I-Stems with Ablative -i

Here’s the other half of that list that I started in (this post). These are the class of consonantal adjectives that tend not to operate as quasi-nouns, and therefore tend to take -i in the ablative, rather than -e.

• āmēns, āmentis, frantic, crazed
• anceps, ancipis, double, doubtful
• concors, concordis, agreed, joint
• dēgener, dēgeneris, low-born, weak
• hebes, hebetis, dull, blunt
• ingēns, ingentis, huge, vast
• inops, inopis, needy, helpless
• memor, memoris, mindful of
• pār, paris, alike, equal to
• perpes, perpetis, lasting
• praeceps, praecipitis, headlong
• praepes, praepitis, nimble, winged
• teres, teretis, smooth

Sorry for the relative obscurity of these last two posts. The thing is, they cover a few footnotes in Allen and Greenough that I feel should be out there on the Internet, preferably with a basic entry format and definition.

The Essential AG: 121a3

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I-Stems with Ablative -e

Consider section 121a4, which lists a variety of consonant stem adjectives that do not take -i in the ablative singular. They are completely regular, and the entry is really there only to keep you from having second guesses.

I’ll list them here so they get some web mileage, despite not being especially interesting, however rare:

• caeles, caelitis relating to the heavens or their Gods
• compos, compotis possessing control of
• dēses, dēsidis lazy
• dīves, dīvitis wealthy
• hospes, hospitis amicable, relating to guest-friendship
• particeps, participis participating in
• praepes, praepitis nimble, winged
• pauper, pauperis poor, destitute
• prīnceps, prīncipis princely, noble
• sōspes, sospitis safe and sound
• superstes, superstitis surviving

As someone pointed out in a comment, the general but non-binding idea is that those adjectives which most often operate as nouns (like these) take the ablative in -e, whereas those that are properly adjectival take the ablative in -i. You find hints of this throughout the consonantal and i-stem entries in Allen and Greenough (see 121a1-2), but they make no effort to propagate it as a formal rule.

The Essential AG: 121a1-2, a4

I-Stems: Summary [8/8]

Like A&G, I would like to conclude my series on i-stems with a short assessment of the basic rules and variations associated with the i-stem class.

A&G paint a picture of cultural amnesia regarding Roman relations with the i-stem. As I have shown in previous posts, in all but the genitive plural (ium), and the neuter accusative/nominative plural (ia), the unique i-stem endings are rare or optional. (cf. the status of English ‘who/m’).

• The nominative singular could be -is (sitis, is) but also ēs/-s/–x, etc.
• The accusative singular could be -im but also -em.
• The ablative singular could be -ī or it could be -e.
• The accusative masc/fem plural might be -īs but it’s usually -ēs.

AG: 76

I-Stems: Ablative -ī [6/8]

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

• 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 -ī. (contrast with avis, clāvis, etc.)

I-Stems: Mixed I-Stems [5/8]

In my opinion, A&G make too big a fuss over mixed i-stems, which are essentially a broad class of nouns that usually feature a genitive plural in -ium and might feature an accusative plural in -īs, but are otherwise regular third declension nouns.

Here are five of their six morphological classes, along with all the examples they offer. (I’m excluding 71.4 because it’s ridiculous that they’ve placed it there at all):

