difficilis

Difficilis is a Latin adjective meaning difficult, hard to accomplish, or troublesome. In scholarly usage, it is frequently employed as an epithet in the binomial names of organisms and other taxa, as well as in other Latin phrases used in science.

In Latin grammar, difficilis is a three-ending adjective with masculine and feminine nominative singular form difficilis and neuter form difficile; it agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. The word is related to facilis, meaning easy, with dis- serving as a negating prefix.

Taxonomic usage: When a taxonomist assigns the epithet difficilis, it often signals that the species is hard to differentiate from closely related taxa, difficult to locate in the field, or presents identification challenges. The epithet does not imply a single, universal biological trait and its intended meaning can vary with the author and context.

Beyond taxonomy, the term appears in discussions of Latin grammar and in lists of Latin adjectives used in scientific names. Difficilis is not a genus or higher taxon in itself; rather, it is a descriptive descriptor that may accompany a wide range of genus names across plants, animals, and other biological groups.

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