rectirostral
May. 11th, 2010 07:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordI'm pretty sure I'm going to get pecked at this one, but here goes:
rectirostral (rek-tih-ROS-truhl) - adj., having a straight beak.
Or if you prefer, a straight bill. So the curve-bill thrasher is not this. From Latin roots recti-, straight (from rectus, right) + rÅstrum, bill/beak. The latter is, yes, also where we get rostrum, a stand for speaking upon -- because the Romans called sharp ramming prows the "beak" of the warship, and the ones they collected as war prizes from the Cartheginians during the First Punic War were used to decorate one corner of the Forum, which became a preferred spot for political speeches. But while they original rostra were rectirostral, that has nothing to do with our word today.
---L.
rectirostral (rek-tih-ROS-truhl) - adj., having a straight beak.
Or if you prefer, a straight bill. So the curve-bill thrasher is not this. From Latin roots recti-, straight (from rectus, right) + rÅstrum, bill/beak. The latter is, yes, also where we get rostrum, a stand for speaking upon -- because the Romans called sharp ramming prows the "beak" of the warship, and the ones they collected as war prizes from the Cartheginians during the First Punic War were used to decorate one corner of the Forum, which became a preferred spot for political speeches. But while they original rostra were rectirostral, that has nothing to do with our word today.
---L.
