A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

-ys: nouns ending in -ys (sg. generally f. III); ); cf.-yx: nouns ending in –yx;

1. The Greek word for mouse and also rat is mys, gen. sg. myos (s.m.III), a noun of the third Greek declension (related to Latin 'mouse:' mus, gen. sg. muris, q.v.) is sometimes rendered into Latin words ending in -mys.

The following is a paradigm made by adding the Latin Third Declension endings to the stem my-:

mys, gen.sg. myis (s.m.III), q.v., mouse, q.v. and rat.



     singular   plural               singular    plural
Nom.  mys       myes                 Calomys           
Gen.  myis      [myum] [myium]       Calomyis       
Dat.  myi       myibus               Calomyi             
Acc.  myem      myes                 Calomyem      
Abl.  mye       myibus               Calomye

myidion,-i (s.n.II), abl. sg. myidio, the diminutive of mys: little mouse (my-idion).

Calomys americanus, the deer-mouse; Oryzomys palustris, the rice-rat; Peromyscus californicus, a deer-mouse; Megamys patagonensis, a fossil rodent; Antechinomys laniger, the little jerboa.

NOTE: Steyskal (1969) used this noun to display "examples of irregularity in genitive endings [which] pertain to parasites whose specific names are formed from names of host-genera ending in the word 'mys.'"

The host genera were Apomys; Cynomys; Dipodomys; Dremomys; Heteromys; Hesperomys; Otomys; Phascolomys; Pitymys; Rhabdomys; Scotinomys; Thallomys; Thomomys; Zelotomys.

epithets: gen.sg. ending in -myis



gen.sg. endings (correct)     gen.sg. endings (other)
          phascolomyis 	  -mydis: dremomydis hesperomydis, otomydis, <
          thallomyis           pitymydis [declined like -chlamys]
           			  -mysi   cynomysi, thomomysi (mys + i)
				  -myia   otomyia   (my + ia)
				  -mius   dipodomius (m + ius) 
                          -muris  thomomuris (the gen.sg. of the Latin)

The Greek spelling is gen. myos; acc. myn; nom.pl. myes, acc. pl. myas, dat. pl. mysi and mysi(n), etc. indicating this noun is not of the sort with the genitive in -mydis. The majority of epithets were (incorrectly) composed in -mydis, however, and other variants.

2. Greek nouns ending in -us (upsilon), gen.sg. -udos, rendered into Latin as -ys, -ydis (s.f.III), abl.sg. -yde;

-chlamys,-ydis (s.f.III), mantle [> Gk. chlamys,-ydos, s.f.III a short cloak or mantle (Lat. paludamentum); see '-chlamys,-ydis: in Gk. comp.';



         singular            plural 
Nom.   Coleochlamys            
Gen.   Coleochlamydis          
Dat.   Coleochlamydi           
Acc.   Coleochlamydem            
Abl.   Coleochlamyde

Aulacochlamys (alga); Basichlamys (alga); Coleochlamys (alga);

Ecdysichlamys (alga); Gloeochlamys (alga); Keriochlamys (alga);

Leptochlamys (alga); Lobochlamys (Chlorophyceae, Protist);

Nephrochlamys (alga); Oogamochlamys (Chlorophyceae, Protist);

Phaeoschizochlamys (alga); Pyramichlamys (alga); Schizochlamys (alga); Sklerochlamys (alga); Tetrachlamys (alga); Vitreochlamys (alga).

Chlamydia,-ae (s.f.I) (Chlamydiaceae, order Chlamydiales, class and phylum Chlamydiae). A genus of three species: Chlamydia trachomatis (of trachoma), C. suis (of pigs) and C. muridarum (of mice).

NOTE: -stachys,-ydis (s.f.III), spike, is an exception in that in Greek

the genitive is '-yos' (see next entry).

3. Greek nouns ending in -us (upsilon), gen. sg. -uos, rendered into Latin as -ys,-yis;

-pitys,-yis (s.f.III), pine-tree [> Gk. pitys,-yos, s.f.III, a pine-tree (Lat. pinus)].



       singular             plural     
Nom.  Hypopitys (s.f.III)     
Gen.  Hypopityis              
Dat.  Hypopityi               
Acc.  Hypopitym               
Abl.  Hypopitye

Sciadopitys,-yis (s.f.III)

-botrys,-yis (s.m.III), cluster or bunch of grapes (Lat. racemus).

Gliobotrys; Heterobotrys; Hyalostachybotrys; Stachybotrys; see -botrys.

-drys,-yis (s.f.III), oak; Halidrys (genus of marine plants, alga); Phycodrys (alga); Pseudophycodrys (alga).

-pitys,-yis (s.f.III), pine.

EXCEPTION: botanical usage for Stachys L. (s.f.III) Horse-nettle, which would be Stachyis in the gen. sg., is rather Stachydis [> Gk. stachys,-yos (s.m.III), spike, an ear of corn [Lat. spica; note the Gk. noun is considered feminine in botanical usage];



        singular         plural            singular     plural
Nom.    -stachys      -stachydes      Nom.  Stachys       
Gen.    -stachydis    -stachydum      Gen. Stachydis       
Dat.    -stachydi     -stachydibus    Dat.  Stachydi      
Acc.    -stachydem    -stachydes      Acc. Stachydem       
Abl.    -stachyde     -stachydibus    Abl.  Stachyde

Subfamily: Stachydoideae (Stachys,-ydis).

NOTE: Gk. compounds using stachys as a prefix or suffix may use stachy-, stachyo-; -stachys,-ydis; -stachyus,-a,-um; see stachy-.