Reiterating "Raptor"

["Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com>]

Tracy Ford replied to me, and here is my own response:

  The Latin _raptor_ is derived from _rapere_, which means to
ravish, to rape, to snatch [as in taking something by force for
the purposes of rape, etc., or to do "dastardly" things to it,
e.g. Snidely Whiplash was a raptor]; the -or suffix is used to
amend to a person or animal which does this. The connotation is
given close to the sense of grasping something with talons,
claws, and this is how it is applied to birds of prety, which
lack grasping claws on the hand. But as predatory theropods lack
talons on the feet, the grasping organ is the hand, and in this
sense, they snatch with the hands. As the term is a technically
the subject of a phrase, it requires an object: hence, ovi +
raptor: snatcher [of] eggs OR egg snatcher.

  The use of the term to mean "robber, thief" is used by
application, for technically one who snatches something away is
a thief. However, the term _lestes_ (Greek) was used by Osborn
in *Ornitholestes* and by Sues in *Saurornitholestes* to imply
the true consideration of a thief, so it is likely that Osborn
knew the distinction between the two terms.

  This is the proper use of the term _raptor_. It has been
subsequently colloquialized to infer a small predator after
extensive publication of the names *Velociraptor* and
*Oviraptor*, even though the name *Rapator* had been published
before [there is no Latin word or possible declination that
results in *Rapator*, but it is likely to be considered a use of
making a proper noun out of the word]. Names like *Eoraptor*,
*Utahraptor*, *Bambiraptor*, and *Variraptor* are examples of
this colloquial usage, but drift from the true form of the word.
Thus, the popular image of the term "raptor" became applied to
any dromaeosaur-like animal. *Bambiraptor* is a nonesense name,
much as "momerathe" is, as the name is a "raptor" + a nickname,
and literally means nothing. *Bambi* may have been a better
choice, considering. It's unliklely the complete
*Acrocanthosaurus* skull will ever receive the name
*Franacanthus* or something like that. The name *Pyroraptor*, by
contrast, is given as both in honor of an event (a post-forest
fire discovery) and an allusion to mythology, in this case
Prometheus: the Olympian fire-snatcher, the titan who snatched
[stole] fire from Zeus, and is a double pun --  such names are
wonderful, and *Pyroraptor* remains one of my most favorite
dinosaur names.

  The continued use of the term "raptor" to refer to a small
predator with a grasping manus is a persistent, probably
ridiculous usage ... but it persists. We need to get back into
the habit of using the etymological use, in the sense of the egg
snatcher and the shell snatcher. Osborn named *Velociraptor*
probably in the sense used at the beginning of this paragraph,
but does not elaborate on why; a small, swift predator. His
structure is, however, false, and leads one to suppose the name
will ultimately be read as "snatcher of swift things" or we can
hold a collective groan and think on how it will suddenly seem
as if it means "swift bird of prey dinosaur"....

  Oh well.

=====
Jaime A. Headden

  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhr-gen-ti-na
  Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Pampas!!!!

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/