Amazilia

noun

Am·​a·​zil·​ia

ˌaməˈzilyə

: a genus of large hummingbirds chiefly of Central America that includes several (such as Amazilia beryllina and Amazilia yucatanensis) that range as far north as the southern U.S.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, earlier a specific epithet (Ornismya amazilia, Orthorhynchus amazilia), from Amazili, a heroine in the novel Les Incas (1778) by Jean-François Marmontel

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined above

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