1. Nouns in (n.) -ēs, (g.) -is.

• acīnacēs, -is (m.) scimitar
• aedēs, -is (f.) temple
• aciēs, -is (f.) point, battle line
• caedēs, -is (f.) slaughter
• cautēs, -is (f.) crag
• clādēs, -is (f.) destruction
• compāgēs, -is (f.) structure
• contāgēs, -is (f.) sense of touch
• famēs, -is (f.) hunger
• fēlēs, -is (f.) cat
• fidēs, -is (f.) faith, trust, loyalty, reputation, etc.
• indolēs, indolis (f.) inborn quality
• lābēs, labis (f.) fall, destruction
• luēs, luis (f.) liquid water
• mēlēs, mēlis (m/f.) marten, badger
• mōlēs, mōlis (f.) mass, bulk
• nūbēs, nūbis (m/f.) cloud
• palumbēs, palumbis (m/f.) dove
• prōlēs, prōlis (f.) shoot, offspring, descendants
• prōpāgēs, prōpāgis (f.) shoot, offspring, descendants
• pūbēs, pūbis (f.) young man
• sēdēs, sēdis (f.) seat, office
• saepēs, saepis (f.) hedge, fence
• sordēs, sordis (f.) filth
• strāges, strāgis (f.) overthrow, destruction
• struēs, struis (f.) pile
• subolēs, subolis (f.) shoot, offspring, descendants
• tābēs, tabis (f.) decline, decay
• torquēs, torquis (f.) necklace
• tudēs, tudis (m.) hammer
• vātēs, vātis (m/f.) prophet
• vehēs, vehis (f.) cart-load (quantity)
• veprēs, vepris  (m.) bramble-bush
• verrēs, verris (m.) boar
• vulpēs, vulpis (f.) fox

2. All monosyllable nominatives in -s or -x preceded by a consonant.

• ars, artis (f.) skill, art, technique
• pōns, pontis (m.) bridge
• arx, arcis (f.) fortress

3. On the following monosyllable nominatives in -s or –x preceded by a vowel.

• dōs, dōtis (f.) dowry
• fraus, fraudis (f.) deceit, fraud
• glīs, glīris (m.) dormouse
• līs, lītis (f.) case, quarrel
• mās, māris (m.) male
• mūs, mūris (m/f.) mouse
• nix, nivis (f.) snow
• nox, noctis (f.) night
• strix, strigis (f.) channel, furrow
• vīs, vis (f.) force

4. Polysyllable nominatives in -ns or -rs.

• cliēns, -entis (m.) client, follower
• cohors, -ortis (m.) companion

This does not apply to all present active participles!

5. Patrials (nouns denoting birth, class, abode) in -ās and -īs.

• Arpīnās (Arpīnātēs)… Aprīnātium
• Optimās (Optimātēs)… Optimātium
• Penās (Penātēs)… Penātium
• Quirīs (Quiṝitēs)… Quiritium

The (very much non-)Essential AG: 71-2

I-Stems: Neuter Exceptions [4/8]

So, unfortunately, I stated earlier that the neuter i-stem class is entirely regular. In fact, a footnote in A&G reveals about ten exceptions.

These nouns are almost regular, except that with consonantal stems –al and –ar they also add the ending -e to the nominative and accusative singular. Note that because of this ending, the -ā- is long in all cases.

Where the singular is uncommon or does not exist, I have used the plural.

• alveāre, alveāris, beehive
• augurāle, augurālis, augur’s staff
• capillāre, capillāris, pomade
• cochlearē, cochleāris, spoon
• collāre, collāris, collar
• dentālia, dentālium, sharebeam of a plow (What?)
• fōcāle, fōcālis, cravat (What?)
• nāvāle, nāvālis, dock
• penetrāle, penetrālis, inner shrine
• rāmālia, rāmālium, twigs
• scūtāle, scūtālis, thong of a sling
• tibiālia, tibiālia, shin-length stockings

The Essential AG: 68n2

I-Stems: Neuter Exemplāria [3/8]

In this post, I want to expand on a footnote in A&G, which lists a whole herd of neuter i-stems, but then offers them no definitions.

Sample i-Stem neuters:

(if given in the plural, singular is rare or non-existent)

in -al

• animal, animālis, animal
• Bacchānal, Bacchānālis, Bacchanalian orgy
• bidental, bidentālis, sacred space struck by lightening
• capital, capitālis, capital punishment
• cervīcal, cervīcālis, pillow, cushion
• cubital, cubitālis, elbow cushion
• frontālia, frontālium, frontlet of a horse (What the hell is that?)
• genuālia, genuālium, leggings
• Lupercal, Lupercālis, cave on the Palatine Hill
• minūtal, minūtalis, stew
• puteal, puteālis, structure surrounding the mouth of a well
• spōnsālia, spōnsālium, wedding
• quadrantal, quandrantālis, unit of liquid measure (a cubic (Roman) foot)
• toral, torālis, valance of a couch (What the hell is that?)
• vectīgal, vectīgālis, tax

