Questions tagged [declension]
For questions about declension—the inflection of Latin nouns and adjectives to mark grammatical features such as case and number.
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How to identify the noun declension
I am just beginning to learn.
The issue I run into is that I learned that identifying the declension of a noun means I need to know the genitive. Well…if all I have is the noun as it is written, how ...
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Is there an online tool for the declension of 3rd declension words?
I have a hard time remembering which words are attested with a -ium gentivie plural, which words can take an accusative in -im etc, so I was looking for an online tool to help me.
The Olivetti ...
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Is any word attested in both vocative and locative?
Both the vocative and the locative are pretty rare cases, and not found in all kinds of words.
Is there any word that is attested in both cases in classical Latin?
I prefer the vocative to be distinct ...
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Are the cases in Latin always six?
In a book about linguistics I've read this sentence:
Each word has up to six different such 'cases', and each case has distinct endings for singular and plural.
Now I'm pretty sure that when I ...
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What is the -ē form in “Latīnē loquor”?
To say you speak in Latin or in Greek, you say “Latīne” or “Graecē”. What is that -ē form? I cannot figure it out from any declension table I am aware of.
Does the same -ē ending work for any other ...
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'Aurifer' or 'Auriferus'?
What is the masculine form of "Aurifera" ?
I supposed it was "auriferus":
Tibicen auriferus is like a goldish beetle.
http://www.masscic.org/sightings/cicadas/tibicen-auriferus-in-...
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Do common nominative adjective endings also work with neuter nouns?
The -or ending for some first and second declension adjectives like maior and minor can be used with both masculine and feminine words. Can that ending also be used with neuter words or would another ...
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Declension usage for the King on a diploma
In my PhD diploma, the first lines are the following:
D D
IMPERANTE AUGUSTISSIMO
CAROLO XVI GUSTAVO
SUECORUM REGE
DOMINO NOSTRO CLEMENTISSIMO
IUSSU FACULTATIS SCIENTARUM UPSALIENSIS
EGO
<name of &...
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How would the Ancient Greek noun λόρδων decline, and is the LSJ's definition of it correct?
I'm very familiar with Latin declensions, and have the resources necessary for that, but I have found nothing for Ancient Greek that I am able to make use of, especially considering my lack of ...
Qaos
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How are multiple, hyphenated, or compound adjectives declined [in botanical latin]?
I'm studying some old plant cultivar names. One of the rules for botanical latin is that if an epithet is a latin adjective, it has to agree with the gender of the genus. I'm not sure how to apply ...
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Is the use of "copia verae" correct?
The sentence is:
Copia verae virtutis multas culpas superare poterat. It is from Wheelock's Latin by Frederic M. Wheelock, 6th edition, revised by Richard A. LaFleur. It is the number 5 sentence in ...
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First Declension Singular, Gen or Dat?
I'm learning the first declension and I am confused on how the word "terrae" is used as a genitive but can be used as a dative. How do I translate if I am given just the word "terrae?&...
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Why is "O felicem virum, beatum Ioseph" in the accusative case here?
This is one part of a prayer traditionally said before Mass, in honour of St. Joseph:
O felicem virum, beatum Ioseph, cui datum est Deum, quem multi reges voluerunt videre et non viderunt, audire et ...
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good books for latin noun declensions?
I am looking for a book which gives comprehensive noun declensions, any suggestions?
update: I may need 2 recommendations, one which just gives noun lists and enough info to unambiguously compute all ...
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plural of nouns, example: malum: mala or malums or both?
I am teaching myself Latin. Right now I study how to make plural of nouns. I have found some rules online, depending on the ending of a noun in a nominative singular form. The website says that most ...
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What is the gender and singular declension of the scientific Latin suffix -idae?
The scientific suffix -idae is used to form names of subclasses of plants or families of animals, e.g. Bovidae. In scientific writing (in English and German), the resulting words are treated as plural ...
