Ciconia

noun

Ci·​co·​nia

sə̇ˈkōnēə

: the type genus of Ciconiidae including the common stork of Europe

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, going back to Latin cicōnia "stork," reduplicated formation of unknown origin

Note: Apparently introduced as a genus name by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in Ornithologie, ou Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux, tome 5 (Paris, 1760), p. 361 (Brisson's Ciconia alba replacing Linnaeus' Ardea ciconia as a name for the white stork). Attempts to link Latin cicōnia with the base of canere "to sing" (Indo-European *kh₂n-?) are very implausible in light of the fact that storks are mute and communicate aurally solely by bill-clattering.

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