I-Stems: Ablative -ī [6/8]

We see that -im and tend to be common in the same words. That is, where -im is of frequency, so too is .

  • For more on where the -im ending shows up, see this post.
  • Beyond the contents of that post, the -ī ablative ending also appears:

Always

1. with secūrī
2. with the adjectives (nominative -is) where these are used as nouns:

  • aequālī (a contemporary)
  • annālī (annals)
  • aquālī (washbasin)
  • cōnsulārī (former consul, member of the consular rank)
  • gentīlī (relative)
  • molārī (millstone)
  • prīmpīlārī (chief centurion)
  • tribūlī (fellow tribesman)

(As adjectives proper, they would be aequāle, annāle, etc. in the ablative.)

3. in the ablative of i-stem neuters (animālī, baccārī, etc.)

Sometimes

1. With the following nouns: avis, clāvis, febris, fīnis, īgnis, imber, lūx, nāvis, ovis, pelvis, puppis, sēmentis, strigilis, turris (definitions)

2. With the following adjectives (nominative -is or -ens) where they are used as substantives:

  • affīnī (son-in-law)
  • bipennī (battle-ax)
  • canālī (pipe)
  • familiārī (immediate family member)
  • nātālī (birthday, anniversary)
  • rīvālī (rival, competitor)
  • sapientī (wise man)
  • tridentī  (trident)
  • trirēmī (trireme)
  • vōcālī (vowel, vocalist (pl.))

(As adjectives, they would be affīne, bipenne, etc.)

Apparent Exceptions—

  1. The ablative of famēs (hunger) is always famē (not famī nor fame)
  2. The case defective māne (morning) is sometimes mānī (the word is found only in the ablative).
  3. Canis (dog) and iuvenis (youth) always take the ablative -e, never . (contrast with avisclāvis, etc.)
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2 comments on “I-Stems: Ablative -ī [6/8]

  1. This I don’t understand: “As adjectives proper, they would be aequāle, annāle, etc. in the ablative.” Wouldn’t you expect them to end in -i?

    The general rule goes like this: second-class adjectives (with some exceptions: vetus, comparatives) have an ablative singular in -i. But when these adjectives are used as nouns to designate a person, the ablative ends in -e.

    For example:
    a sapientI consule: by a wise consul
    a sapientE: by a wise man

  2. rsmease says:

    I sense that this list is designed (by A&G) to capture all the nouns that appear with the -i ending, while recognize that not all of these nouns denote human subjects (annali, canali, etc.).

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