Greek and Latin in Biological Nomenclature 27 



4. Verbal stems. When the first term is a verbal stem, it enters 

 into composition with a thematic -e (the form of the second 

 person singular present imperative of - verbs), or with a 

 sigmatic stem, -<n, resembling the sigmatic stem of aorists. 

 The influence of analogy has been felt here also, in that 

 both connectives occasionally yield to the -o- of noun stems, 

 and, more rarely, e and 4 of the verbal stems interchange or 

 assimilate. 

 <f>cpe-fioTpvs ((f>epu), bear, ySoVpv;, florpvos, 6, bunch of grapes) 



bearing bunches of grapes 



\vo-i-6ptg (Ava), loose, Opi, rpt^d?, 77, hair) with loose hair 

 <e/Dco--/3ios (<e/oto, bear, /3ios, 6, life) bearing life 

 neper e-(f>ovr) ($epo>, bear, (01/77, *7 death) Persephone, bringer of 

 death 



(7repOu>, destroy, TroAts, rj, city) sacker of cities 

 rule, 0aAaoxra, 77, sea) ruling the sea 

 ), leave, <r/aa, T), shade) shadowless 

 TO), throw, KtvSwos, 6, risk) venturesome 



THE FIRST TERM 



The first term of a compound may be a nominal stem (noun, 

 pronoun, or adjective), an indeclinable particle (adverb, prepo- 

 sition, or inseparable particle), or a verbal stem. The form of 

 the first term will be that of its stem if this ends in -o; if the 

 stem ends in -a, -o- will be substituted as the connective, and if it 

 ends in -t, -v, or a consonant, -o- will be added as a connective. 

 The connective is omitted in the case of an indeclinable particle, 

 and it is regularly elided before an initial vowel of the last term. 

 In the following examples intended to show the form in which 

 first terms of various categories should enter into composition, 

 the effect of analogy is extended over all first terms of compound 

 words which take a connective, with the exception of adjectives 

 in -vs, -a, -v, and verbal stems. Its use might well be extended 

 to verbals upon the analogy of AetVo), which regularly enters into 

 composition in the form, \nro-, but verbal first terms are rare in 

 scientific compounds, and are rather to be discouraged on ac- 

 count of the alternatives to which they are certain to give rise. 



347 