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Why is there no case agreement between "magni" and "poetae"?
Shouldn't "magni" be "magnae" as it is modifying "poetae"?
Fīliae vestrae dē libris magnī poētae saepe cogitābant.
The quote is from Wheelock's Latin, chapter 6.
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Feminine forms of adjectives in -ων: why ἀέκουσα, but not ἀπείρουσα, ἀμύμουσα?
The wiktionary entry for -ων says it's an ending cognate with stuff like Latin -ens, -iens, and gives the feminine as -ουσα. Therefore it makes sense that we get ἀέκων, ἀέκουσα. But then we have ...
user3597
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Why does domus have masculine forms?
The word domus is normally a feminine, IVth declension noun and hence the adjectives that modify it are feminine.
However, sometimes domus appears to take masculine forms in some cases. For example, ...
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What is wanting in Gildersleeve's declension charts?
In Gildersleeves Latin Grammar you can find declension charts with the word wanting inserted in 3 places
I
II
III
Nom. a.
us (os) ; wanting ; um (om).
s ; wanting.
Gen. ae (ās, āī, āi).
ī (ēī).
is ...
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Is "victurus" a future participle of "vivo" and "vinco"?
I find this hard to believe, but these pages regarding vivo and vinco confirm this to be the case. This also seems to be confirmed on this website. I cannot link directly to the words vivo and vinco, ...
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How to you convert a Latin word, such as voluntas, into a name, specifically a surname?
I've been wondering how to properly convert Latin words into names to signify the importance of certain concepts to a person, and met conflicting information online. My default assumption would be to ...
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Is "Io" accusative case in "Iuppiter, rex deorum, pulchram Io amabat"?
In The Adventures of Io, a story found in Thirty-eight Latin Stories, Designed to Accompany Wheelock's Latin, the first sentence of the story is as follows:
Iuppiter, rēx deōrum, pulchram Iō amābat, ...
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Why is it "Discipulus pulcher est" and not "Discipulus pulchrus est"?
I think its something with declension, but can't quite wrap my head around why it would be pulcher instead of pulchrus for that phrase.
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Alternative methods of ordering declensions
Are there other ways to organize declensions other than the traditional numerical method? If so, what are the pro and cons of that system as compared to the standard system of the first declension, ...
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How do you say "Forum Friends" in Latin?
In English, if you have people you are friends with from a forum (online or otherwise), you could call them "forum friends". How would you say this in Latin? Can you decline forum as a ...
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Why is *dōna* the plural acc. Instead of *donos* like the rest of the 2nd declensions?
I am currently studying the declensions for nouns (currently on the 2nd one) and saw this difference.
amīcōs, fīliōs, agrōs
VS
dōna
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Plural for Succubus and Incubus
Succubus & incubus don't show up in the Latin dictionaries I've searched. I'm wondering what the plurals would be. I did find succuba, 1st decl fem. Could it be that it didn't morph into a 2nd ...
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Suffixes and different stem words in transversarium and transversus?
The difference between transversarium and transversus confuses me, this occurs with
processus (masculine) transversus
foramen (neutri) transversarium
where the endings, sus and sa-ri-um, are ...
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Why is "porticus, porticūs" a feminine fourth-declension noun?
The fourth declension was one of the less common inflection pattern for Latin nouns, and the vast majority of fourth declension nouns are masculine nouns ending in the deverbal abstract noun suffix -...
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Are there ever separate number and case markers in Latin?
It seems to me that in Latin the case endings in singular and plural have very little in common.
For an example of singular–plural pairs: puella–puellae, puellam–puellas, puellae–puellarum, puellae–...
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Does an irregular word decline regularly if it is used as a proper name?
Does an irregular word decline regularly if it is used as a proper name? For example, imagine there is a dog name Rex (=King). We might have:
Vide Regem currentem.
See Rex run. However, since Rex is ...
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How to decline Greek proper nouns ending in -ēs in Latin?
