31.03.24: review of 3rd declension nouns [1]; introduction to the passive voice

Almost every 3rd declension noun in this text has been covered in earlier posts. They are listed for reference. Read the text for understanding – the translation is in the comments – and focus on the nouns in bold, work out what cases they are in, and why they are in those cases.

DĒ PRĪNCIPIBUS RŌMĀNĪS

[Chesnutt: the Road to Latin (1933)]

In prīncipiō Rōma ā rēgibus regēbātur. Prīmus rēx erat Rōmulus. Frāter Rōmulī erat Remus. Rōmulus et Remus erant geminī. Pater Rōmulī et frātris Remī deus Mārs, māter Rhēa Silvia erat. Rōmae erant statuae patris Mārtis et mātris Rhēae Silviae et frātrum. Rōmulus erat rēx bonus et ā Rōmānīs laudābātur. Erant septem rēgēs Rōmānī. Posteā erant cōnsulēs. Cōnsul Rōmānus ā populō Rōmānō dēligēbātur. Imperium cōnsulis erat maximum. Duō cōnsulēs quotannīs dēligēbantur et cīvitātem regēbant. Posteā imperātōrēs Rōmam regēbant. Imperātor clārus erat Augustus Caesar. Rōmae erat magna statua imperātōris Augustī Caesaris.

Vocabulary

[i] 3rd declension nouns

Caesar, -is [3/m]: Caesar

cīvitās, cīvitātis [3/f]: state; this is a word that can cause a bit of head-scratching since it has a variety of meanings dependent upon context e.g. a city and its surrounding territory, a city state, a kingdom, tribe.

cōnsul, -is [3/m]: consul

frāter, frātris [3/m]: brother

imperātor, imperātōris [3/m]: (here) emperor, but it has other meanings e.g. commander; commander-in-chief; ruler; the title could be given to conferred on a military leader who had won his first great victory. That could be as a result of his own soldiers greeting him that way, or it was decreed by the Senate. You could not use the term “emperor” as we understand it in Republican Rome, because they didn’t have emperors.

Mārs, Mārtis [3/m]: Mars (god)

māter, mātris [3/f]: mother

pater, patris [3/m]: father

prīnceps, prīncipis [3/m]: chief; leader

rēx, rēgis [3/m]: king

[ii] other words

clārus, -a, -um:

dēligō, dēligere [3]: choose

geminus, -ī [2/m]: twin

maximus, -a, um: greatest; very great

prīncipium, -ī [2/n]: beginning

quotannīs: yearly; every year

regō, regere [3]: rule

Notes

[1] Rōmae [locative] erant statuae … In Rome there were statues …

[2] Passive voice: introduction

• In prīncipiō Rōma ā rēgibus regēbātur. In the beginning Rome was governed by kings.
• Rōmulus … ā Rōmānīs laudābātur. Romulus … was praised by the Romans.
• Cōnsul Rōmānus ā populō Rōmānō dēligēbātur. The Roman consul was elected by the Roman people.
• Duō cōnsulēs quotannīs dēligēbantur. Two consuls were elected every year

What you see here is called in grammar the passive voice (or you can just say passive).

A sentence – both in English and Latin – can be [i] active or [ii] passive.

[i] Active: the subject of the sentence is performing the action.

The teacher punishes the pupil.

[ii] Passive: the subject of the sentence is not performing the action but the action is being done to the subject.

The pupil is punished ¦ by the teacher.

The passive in Latin involves some work – but in stages. The first point to consider is that, when you’re reading the authors, very often they are talking about other people i.e. the 3rd person e.g. he is praised by the king, they were elected by the people. To create those particular forms, all you do is add -ur to the the 3rd person singular or plural of the verb.

laudat: he praises

> laudātur: he is praised; /long ā/: a small point because written Latin did not use the macron sign, but, if you’re aiming for spot-on pronunciation, then it’s quite strongly said: lau-DA-tur

laudant: they praise

> laudantur: they are praised

castīgābat: he was punishing

> castīgābātur: he was being punished /long ā/

regēbant: they used to rule; they were ruling

> regēbantur: they used to be ruled

Magister [nominative: subject of the sentence] discipulum [accusative: direct object] castīgat. The teacher punishes the student.

> Discipulus [now the subject of the sentence: nominative] ¦ ā magistrō [ablative] ¦ castīgātur. The student is (being) punished ¦ by the teacher.

