the attributions to languages in this table are authoritative.

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List of words

In this table L = Latin, G = Greek, and LG = similar in both languages.

Latin/Greek	Language	English	Example
albus	L	White	American White Ibis, Eudocimus albus
archaeos	G	Ancient	Archaeopteryx
arctos	G	Northern	Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos
argentatus	L	Silvery	Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
arvensis	L	From the field	Skylark, Alauda arvensis
australis	L	Southern	Kauri, Agathis australis
borealis	L	Northern	Northern Right Whale Dolphin, Lissodelphis borealis
brachy	G	Short	Smallhead Rush, Juncus brachycephalus
bradus	G	Slow	Three-toed sloth, Bradypus
brevis	L	Short	Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Ceratogymna brevis
canadensis	L	From Canada	Bighorn Sheep, Ovis canadensis
cauda	L	Tail	Long-tailed Bush Warbler, Bradypterus caudatus
caulos	G	Stem, stalk	Stemless Gentian, Gentiana acaulis
cephalus	G	Head	Mediterranean Gull, Larus melanocephalus
chilensis	L	From Chile	Paradise Tanager, Tangara chilensis
chloreus	G	Green	Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
cola	L	Dweller	Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola
cristatus	L	Crested	Aardwolf, Proteles cristatus
cyanos	G	Blue-green	Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyana
dactylus	G	Finger or toe	Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
deca	G	Ten	Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata
dermis	G	Skin	Yellow Staining Mushroom, Agaricus xanthodermus
di-	G	Two-	Diptera
diplo-	G	Double	Diplodocus
dodeca	G	Twelve
dolicho-	G	Elongated	Caribbean Anole, Anolis dolichocephalus
domesticus	L	From the house, domestic	House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
dorsum	L	Back	Black-striped Weasel, Mustela strigidorsa
dulcis	L	Sweet	Almond, Prunus dulcis
echinus	G	Spine	Sea-urchin cactus, Echinopsis
ennea	G	Nine	Scurvy-grass Sorrel, Oxalis enneaphylla
erectus	L	Upright	extinct subspecies of humans: Homo erectus ("upright man")
erythro	G	Red	Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus
familiaris	L	Common	Dog, Canis familiaris
flora	L	Flower	Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora
folius	L	Leaf	American Beech, Fagus grandifolia
fuscus	L	Dark brown	Sooty Tern, Sterna fuscata
fulvus	L	Yellow	Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva
gaster	G	Belly	Common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster
glycis	G	Sweet	Soybean, Glycine max
hexa	G	Six	Water Primrose, Ludwigia hexapetala
hirsuta	L	Hairy	Kiwa hirsuta
homo	L	Man	genus Homo of recent and extinct humans: Homo sapiens, Homo erectus
hortensis	L	From the garden	Orphean Warbler, Sylvia hortensis
indicus	L	Indian	Malayan Tapir, Tapirus indicus
lateralis	L	Side	Black-footed Rock Wallaby, Petrogale lateralis
leucus	G	White	White-winged Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
lineatus	L	Lined or striped	Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata
lutea	L	Yellow	Red-billed Leiothrix, Leiothrix lutea
maculatus	L	Spotted	Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularius
major	L	Greater	Great Tit, Parus major
maximus	L	Largest	Royal Tern, Sterna maxima
melanus	G	Black	Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophris
minimus	L	Smallest	Least Flycatcher, Empidonax minimus
minor	L	Smaller	Great Frigatebird, Fregata minor
mono-	G	One-	Swinhoe's Storm-petrel, Oceanodroma monorhis
montanus	L	Mountains	Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
morphos	G	Shape	Lagomorpha
mauro-	G	Dark	Dark Shrew, Crocidura maurisca
niger	L	Black	Black Poplar, Populus nigra
nona	L	Nine
nothos	G	False, bastard
notos	G	Southern	Hopping mouse, Notomys
novaehollandiae	L	From New Holland (Australia)	Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae
novaeseelandiae	L	From New Zealand	Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae
noveboracensis	L	From New York	Northern Waterthrush, Seiurus noveboracensis
obscurus	L	Dark	Dusky Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obscurus
occidentalis	L	Western	Eastern Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis
octa	G	Eight	Octopus
oeos-	G	Tubular
officinalis	L	For the workshop; medicinal	Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis
oleum	L	Oil	Jack O'Lantern, Omphalotus olearius
orientalis	L	Eastern	Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis
ortho-	G	Straight	Orthoptera
pachys	G	Thick, stout	Pachycephalosaurus
palustris	L	Of the marsh	Mugger Crocodile, Crocodylus palustris
parvus	L	Small	Mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus
pedis	L	Footstep	Showy lady slipper, Cypripedium reginae
pelagius	G	Oceanic
penta-	G	Five-
petra	G	Rocky, stony
phyllo	G	Leaf	Garden Lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus
phyton	G	Plant
platy	G	Flat or Broad	Flathead trout, Salmo platycephalus
pratensis	L	From the meadow	Meadow Foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis
protos	G	First
pteron	G	Wing	White-winged Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
punctatus	L	Spotted	Thirteen-spotted lady beetle, Hippodamia tredecimpunctata
rhiza	G	Root	Bushy seedbox, Ludwigia helminthorrhiza
rhynchos	G	beak or snout	Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
rhytis	G	Wrinkled
rubra	L	Red	Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra
rostra	L	Beak	Common Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
rufus	L	Red	Red Wolf, Canis rufus
sapiens	L	Wise	recent subspecies of humans: Homo sapiens sapiens ("very wise man")
sativus	L	Sown, cultivated	Pea, Pisum sativum
saurus	G	Lizard	Lancetfish, Alepisaurus
sinensis	L	From China	Tea, Camellia sinensis
sperma	L	Seed	African daisies, Osteospermum
spheno-	G	Wedge	Tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus
stoma	G	Mouth, opening
striatus	L	Striped	Striated Heron, Butorides striatus
silvestris	L	Of the wood; wild	Wild Cat, Felis silvestris
tetra-	G	Four-
tinctorius	L	For dyeing	Woad, Isatis tinctoria
tomentosus	L	Furry	Fuzzy Mock-orange, Philadelphus tomentosus
tres, tris	LG	Three	Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
trich-, thrix	G	Hair	Cloud ear fungus, Auricularia polytricha
unus	L	One
variabilis	L	Variable	Grey Bunting, Emberiza variabilis
variegatus	L	Variegated	Variegated Laughingthrush, Garrulax variegatus
velocis	L	Swift	Velociraptor
ventrus	L	Belly
verrucosus	L	Rough skinned	Warty Pig, Sus verrucosus
viridis	L	Green	Green Alder, Alnus viridis
volans	L	Flying	Southern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys volans
vulgaris	L	Common	Beet, Beta vulgaris
xanthos	G	Yellow	Yellow Staining Mushroom, Agaricus xanthodermus
zygos	G	Yolk	Zygoptera