31.03.24: 3rd declension nouns in context [3]; ablative

[5] Ablative: this case has many different uses; some uses have already been covered in earlier posts but I’ll recap these briefly here.

[i] Almost all nouns in the ablative singular end in -e, there are some that end in -ī and some where you may see either -e or -ī.

[ii] the ablative plural is -ibus for all genders i.e. the same ending as the dative plural

(a) One of the uses of the ablative is to specify a particular point or period in time, and that one gives you a easy way of remembering the ablative singular.

3 out of the 4 seasons are third declension nouns:

vēr, vēris [3/n]: spring

aestās, aestātis [3/f]: summer

hiems, hiemis [3/f]: winter

• vēre: in spring
• aestāte: in summer
• hieme: in winter

And we can take that a bit further:

vesper, vesperis [3/]: evening > vespere: in the evening

nox, noctis [3/f]: night > nocte: at night; you will also come across noctū but that’s an adverb not a noun

(b) The ablative is used to express by what means something is done:

pēs, pedis [3/m]: foot

Sextus caput [accusatīve] Mārcī ¦ pede [ablatīve] calcat. │ Marcus tramples on Marcus’ head ¦ with (his) foot.

venter, ventris [3/m]: stomach

Mārcus ventrem [accusative] Sextī ¦ pedibus [ablative plural] ¦ calcat. │ Marcus treads on ¦ Sextus’ stomach ¦ with his feet.

mare, maris [3/n]: sea; this is one where the ablative might end in -e or -ī

marī terrāque │ by sea and by land

(c) The ablative is used with certain prepositionse.g. in (in / on); ē/ex (out of); dē (down) from, about (concerning); cum ([together] with)

Ubi est rēx tuus? maximē nunc salvet tē in omnibus urbibus tuīs (Vulgate) │ Where is your king that he may save you in all your cities?

Sextus ex ventre labōrat. │ Sextus has a pain in his stomach [literally: he is suffering by reason of his stomach].

Mārcus ex capite labōrat. │ Sextus has a headache [literally: he is suffering as a cause of his stomach].

And one of Cicero’s friends has been ill:

Caeparius… dīxit tē in lectō esse, quod ex pedibus labōrārēs (Cicero) │ Caeparius … said you were in bed because you were suffering with your feet. [Translated also as: told me you were in bed with the gout]

A charming one from Plautus:

At tū ut oculōs ēmungāre ex capite per nāsum tuōs. (Plautus) │ Aye, that you may blow your eyes out of your head through your nose.

lēx, lēgis [3/f]: law

Title of one of Cicero’s works: Dē Lēgibus │ on / about laws

gladiātor, gladiātoris [3/m]

Lēx scrīpta dē gladiātōribus (Cicero) │ The law (was) written about gladiators.

eques, equitis [3/m]: cavalryman

Here’s a previous quotation but now in full:

Antōnius ¦ [i] cum equitibus [ablative] ¦ [ii] hōrā noctis [genitive] quārtā ¦ sē in castra sua ad Mutinam recēpit. (Cicero) │ At the fourth hour of the night, ¦ Antony withdrew ¦ with the cavalry ¦ to his camp at Mutina.