“by the teacher” is known in grammar as the passive agent i.e. the person by whom something is done; in Latin, when you say something is being done by a person, you use ā + ablative.

Rōmānī Rōmulum laudābant. The Romans used to praise Romulus.

> Rōmulus ¦ ā Rōmānīs ¦ laudābātur. Romulus was praised ¦ by the Romans.

That -ur ending stands out from the crowd and marks a passive. Of course, other parts of the verb have a passive too which form in a slightly different way, but, for now, this opens the door to the passive.

A small quiz question: in the text Romulus is described as being a good king and praised by the people. But no further mention is made of Remus. Why is that?

____________________

In the beginning Rome was governed by kings. The first king was Romulus. The brother of Romulus was Remus. Romulus and Remus were twins. The father of Romulus and (his) brother Remus was the god Mars, the mother Rhea Silvia. In Rome were the statues of the father Mars and the mother Rhea Silvia and the brothers. Romulus was a good king and was praised by the Romans. There were seven Roman kings. After that were the consuls. The Roman consul was elected by the Roman people. The consul’s political authority was the greatest. Two consuls were elected every year and governed the city. Afterwards emperors ruled Rome. Augustus Caesar was a famous emperor. In Rome there was a great statue of the emperor Augustus Caesar.

____________________

 

 

31.03.24: third declension nouns in dates

I wanted to show a couple of 3rd declension nouns “operating” in a particular construction which you will come across often.

IS DIĒS ERAT [I] A. D. V. ¦ [II] KAL. APR. ¦ [III] L. PĪSŌNE, A. GABĪNIŌ CŌNSULIBUS. (Caesar)

This day was [i] the fifth day before ¦ [ii] the first of April ¦ [iii] when L. Piso and A. Gabinius were consuls.

This matters if you’re planning to read the authors because it shows you part of the Roman system of dates: only part of it!

cōnsul, -is: 3rd declension. The consul was the highest political authority in the Roman republic. Two consuls were elected each year and it is common to find in the literature not a year, but reference to when two particular consuls were in charge. Presumably everyone who was anyone in Rome knew what year was being referred to.

In this case the consuls were L(ucius) Piso and A(ulus) Gabinius.

Pīsō, Pīsōnis: Piso, a third declension proper noun

Gabīnius, -ī: Gabinius, a second declension proper noun

Latin has a special use of the ablative which we’ll cover later but, for the purposes of understanding this construction, take a look at what’s happening in this statement.

L. Pīsōne, A. Gabīniō cōnsulibus: I’ll translate it as “When Piso and Gabinius were the consuls”; it doesn’t mean precisely that but it is fine for the moment. The entire phrase is in the ablative and you can see the ablative plural in cōnsulibus.

For the sake of completeness:

Kal. is an abbreviation of kalendae: the first day of any month

Kal. Apr. = kalendae Aprilis: the first of April

Caesar writes: a. d. V. = ante (before) diem (the day) V = five days before the first of April

So you need to count five days backwards and include the first of April:

[5] April 1st

[4] March 31st

[3] March 30th

[2] March 29th

> [1] March 28th

Caesar doesn’t actually state the year. He assumes you know: but I looked it up! It was 58BCE.

31.03.24: 3rd declension nouns in context [4]

[1] Ominous words from Pliny:

nubēs, nubis [3/f]: cloud

mōns, montis [3/m]: mountain

Nūbēs [nominative] - incertum procul intuentibus ex quō monte [ablative]; Vesuvium fuisse posteā cognitum est - oriēbātur, (Pliny 6.16)

The cloud was rising - at such a distance we couldn't tell from which mountain - but afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius.

[The images show an original Roman fresco of Vesuvius and an illustration of the eruption in 1631]

[2] From the Venerable Bede: it’s a very good example of seeing these 3rd declension nouns in one sentence.

hostis, -is [3/m]: enemy; this noun occurs all the time in the literature since there are so many descriptions of battles and is usually in the plural hostēs.

rēx, rēgis [3/m]: king

Sed tantā vī hostis [nominative] ferrum īnfīxit, ut ¦ per corpus [accusative] ¦ mīlitis occīsī [genitive] ¦ etiam ¦ rēgem [accusative] ¦ vulnerāret.

