fauna
pronunciation
How to pronounce fauna in British English:
UK [ˈfɔːnə]
How to pronounce fauna in American English:
US [ˈfɔːnə]
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- Noun:
- all the animal life in a particular region
- a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
Word Origin
- fauna
- fauna: [18] Fauna was a Roman goddess of the countryside, sister of Faunus (the Roman equivalent of Greek Pan) who was a nature and fertility god worshipped by shepherds, farmers, etc. The Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus applied her name in 1746 to his catalogue of the animals of Sweden, Fauna suecica ‘Swedish Fauna’, and it has been used since then as a collective term for the animal life of a region (one of the earliest records of its use in English is by the naturalist Gilbert White in 1771). (Faunus, source of English faun [14], may be related ultimately to Latin favēre ‘regard favourably’, source of English favour.)=> faun
- fauna (n.)
- 1771, "the total of the animal life of a certain region or time, from Late Latin Fauna, a rustic Roman fertility goddess who was wife, sister, or daughter (or some combination) of Faunus (see faun). Popularized by Linnaeus, who adopted it as a companion word to flora and used it in the title of his 1746 catalogue of the animals of Sweden, "Fauna Suecica." First used in English Gilbert White (1720-1793) the parson-naturalist.
Example
- 1. This national park is an area with unique fauna and flora .
- 2. Wind power does undoubtedly pose some hazard to birds and other fauna ; some say it harms humans .
- 3. The fauna of tyva is also unique : you can meet both a reindeer and a camel here .
- 4. Through it , we learn of the many others the wondrous diversity of flora and fauna with whom we cohabit on this planet .
- 5. Others are accidents of conflict : places from which people have fled and where the fauna and flora have thrived as a result .