the -flight suffix

[vbfdoee]

I was thinking about this suffix a lot while reminiscing about my very old, very bad OC named Ravenflight (not that it's an unusual name or anything). This quote from Ailuronymy stood out to me:

If the prefix is a bird, then it [the -step suffix] refers to how the bird steps, not how it flies.

So my interpretation of this suffix is that it means that the cat moves the way the bird flies. For instance, Owlflight would be stealthy and a good hunter, while Swiftflight would be quick and tireless.

The obvious objection would be that cats don't fly. I suppose that a metaphorical interpretation of this suffix would be silly and largely redundant, since if a cat is graceful/agile then they could just have the suffix -tail.

Thoughts? Is this dumb? Interesting? Unnecessary? Do you have something to point out that I haven't mentioned? I'm all ears.

[celestialsquared]

I see what you're saying, but then the suffix can be an insult instead of complimentary. For example, Geese are not the most graceful of flyers. So what would this mean to a cat like Gooseflight?

Also, what about cats like Squirrelflight? She was the first canon cat to use -flight; does she moves like a squirrel flies through the branches? This seems to fit because it was always pointed out to be a good hunter during her apprenticeship, but then why didn't she just become a -fang or -whisker cat?

Then there's cats paired with -flight even without an animal prefix, like Redflight for example. Because of that, I think the suffix is kinda unnecessary. Sometimes, it doesn't even sound pretty.

[vbfdoee]

I think that it shouldn't go with things that aren't bird prefixes. So things like Redflight, Squirrelflight, etc. wouldn't really be "proper", so to speak. And anyway, I think Squirrelstep was more what Firestar was going for.

Good point about Gooseflight, though.

[hediied]

You speak so negatively about the name Gooseflight yet names like Badgerstep are considered traditional. The name is really just describing the gait of the cat regardless of the fact that it has a good or bad connotation. Surely a leader would not give a name that suggested that a warrior is inept, though. But when -flight is trying to work alongside the -step suffix it fails.

Grey defines -step as "This cat steps like animal prefix." In that case, -flight would have to be "This cat flies like bird prefix" and that really does not work. I cannot think of a way to make a suffix that relates two totally different actions like such. You cannot say a cat reflects a bird's way of flight because the cat is physically unable to truly replicate flight. Another flaw in -flight is that, unless the bird is extremely distinct, the suffix says very little about the skills or gait of the cat in question. 

The suffix -flight is not invalidated by its canon use alongside a non-bird prefix; rather, the inability for a land creature to be compared with avian flight was the reason for its dismantle.  Only a few birds could be used to specifically describe a cat anyway, so having a suffix (dysfunctional, mind you) just for those small things and unlikely scenarios is kind of pointless.

Squirrelflight seemed like Erin Hunter's cheap attempt at being funny. When I first read the books, I picked up on her name referencing the way she found the ThunderClan camp: falling (or flying) off the edge. This is a very similar idea that permeated the naming of Leafpool, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf. Just naming them as a reference to something else, not their own skills.

[Grey]

Sorry to diverge a bit, but something caught my eye.

The name is really just describing the gait of the cat regardless of the fact that it has a good or bad connotation.

Definitely true, but not entirely. I interpret -step as a description of the cat's general demeanour as well as a representation of gait; because it encompasses so many traits, it's not considered positive or negative - it just is what it is. A swift, nervous, high-strung and rather twitchy brown cat with sharp senses and who is good at jumping is called Rabbitstep, even though nervousness has negative connotations.

The reason for this is because the unlikelihood of those traits combining in one cat is enough to offset labels of good or bad. That's partly why -step is so irregular.

I know this isn't exactly on-topic, so I apologise about that, but I wanted to clarify that I don't think -step is as simple as the cat's gait alone.

[hediied]

I was not sure if you really confirmed that -step is also a demeanour suffix so thank you for clarifying, Grey. One of my characters is named Flystep and he is one of the silliest behaving cats I have ever thought of.

[Grey]

Flystep is a nice name. I'm not sure what my favourite -step combination is; there are so many good options available.