But the enemy thrust the sword with such force, that ¦ through the body ¦ of the slain soldier ¦ he also wounded the king.

[3] And if you’ve read all the sentences about those 1949 schoolboys kicking and punching each other…

… they stop fighting, and to make up:

• Sextus canem Mārcō dat. │ Sextus gives Marcus a dog.
• Mārcus mūrem Sextō dat. │ Marcus gives Sextus a mouse.
• Ambō iterum amīcī sunt. │ Both are friends again.

 

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 prepositions e.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.

31.03.24: nouns in vocabulary lists; use of the nominative and genitive singular

Now that we've covered the 3rd declension, from now on I will post vocabulary in this format, which is the same as most dictionaries and grammar books would do it:

• puella (nominative), -ae (genitive) [1/f] i.e. first declension; feminine.
• hortus, -ī [2/m(asculine)]
• templum, -ī [2/n(euter)]

It's normal, when there is no stem change, simply to show the genitive case ending and not repeat the word i.e.

• puella, puellae > puella, -ae
• hortus, hortī > hortus, -ī
• templum, templī > templum -ī

When there is a stem change, however, I will show that stem change in full; not all dictionaries do that but, at this stage, it's useful to see it like that:

• ovis, -is [3/f] no stem change
• aestās, aestātis [3/f] stem change; written out in full

Noting vocabulary in this kind of "shorthand" way is standard practice: it gives you all the information you need about the noun's gender, the declension to which it belongs and what, if any stem change there is.

You can see in the image how I’ve noted the vocabulary:

• vēr, -is [3/n]: third declension noun; neuter; no stem change
• aestās, aestātis [3/f]: third declension noun; feminine; stem change
• autumnus, -ī [2/m]: autumn; no second declension nouns undergo stem change (nor do 1st declension nouns)
• hiems, hiemis [3/f]: not a marked stem change but the /s/ is replaced by -is i.e. you’re not simply adding -is to hiems, then I will also indicate that

PS: there are two other declensions to look at but – honestly – compared to the Everest of the 3rd declension, the other two are a walk in the park!

31.03.24: the 3rd declension world according to Pomponius Mela

The world (orbis) according to Pomponius Mela, the earliest known Roman geographer c.43 CE. Below is a late 19th century reconstruction of his map.

31.03.24: 3rd declension nouns in context [2]; genitive and dative

[3] Genitive: indicates the possessor; very often conveys the English preposition ‘of’

[i] All genders in the singular end in -is

[ii] All genders in the plural end in -um or -ium; again, don’t be distracted at the moment as to why that happens. There is enough to learn in the 3rd declension without going down side roads.

frāter, frātris [3/m]: brother

cūstōs, cūstōdis [3/m]: guard

• num cūstōs [nominative] ¦ frātris meī [genitīve] sum (Vulgate) │ Am I my brother’s keeper? = Am I the keeper ¦ of my brother?

It may have changed, but my own matriculation card for university was written in Latin:

cīvis, cīvis [3/m or f]: citizen

ūniversitās, ūniversitātis [3/f]: university

• CĪVIS ¦ ŪNIVERSITĀTIS GLASGUĒNSĪS: a citizen ¦ of the unversity of Glasgow

nox, noctis [3/f]: night

• Antōnius … hōrā noctis quārtā sē in castra sua ad Mutinam recēpit. (Cicero) │ At the fourth hour of the night, Antony withdrew … to his camp at Mutina.

odor, odōris [3/m]: smell; scent

flōs, flōris [3/m]: flower

• odor flōris: the scent of the flower
• odor flōrum: the scent of the flowers

infāns, infantis [3/ m or f]: infant

• Audīrēs … īnfantium quirītātūs (Pliny) │ You could hear … the plaintive cries of infants

[4] Dative: the dative indicates the indirect object i.e. the person or thing to whom / which something is, for example, given or said

[i] all genders in the singular end in -ī

[ii] all genders in the plural end in -ibus

sacerdōs, sacerdōtīs [3/m or f]: priest; priestess

• Abiathar quoque sacerdōtī dīxit rēx … (Vulgate) │ And the king also said to the priest Abiathar …

urbs, urbis [3/f]: city

orbis, orbis [3/m]: world

• Urbī et orbī (Papal address) │ to the city (of Rome) and to the world

ovis, ovis [3/f] sheep

• Iūlia ovibus herbam dat. │Julia gives grass to the sheep.

