Aeneasidae
/ˌiːniːˈæsɪdiː/noun
A zoological family name formed from Aeneas, used in scientific taxonomic classification.
Did you know?The name ultimately invokes Aeneas, the Trojan hero whose legendary journey from a destroyed city became the foundation myth of Rome in Virgil’s Aeneid.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Αἰνείας (Aineías)
“The personal name Aeneas, the Trojan hero of epic tradition; its deeper derivation is uncertain.”
Classical Latin
Latin
Aenēās
“Aeneas, the Trojan prince and legendary ancestor of the Romans.”
1st Century BCE
Latin
Aenēis
“The Aeneid, Virgil’s epic poem recounting Aeneas’s journey from Troy to Italy.”
19th Century
New Latin
-idae
“A zoological family suffix derived from Greek patronymic formations, meaning a group or lineage associated with a named ancestor.”
Modern scientific nomenclature
New Latin
Aeneasidae
“A taxonomic family name built from Aeneas plus the zoological suffix -idae.”