o-eheu:Onix - SteelixGeneric Epithet: Lithophis (“stone-snake”)“λίθος, λίθου ” - stone + “ὄφις, ὄφεω
o-eheu:Onix - SteelixGeneric Epithet: Lithophis (“stone-snake”)“λίθος, λίθου ” - stone + “ὄφις, ὄφεως ” - snake, serpent – in reference to Onix being the Rock Snake Pokémon– > [ λιθο- ] + [ ὀφι- ] – stems– >[ λιθ- ] + [ ὀφι- ] – the endingο in [ λιθο- ] disappears before the startingὀ in [ ὀφι- ]– >[ λιθοφι- ] – new stem implying “stone-snake”– > [ lithophi- ] – Latinized stem= “lithophis, lithophis ” – third-declension masculineSpecific Epithets:Onix: Lithophis saxosus (“rocky stone-snake”)Steelix: Lithophis chalybeius (“steely stone-snake”)Bene.Lithophis -is in Greek is Λίθοφις -εως.A compound comprising the stems of λίθος and ὄφις is technically eligible to have the initial vowel of its second part undergo the vowel lengthening that I mentioned elsewhere: Λίθωφις. But I cannot fully recommend that change because I am not aware of an instance where ὀφι- actually does that, and because of that such a change might obscure the etymology.Smyth gives an explanation of the origin of that vowel lengthening in compound words, and that explanation has to do with another reason that I cannot recommend the change:The lengthening in 887 is properly the result of early contraction (στρατο αγος). On the pattern of such contracted forms irrational lengthening occurs when the first part of the compound ends in a consonant, as δυς-ηλεγής (for δυς-αλεγής) cruel from ἀλέγω care for.And so Λίθωφις would be the result of Λίθοοφις, where the first ο is the Connecting Vowel. But according to the normal procedure, that Connecting Vowel normally disappears in that environment, which renders any real phonetic need for the lengthening unnecessary. A more important thing to consider is that this vowel change is an early phonetic change, and all later instances of it are due to analogy.Those who wish to employ the vowel change should be able to cite particular words that show it or at least be able to explain their innovations. -- source link
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