  

 

31.03.24: 3rd declension nouns in context [1]; nominative and accusative

Here are some sample sentences showing different case usage in the 3rd declension. Each section has some “schoolbook” sentences and then a couple of examples from the literature.

As always, don’t get dragged down by other aspects of the grammar. Just look at the noun in bold and the translation. Refer back to the tables that showed you the endings for 3rd declension nouns so you can see where the endings come from. Case uses have been covered in earlier posts but, if you’re not sure about cases, then ask here in the group, and I’ve also given a brief note for those new to the group and new to Latin about what each case does.

[1] Nominative: the subject of the sentence; the person or thing that is performing the action

[i] Masculine, feminine and neuter singular nouns can be any ending.

[ii] Masculine, feminine plural is -ēs

[iii] Neuter plural is -a (sometimes -ia, but don’t be concerned by that now)

canis, canis [3/m or f] dog

Canis in viā latrat. │ The dog is barking in the street

Canēs in viā latrant. │ The dogs are barking in the street.

Canēs interdiū clausōs esse oportet... (Cato) │  Dogs should be chained up during the day, …

homō, hominis [3/m]: man

Ecce homō (Vulgate). │ Behold the man.

caput, capitis [3/n]: head

Caput mihi dolet. │ My head hurts

tempus, temporis [3/n]: time

Tempora annī sunt vēr, aestās, autumnus, hiems.  │ The times [ = the seasons] of the year are spring, summer, autumn, winter.

And two very famous 3rd declensions from Cicero that leads you into the exact same endings for the accusative plural:

mōs, mōris: manner / way of behaving; custom

Ō tempora! Ō mōrēs! │ Oh the times! Oh the customs!

One loose translation of this is: "Shame on this age and on its lost principles!" And Cicero was saying that 2000 years ago.

[2] Accusative: the direct object of the sentence i.e. the person or thing that is experiencing the action

[i] masculine and feminine singular ends in -em

[ii] the neuter will be exactly the same as whatever it was in the nominative; it does not change

[iii] masculine and feminine plural is -ēs i.e. the same as the nominative plural

[iv] neuter plural is –(i)a i.e. the same as the nominative plural

frōns, frontis [3/f]: forehead

Mārcus frontem Sextī pulsat. │ Marcus strikes Sextus’ forehead.

Sextus frontem Marci pulsat. │ Sextus strikes Marcus’ forehead.

auris, auris [3/f]: ear

Mārcus aurēs Sextī vellit. │ Marcus tugs Sextus’ ears.

dēns, dentis [3/m]: tooth

Sextus dēntēs Mārcī excutit. │ Sextus knocks out Marcus’ teeth.

crūs, crūris [3/n]: leg

Mārcus crūs Sextī torquet. │ Marcus twists Sextus’ leg.

Sextus crūra Mārcī torquet. │ Sextus twists Marcus’ legs.

fēlēs, felis [3/f]: cat

mūs, mūris [3/m or f]: mouse

Canis fēlem terret. │ The dog frightens the cat.

Fēlēs mūrem terret. │ The cat frightens the mouse.

quī canem et fēlem ut deōs colunt (Cicero) │those who worship the dog and the cat as gods

ōdī hominem; īrātus pugnō (Lucilius) │  I hate the man; enraged I fight

From the “Boar’s Head Carol” (15th cent.):

laus, laudis [3/f]: praise

Caput aprī dēferō / Reddēns laudēs Dominō  │ I bear the head of the boar rendering praises to the Lord.

mīles, militis [3/m]: soldier

Ego īre vīdī mīlitēs plēnīs viīs. (Plautus) │  I've seen the soldiers marching through the crowded streets.

ōs, ōris [3/n]: mouth

Opprime ōs! (Plautus) │  Shut your mouth!

   

30.03.24: the lion, the dog and the fish

The MGM lion told you a crucial point about the 3rd declension, and now the dog that's been guarding the house in Pompeii for 2000 years tells you the accusative ending:

cavē canem [beware (of) the dog].

And a star sign tells you one of the plural endings for these nouns:

piscēs

30.03.24: Getting to grips with the case endings

Keep it simple. Pick up a few quotations to help you remember. Practice some easy constructions.

