Tom,

> Clithon (gender?)
Greek clitos means slope or hillside, but this seems to be a different word.
Most Greek words that end in -on are neuter; the suffix is cognate with
Latin -um.

> Neripteron (Obviously the first part, "ne", is in reference to nerite.  Is
it then "rip" in reference to river bank or "tero" in a earth reference?)
More likely Greek neri- < nerites, a sea-snail, and pteron = feather, wing,
fin. Usually classical roots are joined by connecting vowels: -i- between
Latin roots and -o- between Greek roots.

> Theodoxus (is this "God's word?")
Greek theos = god (or God); doxus is evidently latinized from Greek doxa =
opinion, glory, praise. "God's word" has also been borrowed from Greek:
theology. Doxology = words of praise, eh?

Because roots are pithier in Greek than in Latin, Greek lends itself to
compounding words better than Latin does. Our 'Latin' names are mostly
derived from Latin, Greek, or latinized Greek; the Romans learned a great
deal from Greek teachers. Remember, before Rome conquered all of Italy, it
was not all Italian: There were Gauls in the north, Etruscans in the middle,
and Greeks in the south. The Greek signature is seen even today in the DNA
of people living in the areas colonized 2500 years before by Greeks, in
Sicily, southern Italy, southern France, even the Black Sea coast of
Romania.

Cheers,
Andy

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama

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