nycticorax

See also: Nycticorax

Latin

Alternative forms

• nocticorax

Noun

nycticorax m (genitive nycticoracis); third declension

1. nightjar, bittern or similar bird
   • c. 600 CE – 625 CE, Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae 12.7.41:

     Nycticorax ipsa est noctua, quia noctem amat. Est enim avis lūcifuga, et sōlem vidēre nōn patītur.

     The nightjar itself is nocturnal, because it loves the night. For it is a light-fleeing bird, and cannot bear to see the sun.

Usage notes

• Often translated (from Leviticus 11: 16) as night raven:- a bird whose booming call was regarded as an omen.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	nycticorax	nycticoracēs
Genitive	nycticoracis	nycticoracum
Dative	nycticoracī	nycticoracibus
Accusative	nycticoracem	nycticoracēs
Ablative	nycticorace	nycticoracibus
Vocative	nycticorax	nycticoracēs

References

• “nycticorax”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• nycticorax in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.