Tacitus was quite fond of putting words into other people’s mouths. The quotation in the previous post is (supposedly) from a speech made by Calcagus, a Caledonian chief who fought against Gnaeus Agricola in northern Scotland. It’s the last line that we’ll focus on because it shows you exactly how to approach the case endings of this 3rd declension.

Where they make a desert, they call it peace.

What do they make? They make a desert = direct object = accusative.

What do they call it? They call it peace = direct object = accusative.

Ubi sōlitūdin¦em [accusative] faciunt pāc¦em [accusative] appellant.

[1]

Nominative: sōlitūdō (loneliness; desert)

Genitive: sōlitūdin¦is

Now you have the stem:

sōlitūdin¦-

> Accusative: sōlitūdin¦em

[2]

Nominative: pāx (peace)

Genitive: pāc¦is

Now you have the stem:

pāc¦-

> Accusative: pāc¦em

So, to do a bit practice with this, we’ll look at some animals.

[i] If the noun has no stem change then it’s straightforward:

avis [nominative], av¦is [genitive]: bird

stem av¦- no change

> av¦em habeō. I have a bird.

[ii] If, on the other hand, you have a snake…

serpēns [nominative], serpent¦is [genitive]: snake

stem serpent¦-

> serpent¦em habeō. I have a snake.

Here are some animals. Even if having a pet scorpion isn’t your idea of fun, it’s only for practice! Just follow the rule of [i] and [ii] above. If there’s a stem change that must be included.

1. fēles, fēlis: cat [no stem change]

2. mūs, mūris [stem change]

3. anas, anatis: duck

4. ānser, ānseris: goose

5. apis, apis: bee

6. avis, avis: bird

7. ariēs, arietis: ram

8. bōs, bovis: ox

9. canis, canis: dog

10. leō, leōnis: līōn

11. lepus, leporis: hare

12. ovis, ovis: sheep

13. piscis, piscis: fish

14. scorpiō, scorpiōnis: scorpion

15. serpēns, serpentis: snake

16. testūdō, testūdinis: tortoise

17. tigris, tigris [also: tigridis]: tiger

18. vulpēs, vulpis: fox

30.03.24: practice with the 3rd declension; getting started

Before we do a bit of practice with the case endings, the last line of this quotation gets you started.

These plunderers of the world [the Romans], after exhausting the land by their devastations, are rifling the ocean: stimulated by avarice, if their enemy be rich; by ambition, if poor; unsatiated by the East and by the West: the only people who behold wealth and indigence with equal avidity. To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and ¦ where they make a desert, they call it peace. (Tacitus: Agricola)

Ubi sōlitūdin¦em faciunt pāc¦em appellant.

30.03.24: the third declension [5]; more ways of learning the stem changes

Getting your head around these stem changes isn’t entirely unsystematic. So far, you’ve seen that a lot of these changes exist in English derivatives e.g. dēns, dentis: tooth; English derivative: dentist.

However, there are large groups of 3rd declension nouns which, as soon as you see them, you can confidently know the stem ending because they all do the same thing. Within these nouns there are many abstract concepts, and since Roman authors often like to write in very elaborate ways, they come up a lot.

[1] -tās > -tāt¦is

• vēritās, vēritāt¦is: truth
• libertās, libertātis: freedom
• sēcūritās, sēcūritātis: security

[2] -tūdō > -tūdin¦is

• fortitūdō, fortitūdin¦is: bravery; “fortitude”
• magnitūdō, magnitūdinis: greatness; “magnitude”
• multitūdō, multitūdinis: great number of people, “multitude”

[3] -tiō > -tiōnis

• dēscrīptiō, dēscrīptiōn¦is: description
• explicātiō, explicātiōnis: explanation
• invītātiō, invītātiōnis: invitation

[4] -tūs > -tūtis

• iuventūs, iuventūt¦is: young men; youth
• senectūs, senectūtis: old age
• virtūs, virtūtis: manliness; courage; virtue; excellence

virtūs: one of the toughest words to convey neatly in English. For the Romans, virtūs was the most important human characteristic. Wiktionary lists fourteen possible translations: good luck with that.

[5] -tor; -sor > -tōris; -sōris

So, the only change here is to a long /ō/ but these are useful suffixes to spot because they describe masculine agent nouns i.e. nouns that are performing the action e.g.

