RE: Pterosaur diversity (was: Re: Waimanu)

[Nick Pharris <npharris@umich.edu>]

Quoting Mark Hallett <marksabercat@yahoo.com>:

> Hi Nick, In regard to the root opsi/ ops, is this
> where we get the derived meaning for "eye" in medicine
> and in some(possibly incorrect)paleontological
> nomenclature?. If I remember correctly, the amphibian
> name Eryops in the past has always translated as
> "drawn-out eye", when according to what you've stated
> it should be "drawn-out face".  --Mark Hallett

The original meaning of the root (in Proto-Indo-European) is pretty 
clearly 'eye' or 'see', but in Greek it usually means 'face'.  From 
what I know of *Eryops*, the 'face' meaning would certainly seem to 
make more sense.

--
Nick Pharris
Department of Linguistics
University of Michigan

"Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity."
    --Edwin H. Land