In this post and the next one we will look at two uses of the ablative case which are useful in terms of describing things or people.
The ablative case is used to show the source from which something / someone comes or the material of which something is made. You have already seen an example of the ablative of source with the preposition ē / ex:
Ex Aegyptō oriundus sum. I come from Egypt.
Ex Italiā oriunda est. She’s from Italy.
As an alternative to using adjectives to describe objects which has been discussed in previous posts, the same construction with ē / ex + noun can be used i.e. X is made of Y:
nummī (coins) ¦ argentum (silver) > nummī ex argentō: coins made of silver
ōlla (pot) ¦ argilla (clay) > ōlla ex argillā: a pot made from clay
Use the nouns listed below with ē / ex to describe what each object is made of, for example:
fistula ¦ plumbum > fistula ē / ex plumbō: a water pipe made of lead
armilla ¦ aurum: armilla ex __________ (a bracelet made of gold)
gladius ¦ ferrum: ….. (a sword made of iron)
mēnsa ¦ lignum: ….. (a table made of wood)
pōculum ¦ argilla: ….. (a cup made of clay)
speculum ¦ vitrum: ….. (a mirror made of glass)
Many of the ablative uses do not involve detailed explanation. There are, however, many of them and so it is better to become familiar with them gradually.
The image shows part of the title page of a book printed in Venice in 1683:
THESAVRVS NVMISMATVM,
Antīquōrum & Recentiōrum,
Ex Aurō, Argentō, & Aere
A treasure trove of ancient and more modern coins made of gold, silver and bronze; aes (bronze / copper) is not a 1st or 2nd declension noun and declines differently) but you can still see the use of the abative of source / material
The second image shows a necklace made of gold and amethysts:
Monīle ex aurō et amethystīs
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