03.04.24: review of 3rd declensions nouns (final); notes on i-stem nouns

DĒ POTESTĀTE RŌMĀNĀ [Chesnutt: the Road to Latin (1933)]

In principiō Rōma erat parva urbs. Bellō potestātem augēbat. Prīmō proeliō cum gentibus proximīs gerēbantur. Virtūs gentium proximārum erat magna sed Rōmānī erant victōrēs. Tandem Rōma erat domina Italiae. Trāns mare habitābant Carthāginiēnsēs. Erant hostēs Rōmānōrum. Magnam classem habēbant; itaque mare regēbant. Magnum numerum nāvium longārum habēbant et bellum amābant. Erant longa bella inter Rōmānōs et Carthāginiēnsēs; magna erat caedēs. Tandem Rōmānī erant victōrēs; itaque Rōma erat domina maris. Tum in Asiā et in Galliā et in Britanniā bella gerēbantur. Tandem Asia, Gallia, Britannia in Rōmae potestāte erant. Sīc terrā marīque potestās Rōmāna erat maxima.

Vocabulary

(a) 3rd declension nouns

caedēs, caedis [3/f]: slaughter, massacre

classis, -is [3/f]: fleet

gēns, gentis [3/f]: race, tribe

hostis, hostis [3/m]: enemy; often pl: hostēs (the enemy)

nāvis, -is [3/f]: ship

nāvis longa: warship

potestās, potestātis [3/f]: power, abili

(b) other words

augeō, augēre [2]: increase

Carthāginiēnsis: Carthaginian; the spelling is sometimes with a /k/: Karthāginiēnsis

i-stem nouns

[1] From this post and the previous one (02.04.24: Review of 3rd declension nouns [5]):

The five nouns listed below are all 3rd declension, but they are a subset classified as i-stem nouns:

urbs, urbis [3/f]: city

cīvis, -is [3 m/f]: citizen

gēns, gentis [3/f]: race; tribe

nāvis, -is [3/f]: ship

mare, -is [3/n]: sea

Now look at those nouns in context and their endings in bold:

[i] -ium

Rōma est maxima urbium │ Rome is the greatest of the cities

iūra cīvium Rōmānōrum │ the rights of Roman citizens

virtūs gentium proximārum erat magna │ the courage of the neighbouring races

magnum numerum nāvium longārum habēbant │ they had a great number of long ships

[ii] -ī

ā marī paucae nāvēs Rōmam veniunt │ few ships come from the sea to Rome

terrā marīque │ by land and by sea

[iii] -ia

nam maria Italiam ferē circumstant │ for the seas almost surround Italy

Note:

[i] genitive plural in -ium (e.g. gentium)

[ii] neuter nominative (and accusative) plural in -ia (maria)

[iii] neuter ablative singular in -ī (marī); some masculine and feminine nouns may have alternative ablative singular forms e.g. cīve / cīvī; nāve / nāvī

Those endings [-ium; -ia; -ī] differ from other 3rd declension nouns. Compare:

[i] genitive plural

[a] clāmōrēs spectātōrum (the shouts of the spectators) [b] Rōma est maxima urbium

[ii] neuter nominative (and accusative) plural:

[a] iūra … dīligenter servābantur (rights were carefully protected) [b] nam maria Italiam ferē circumstant

[iii] ablative singular

[a] Urbs Rōma ab ōre flūminis Tiberis nōn longē abest (The city of Rome is not far away from the mouth of the River Tiber) [b] ā marī paucae nāvēs Rōmam veniunt

[2] There is a fourth ending which applies to i-stem nouns: the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns can be either -ēs (like other 3rd declension nouns) or -īs (only i-stem nouns) i.e. -īs is an alternative ending, not a complete replacement.

[3] Some dictionaries and vocabulary lists indicate i-stems either by simply stating it e.g. Wiktionary: nāvis f (genitive nāvis); third declension, i-stem, or by giving the genitive plural ending e.g. nāvis, -is, nāvium [3/f]. However, not all will do that and, in fact, Wiktionary is not consistent in the information it provides.

Below are the i-stem nouns used in this text and in the previous one:

caedēs, -is, caedium [3/f]: massacre; slaughter

cīvis, -is, cīvium [3 m/f]: citizen

classis, -is, classium [3/f]: fleet

gēns, gentis, gentium [3/f]: race; tribe

hostis, -is, hostium [3/m]: enemy

mare, -is, marium [3/n]: sea

nāvis, -is, navium [3/f]: ship

urbs, urbis, urbium [3/f]: city

[4] How can you know they are i-stem nouns if nobody tells you?

When learning any language there are features that are more important than others. There is a risk, which I have experienced too, of becoming dragged down by lengthy explanations of comparatively minor points which simply interrupts the flow of learning. Moreover, explanations – especially if you’re still finding your way around Latin – can seem daunting, full of complex terms that can be difficult to remember and with many exceptions and, at times, inconsistencies in information given, for example, in online sources.

