Re: [dinosaur] Keresdrakon, new pterosaur from Cretaceous of Brazil (free pdf)

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

Nick Pharris <npharris@umich.edu> wrote:

> > Certain genus names are deliberate portmanteaus, such as _Archelon_
> > (archos + chelone)  and _Spiclypeus_ (spica + clypeus)
>
>
> Indeed, these are examples of haplology (deletion of a syllable when the 
> following syllable begins with the same consonant), which is a semi-regular 
> process in Greek.

Yes, one famous example is the ancient Greek word "amphora" (amphi- +
phoreus: to carry using handles on both sides).  (The Linear B version
of the word retains the original pre-haplological spelling, IIRC.)

As you'd know all too well, haplology is a fairly regular process in
English (including Old English) as well.  In fact, haplology is the
reason why we have the name "England" (from "Englaland/Anglaland"),
which I presume originated because the syllable in question eroded
through usage.  Haplological dinosaur genera include _Aurornis_,
_Spiclypeus_,  and _Timimus_ - all deliberately spelled this way to
make the name shorter and easier to pronounce.

A portmanteau is usually a neologism that incorporates aspects of the
words from which it was formed from (e.g., brunch, Eurasia, Tanzania).
  The giant Cretaceous termite _Ginormotermes_ (originally
_Gigantotermes_, which was preoccupied) incorporates the portmanteau
'ginormous'.