More Gentile Suffixes

In my last post, I introduced what Allen and Greenough refer to as ‘gentile’ adjectival suffixes—these relate the idea of ‘relating to’ or ‘pertaining to’ or ‘belonging to’. -ānus performs this function, but so do a host of similar suffixes:

-ēnus, -īnus, -ās, ēnsis, -cus, -acus, -ācus, -icus, -eus, -ëius, -icius

Let’s look at a few examples of these adjectives in action—

• Nox serēna mentem quiēvit: a calm night calms the mind. (sērus, -a, -um, late)
• Officium cīvicum fācite: do your civic duty! (cīvis, -is, citizen)
• Navis Siciliēnsis in portū visa est: A Sicilian  ship was seen in the port.

Like the suffix -anus, the rest of these can also pan out into nouns as well as adjectives.

• laniēna, -ae, a butcher’s stall (lanius, -ī, butcher)
• inquilīnus, -ī, a lodger (incola, -ae, an inhabitant)
• ruīna, -ae, a collapse (ruō, fall)
• doctrīna, -ae, learning (doctor, -ōris, teacher)

The Essential AG: 249.1, 249.2, 249.2a

-ānus, or Relating to Old Women

A number of adjectival endings denote what Allen and Greenough refer to as a ‘gentile’ relationship—demonstrating ‘relation to’ or ‘belonging to’ the corresponding class of nouns. One of these is -ānus, -a, -um.

• montānus, -a, -um, of mountains (mōns, montis, mountain)
• veterānus, -a, -um, of veterans (vetus, veteris (adj), old)
• antelūcānus, -a, -um, before daylight (ante lūcem, before light)
• Rōmānus, -a, -um, Roman (Rōma, -ae, Rome)
• Sullānī, -ōrum, of Sulla’s veterans (Sulla, -ae, Sulla)

Some of these derived adjectives have furthermore been transformed to new nouns.

• Silvānus, -ī, Silvanus, a woodlands deity (silva, -ae, the wood)
• membrāna, -ae, the skin (membrum, -ī, limb)

The Essential AG: 249.1, 249.2, 249.2a

Greek and Latin Comparatives

There is a certain kinship between Greek and Latin (a) comparative and (b) superlative forms, as well as between (c) a particular branch of Latin positive adjectives and Greek comparatives.

To recall your knowledge of positives, comparatives, and superlatives in each language, let’s view  a few examples:

• Dark, darker, darkest
• niger, nigrior, nigerrimus
• μέλας, μελάντερος, μελάντατος

• Big, bigger, biggest
• magnus, maior, maximus
• μέγας, μείζων, μεγίστος

• Dear, dearer, dearest
• cārus, cārior, cārissimus
• φίλος, φιλότερος, φιλότατος

• Sweet, sweeter, sweetest
• suavis, suavior, suavissimus
• ἡδύς, ἥδιος, ἥδιστος

I struggle here to explain the precise interrelations between the various forms above, because A&G are quite tight-lipped about the matter (everything in this post is drawn from two far-disparate footnotes). However, we see a certain kinship between:

• the Latin comparative (n.) -ius [e.g. nigrior (m/f), nigrius (n)] and the Greek -ίων [e.g. μείων (smaller, less)]
• the Latin superlative –issimus [suavissimus] and the Greek -ιστος [ἥδιστος]

(these ^^ are also both relative to the English superlative [e.g. sweetest])

• the Latin positive –ter (ater, atra, atrum) and the Greek -τερος (φιλότερος)

I think that last one is a bit of a stretch, so don’t shoot the messenger (of AG 214bn), but shoot me a comment if you disagree either with their claim or with my reading of their claim, and explain why.

The Essential AG: 124n1, 214bn