Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Cygnus cygnus

Cygnus cygnus

9.9
A large white swan that makes a loud trumpet call
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Cygnus cygnus
  • We spotted a family of Cygnus cygnus on the lake, their calls echoing across the water.

Examples

  • The distinctive trumpet call of Cygnus cygnus can be heard in northern Europe during their breeding season.

  • The migration patterns of the Cygnus cygnus have fascinated ornithologists for decades.

  • The Cygnus cygnus is a majestic bird.

  • Look at that Cygnus cygnus swimming gracefully!

  • The distinctive trumpet call of Cygnus cygnus can be heard in northern Europe during their breeding season.

  • We spotted a family of Cygnus cygnus on the lake, their calls echoing across the water.

  • The migration patterns of the Cygnus cygnus have fascinated ornithologists for decades.

Synonyms

whooper
vsCygnus cygnus
  • UK
1 8.9

A large white swan with a long loud call that lives in Europe and Asia

is the scientific species name without range detail
whooper swan
vsCygnus cygnus
  • UK
8.5

A large white bird with a long neck that makes loud trumpet calls

is the scientific species name rather than common form

Surface Forms

Cygnus cygnus singular
Cygnus cygnuses plural

Morphology

Cygnus + Cygnus

The binomial name is literally the genus repeated as the species: if a learner knows 'Cygnus' means a swan genus, they can infer 'Cygnus cygnus' refers to a swan species (the whooper swan). Although Latin taxonomic names are specialized, the meaning is compositional (genus + species), so it is transparently derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Cygnus cygnus comes from the Latin word cygnus, which means 'swan', and the name uses the same word twice so it literally says 'swan swan'. This simple, literal name points to the large, loud bird known as the 'whooper swan'.