• gladius: sword > gladiātor, gladiatōris: gladiator
• lūctor: I wrestle > lūctātor, lūcātōris: wrestler
• piscis: fish > piscātor, piscātōris: fisherman
• saltō, saltāre [1]: dance > saltātor, sāltatōris: dancer
• scrībō, scrībere [3]: write > scriptor, scriptōris: writer
• agō, agere [3]: act > actor, actōris: actor
• currō, -ere [3]: run > cursor, cursōris: runner
• tondeō, tondēre [2]: shave > tonsor, tonsōris: barber

[6] Latin had a female equivalents of some of these jobs and the ending to look out for is -īx with a stem change to -īc¦is

• imperātor, imperātōris: emperor; imperātrīx, imperātrīcis; empress
• saltātrīx, saltātrīcis: female dancer
• piscātrīx, piscātrīcis: fisherwoman
• tōnstrīx, tōnstrīcis: female hair-cutter
• obstetrīx, obstetrīcis: midwife
• ōrnātrīx, ōrnātrīcis: hair-dresser

also:

• haruspex, haruspicis: soothsayer

  

30.03.24: Latin tutorial; 3rd declension [2] neuter

 

30.03.24: Latin tutorial; 3rd declension [1]

30.03.24: 3rd declension; examples of stem changes

 

30.03.24: reading an inscription

And we can go back to an earlier post to look again at the first word we started with in the 3rd declension:

ANNŌ DECIMŌ ¦ EDWARDĪ SEPTIMĪ RĒGIS

In the tenth year ¦ of King Edward the 7th

Nominative: rēx

Genitive: rēgis

30.03.24: the 3rd declension is all around you

30.03.24: the third declension [4]; ways of learning the stem changes.

The first sight all the various stem changes seems an impossible task. That was my first reaction. However, let’s look at a lot of the ones that have appeared in the posts so far, and you will see something that certainly helped me learn these.

caput, capitis: head; English derivative: capital punishment

corpus, corporis: body; Engl. deriv. corporal punishment

cor, cordis: heart; Engl. deriv. cordial

crūs, crūris: leg; Engl. deriv. (anatomy) crural, pertaining to the leg

custos, custodis: guard; Engl. deriv. custodial sentence

dēns, dentis: tooth; Engl. deriv. dentist

dūx, dūcis: general; Engl. deriv. ducal

frāter, frātris: brother; Engl. deriv. fratricide (also matricide and patricide)

frōns, frontis: forehead; Engl. deriv. front

lac, lactis: milk; if you’re lactose intolerant, what can’t you take?

lēx, lēgis: law; Engl. deriv. legal

mīles, militis: soldier; Engl. deriv. military

mōns, montis: mountain

nōmen, nominis: name; Engl. deriv. nominate; nominative

nox, noctis: night; Engl. deriv. nocturnal animal

opus, operis: work; Engl. deriv. opera

pectus, pectoris: breast; Engl. deriv. pectoral muscles

pēs, pedis: foot; Engl. deriv. pedestrian

ōs, ōris: mouth; Engl. deriv. oral examination

rēx, rēgis: king; Engl. deriv. regal clothing

venter, ventris: belly; Engl. deriv. ventricle

A great number of third declension nouns found their way into English, mainly through French. What you’ll notice is that these derivatives contain the original stem changes. In fact, if there was no stem change, that too is reflected in derivatives:

feles, felis: cat; “feline”

canis, canis: dog; “canine”

auris, auris: ear; “aural” comprehension.

And to put that into practice, here are some other 3rd declension nouns all of which undergo a stem change. Look at the English derivatives – they have the answers – and supply the missing letter or letters.

1. hospes, hosp_ _ is: guest; “hospital”
2. serpēns, serpen _ is: snake; “serpent”
3. fulmen, fulm _ _ is: lightning; “fulminate”, to make a verbal attack
4. lūmen, lūm _ _ is: light; “luminous”
5. volūmen, volūm _ _ is: scroll; “voluminous”
6. lapis, lapi _ is: (precious) stone; “lapidary”, a person who polishes and cuts precious stones
7. artifex, artif _ _ is: craftsman; “artificial”
8. iūdex, iūd _ _ is: judge; “judicial”
9. prīnceps, prīnc _ _ is: chief; “principal”
10. mōtiō, mōtiō _ is: movement; “motion”
11. leō, leō _ is: lion
12. pōtio, pōtiō _ is: a drink; “potion”
13. scorpiō, scorpiō _ is: scorpion
14. carō, car _ is: meat; “carnivorous”
15. flōs, flō _ is: flower; “floral”
16. mūs, mū _ is; “murine”, having the characteristics of a mouse
17. tempus, temp _ _ is: time; “temporal”
18. latus, lat _ _ is: side; “lateral”
19. vulnus, vuln _ _ is: wound; “vulnerable”
20. iter, it _ _ _ _ is: journey; “itinerary”

