..... post lectum occisum anserem mitto vulnusque cruris haud altum aceto diluo.
Is "vulnus" a 4th declension plural accusative noun?
If so, why is it modified by "altum", which is singular?
2 Answers
…post lectum occisum anserem mitto…
…I throw the dead goose behind the bed…
…vulnusque cruris haud altum aceto diluo.
…and wash the by-no-means-deep wound in my leg with vinegar.
This is a neuter third declension noun, vulnus, vulneris. Since it's neuter, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.
This word is the source of English "vulnerable" (able to be wounded), which can be a good way to remember the stem.
answered Jun 25, 2022 at 3:04
No, it's neuter 3rd declension singular. You can check with Perseus' Morph tool if you're ever unsure. If you then click on the definition (under Lewis and Short), you'll see the genitive ends in -is, which marks it as 3rd declension.
Meanwhile, 4th-declension nouns' genitives end in -us.
It declines as follows:
| sing. | plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | vulnus | vulnera |
| Gen. | vulneris | vulnerum |
| Dat. | vulneri | vulneribus |
| Acc. | vulnus | vulnera |
| Abl. | vulnere | vulneribus |
You'll also sometimes see it spelled voln-.
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In case you'd prefer it, there is a table formatting option. But that's not the only option on the table, of course.– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Jun 25, 2022 at 13:31
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@JoonasIlmavirta I tried doing it, and it rendered it perfectly in the preview, but when I posted it, I only saw the markup instead.– cmw ♦Jun 25, 2022 at 14:39
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I tried to put it in a table, and it worked. I must have sacrificed to the right god... Feel free to re-edit or roll back.– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Jun 25, 2022 at 20:36