I was browsing the OLD today and then I noticed the following entry:
Stagīrītēs, Stagē- ~-ae m. A person who originates from Stagira in Macedonia.
Two examples are given there:
Aristotelem ~em Cic. Ac....
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Is unius an irregular genitive?
I notice that the genitive of unus can apparently be either the regular uni, or can also be unius.
Is this form, unius, just a completely irregular oddity, or is there some logical precedent for it? ...
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What is the etymology of 'cuius' and is it different from 'quis'?
'cuius' (and 'cui') is an interesting word in that it stands out as different from the other terms in the declension of 'quis'.
It seems to be pronounced differently. 'quis' is /kwis/ but 'cuius' is /...
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What is the difference between ἐκκλησίας and ἐκκλησίαν?
I know the root word is ἐκκλησία, but I don't understand the declensions.
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In "fortis fortuna adiuvat" is "fortis" accusative plural?
Fortis fortuna adiuvat, is fortis accusative plural here?
Fortis has different forms for the same conjugation as I see at Wiktionary, and I couldn't find which forms adiuvare takes as an exhaustive ...
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Deponent verb participle gender
If we consider a deponent verb such as arbitrārī in the perfect tense, hence arbitrātus sum/es/est, is the participle arbitrātus supposed to be declined like a regular adjective? For example if one ...
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Why are so many Latin men's names (cognomina) in the usually-feminine first declension?
The first declension, with the -a ending, is usually feminine.
Why are so many men's names (cognomina), however, in the first declension -- Seneca, Cinna, Aggrippa, Sulla, and more? This is far out of ...
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Carpe sciurum (sieze/harvest the squirrel?)
Would 'carpe sciurum' be a functional translation of 'seize the squirrel'?
(As in to 'harvest' or 'pluck' the squirrel?)
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Nepos' Themistocles: ut ingratis omnes ad depugnandum cogerentur?
I am reading the biography of Themistocles by Cornelius Nepos. He recounts the story of how Themistocles used a deceit to bring about the naval engagement that went down in history as the famous ...
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What case does 'plus' take?
I don't have any information about what case to use with 'plus' (or 'magis'). In dictionaries usually only prepositions take some case, and it is showed in parentheses.
In my language, 'more' takes ...
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How did the fourth declension neuter dative singular become different from the non-neuter ending?
Usually, when a neuter case ending is different from the non-neuter ending in the same declension, the difference is in the nominative or accusative case (e.g. -us and -um in the second declension ...
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Where does the -τ- come from in the oblique stem of some Greek neuter nouns with nom/acc sing forms in -ς?
I just learned that some Greek neuter nouns of the third declension with a nominative/accusative singular form ending in -ς have oblique stems in -τ-, which surprised me.
I expected τ-stem neuter ...
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Sentence which includes an example of each case
I'm looking for a sentence which includes the usage of each case of Latin. For example, a student could mark each word in the sentence to indicate its case and function for ease of learning.
Extreme ...
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Meaning of "dies illa" from Dies Irae
The first verse from "Dies Irae" goes like
Dies irae, dies illa
I'm trying to understand what "illa" is referring to.
According to the declension table for pronouns, "illa" corresponds either to ...
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How should one latinize this name?
A friend of mine, whose name is Raoni (he's brazilian, his name comes from a native root, also the tonic vowel is the very last [i]), started learning latin and I've been studying for a while. I ...
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What are the relative frequencies of cases in Latin?
Latin has seven cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, vocative, locative.
What are their relative frequencies in classical Latin?
I suppose an answer would have to be based on ...
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Which Latin declension is most common?
Does anyone know the rough proportions of Latin words that fall into each of the five declensions? Which is most common? Which is least common?
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Why is the proper name Apollos not declined in the Vulgate
Saint Apollos was a companion of Saint Paul mentioned several times in the New Testament. In the Latin Vulgate, his name is transliterated as an indeclinable noun, Apollo. My question is, why was his ...
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