Depending on your level of Latin, and depending on how deeply you want to explore, you can choose:

Choice #1: Read through the information above, note the differences in endings and the alternative ending [-ium, -ī, -ia, -ēs / -īs], all of which is summarised in images #1 and #2, and move on. The differences are slight and generally do not affect comprehension.

Choice #2: We will look at the characteristics which indicate i-stem nouns; the topic will be discussed again at Level 3. However, bear in mind the following comments from Allen and Greenough’s Latin grammar: “There is much variety in the practice of the ancients”; “The i-declension was confused even to the Romans themselves” i.e. A & G indicate that, whatever ‘patterns’ or ‘rules’ are listed, usage over the centuries is not consistent.

To identify i-stem nouns, we can put the nouns into three categories but, as mentioned above, there are exceptions.

(1) Image #1: Nouns in the 3rd declension can be classified as [1] increasing and [2] non-increasing; those terms refer to the number of syllables in the nominative and genitive singular

[1] increasing nouns: those with one or more syllables in the genitive singular than the nominative singular

Nominative singular: ōs (1 syllable); ho-mō (2 syllables); spec-tā-tor (3 syllables)

Genitive singular: ō-ris (2 syllables); ho-mi-nis (3 syllables); spec-tā-tō-ris (4 syllables)

[2] non-increasing nouns (also known as parisyllabic): the same number of syllables in the nominative and genitive singular

Nominative singular: cae-dēs; cī-vis; hos-tis (2 syllables)

Genitive singular: cae-dis; cī-vis; hos-tis (2 syllables)

Image #1 compare:

[A] increasing noun with [B] non-increasing noun

[A]

Nominative Singular: ho-mō (2 syllables)

Genitive Singular: ho-mi-nis (3 syllables)

Ablative Singular: ho-mi-ne

Accusative Plural: ho-mi-nēs

Genitive Plural: ho-mi-num

[i] In [B] the changes apply to the non-increasing nouns:

Nominative Singular: nā-vis (2 syllables)

Genitive Singular: nā-vis (2 syllables)

Ablative Singular: (1) nāve, or (2) nāvī, but the alternative ending in -ī is inconsistent; some nouns show this ending and some do not; the -ī ending is found more in poetry

Accusative Plural: (1) na-vēs, or (2) navīs i.e. alternative endings*

Genitive Plural: nā-vium

Similarly:

cīvis (citizen) > abl sg: cīve / cīvī; acc pl: cīvēs / cīvīs; gen pl: cīvium

classis (fleet) > abl sg: classe / classī; acc pl: classēs / classīs; gen pl: classium

*[ii] Again, note this comment from Allen and Greenough: “The ablative singular … of many masculines and feminines, ends in -ī” i.e. not all of them, for example:

hostis (enemy) > *abl sg. hoste (i.e. no alternative ending in -ī)*; acc pl: hostēs / hostīs; gen pl: hostium

caedes (slaughter) > *abl sg. caede (i.e. no alternative ending in -ī)*; acc pl: caedēs / caedīs; gen pl: caedium

Image #1 shows that these changes / alternative endings (marked in red) are very few and do not affect comprehension

[iii] Image #2: Look out for a handful of nouns that have an alterantive accusative in -im (rather than -em), a common example being turris, is [3/f]: tower

(2) Image #3: monosyllabic (one syllable) nouns which end in a consonant + /s/:

Nominative Singular: urbs

Accusative Plural: (1) urbēs, or (2) urbīs

Genitive Plural: urbium

dēns (tooth) > acc pl: dentēs / dentīs; gen pl: dentium

This category is quite distinctive. Here are some common nouns which decline in the same way as urbs:

dēns (tooth) > acc pl: dentēs / dentīs; gen pl: dentium

gēns (tribe) > acc pl: gentēs / gentīs; gen pl: gentium

mōns (mountain) > acc pl: montēs / montīs; gen pl: montium

nox [x = /ks/ = ‘2 consonants’] > acc pl: noctēs / noctīs; gen pl: noctium

pars (part) > acc pl: partēs / partīs; gen pl: partium.

(3) image #4: neuter nouns ending in -e, -al, -ar nouns have [i] -ī in the ablative singular [ii] -ia in the nominative and accusative plural, and [iii] -ium in the genitive plural

Many of these nouns do not frequently occur, but some common ones are:

cochlear, cochleāris [3/n]: spoon

exemplar, exemplāris [3/n]: pattern; copy; example

vectīgal, -is [3/n]: tax; tribute

____________________

In the beginning Rome was a small town. It increased its power by war. The first battle was fought the neighboring nations. The courage of the neighbouring nations was great, but the Romans were the victors. At last Rome was the mistress of Italy. The Carthaginians lived across the sea. They were the enemies of the Romans. They had a great fleet; therefore they ruled the sea. They had a large number of long ships and loved war. There were long wars between the Romans and the Carthaginians; the slaughter was great. At last the Romans were the victors, and so Rome was the mistress of the sea. Wars were then waged in Asia, in Gaul, and in Britain. At last Asia, Gaul, and Britain were under the power of Rome. Thus Roman power on land and sea was the greatest.