genus Pavo
- noun
- /ˈdʒɛnəs ˈpeɪvoʊ/
- Specialized
- The genus Pavo includes the Indian peafowl and the green peafowl.
Examples
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The distinctive feathers of birds in the genus Pavo have made them popular in art and culture.
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The genus Pavo includes both peacocks and peahens.
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Researchers studied the evolutionary history of the genus Pavo in Southeast Asia.
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Did you know that the genus Pavo is native to South Asia?
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The genus Pavo includes the Indian peafowl and the green peafowl.
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Researchers studied the evolutionary history of the genus Pavo in Southeast Asia.
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The distinctive feathers of birds in the genus Pavo have made them popular in art and culture.
Synonyms
A large colorful bird whose male has a long showy tail
Surface Forms
Morphology
genus + Pavo
The expression is fully compositional: 'genus' names a biological rank and 'Pavo' is the taxonomic name, so together they denote the genus called Pavo (the group of peafowl species). Scientific name constructions like 'genus X' are regular and cross-linguistically transparent, so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.
Etymology
The name genus Pavo comes from the Latin word 'pavo', which means 'peacock'. The word genus means a 'group' of related birds and Pavo points to peafowl, so the name is used today for the group of large, colorful peafowl species.