And so, you’ve seen approximately forty words where the stem changes exist in English derivatives. Of course, you can’t work out all the stem changes by doing it that way. However, the vast majority of the words listed above are common in the literature.

30.03.24: the third declension [3]

Second important point: all nouns in a Latin dictionary and in other resources e.g. school textbooks are listed with the nominative and genitive singular. Look again at the tables in the previous post; the genitive is listed immediately below the nominative, that shows the stem changes and you can see the “domino effect” from there. There are two reasons for that:

[i] The genitive singular is the case ending conventionally used to indicate what, if any, stem change there is in a 3rd declension noun. It’s really important that you get a grip on that:

• rēx, rēgis [3/m] rēgis is the genitive singular and it is used to show you the stem change before the ending is added.

Here are a few more examples. The ending doesn’t change, but the stem does.

• mīles, mīlit¦is [3/m]: soldier; the genitive singular indicates the stem change to milit-
• pēs, ped¦is [3/m]: foot; the genitive singular indicates the stem change to ped-

And so on:

• venter, ventris [3/m]: stomach; stem change to ventr-
• frōns, frontis [3/f]: forehead; stem change to front-
• lēx, lēgis [3/f]: law; stem change to lēg-
• nox, noctis [3/f]: night; stem change to noct-
• caput, capitis [3/n]: head; stem change to capit-
• corpus, corporis [3/n]: body; stem change to corpor-
• ōs, ōris [3/n]: mouth; stem change to ōr-

Some 3rd declension nouns don’t change the stem:

• aur¦is, aur¦is [3/f]: ear, but it will still be listed in that way to show that the stem doesn’t change

Similarly:

• class¦is, class¦is [3/f]: fleet (of ships); the stem ending doesn’t change
• fēl¦ēs, fēl¦is [3/f]: cat; the stem ending doesn’t change

When you open up the door of 3rd declension nouns – and there are thousands of common ones that are in the literature – learning the noun along with its genitive is as integral as learning le or la in French or der, die, das in German.

[ii] The second reason why this genitive case form is listed in the vocabulary is to differentiate between different declensions.

[a] hortus (2nd declension) [b] corpus (3rd declension)

[a] puer (2nd declension) [b] māter (3rd declension)

How do you know to which declension these nouns belong?

The answer is that you don’t. They look identical to one another. Therefore, the dictionaries will list all nouns with their genitive singular to show the declension they belong to because the genitive singular is different for all the declensions.

puella, -ae [1]

hortus, -ī [2]

templum, -ī [2]

corpus, corporis [3]

So, if the genitive singular is -ae, it’s first declension, if it’s -ī, it’s 2nd declension, and if it’s -is it’s third declension. That’s what you need to look out for because that will tell you to which declension a noun belongs and, therefore, what endings need to be added.

Look at the images posted from https://latin-dictionary.net/. You'll see that it lists the nominative and genitive singular of the nouns; that indicates to what declension the noun belongs. Similarly, any stem change in 3rd declension nouns is indicated.

Here are some nouns listed as they would appear in a dictionary. To what declension do each of them belong (1st / 2nd/ 3rd)?

All you have to do is look at the genitive ending and you have the answer. Note the ones in bold; without the genitive case ending listed, you would not be able to tell to which declension they belong, but with the genitive case ending included, you can immediately:

via, -ae: road

taurus, -ī: bull

pectus, pectoris: breast

culīna, -ae: kitchen

magister, magistrī: teacher

mare, maris: sea

schola, -ae: school

fluvius, -iī: rīver

vēritās, vēritātis: truth

magistra, -ae

gladius, -iī: sword

dux, dūcis: general

poēta, -ae

puer, -ī: boy

frāter, frātris: brother

opus, operis: work

nōmen, nōminis: name

flūmen, flūminis: river

sīdus, sīderis: star

cūstōs, cūstōdis: guard