in -ar

• altāria, altārium, fittings for burnt offerings (also, apparently now a Pokemon… *nostalgia*)
• cochlear, cochleāris, spoon
• exemplar, exemplāris, example, standard
• lacūnar, lacūnāris, paneled ceiling (example)
• laquear, laqueāris, (also) paneled ceiling
• lūcar, lūcāris, actor’s fee
• lūminār, lūmināris, window shutter
• lupānar, lupānāris, brothel
• palear, paleāris, dewlap (What the hell is that?)
• plantāria, plantārium, sandals
• pulvīnar, pulvināris, couch for image of deity
• Sāturnālia, Sāturnālium, optimo diērum, Catullus 14.15
• speculāria, speculārium, window panes
• tālāria, tālārium, winged sandals of Hermes
• torcular, torculāris, wine press

The Essential AG: 68n1

I-Stems: Masculine and Feminine Declension(s) [1/8]

As A&G note, “The i-stem was confused by even the Romans themselves.” There are a variety of variations with this stem present in all three grammatical genders, making it incredibly difficult to organize the data except in broad patterns and rote memorization. To that effective, I’m going to design a series of posts on the i-stem declension.

In this section, we’ll introduce the i-stem as a morphological class, and discuss the declension of ‘regular’ masculine and feminine i-stem nouns.

First off, all i-stems are either pure or mixed.

Most pure i-stems are immediately identifiable by their lexical entry, because they feature parisyllabic  (having the same number of syllables) nominative and genitive forms. This is true of masculine, feminine and neuter i-stem nouns. However, most masculine and feminine nouns also have nominative and genitive forms that are completely identical. Let’s take a look:

sitis, sitis (f.) thirst (declined only in the singular, for sensible reasons)

ignis, ignis (m.) fire

A few unique features to note:

• nominative singular -is (except in four cases, see below)
• accusative singular –im (though not always)
• ablative singular -ī (though not always)
• genitive plural -ium (strictly)

As you can see, there aren’t many markers (just one) that guarantee any given noun is an i-stem noun. In fact, it would be possible to decline ignis in a way such that only it’s nominative singular and genitive plural gave any hint of the i-stem status.

With four nouns in particular (imber, rain; linter, skiff; ūter, wineskin; venter, belly) this problem is even more evidence because here even the nominative is lost as a distinctive feature. The only morphological form that demonstrates imber‘s i-stem status is its genitive plural imbrium.

So to review masculine and feminine i-stem declension: difficult, difficult, difficult. As we’ll see, the neuter declension isn’t much easier…

The essential AG: 66-7.

I-Stems: Neuter Declension [p2/8]

As A&G note, “The i-stem was confused by even the Romans themselves.” There are a variety of variations with this stem present in all three grammatical genders, making it incredibly difficult to organize the data except in broad patterns and rote memorization. To that effective, I’m going to design a series of posts on the i-stem declension.

The basic neuter i-stem declension takes the stem (mari-) and converts the final i- to an e- in the nominative and accusative singular.

mare, maris (n.) sea

sedīle, sedīlis (n.) seat

(photo credit: Wiktionary).

In this basic output, the neuter i-stem is far more regular than its masculine and feminine counterparts:

• Nominative and accusative singular: -e
• Ablative singular: -ī
• Nominative and accusative plural: -ia
• Genitive plural: -ium

These are all regularized and there are no exceptions…except for the majority of nouns in the neuter i-stem declension, which don’t decline like this at all. Most neuter i-stem nouns have a consonantal base in -al or -ar, which is retained in all morphological forms. This causes only one change: these forms are animal, animalis, and not *animale, animalis. Everything else remains the same.

tribūnal, tribūnālis (n.) judge’s platform

There’s one feature that Wiktionary fails to capture in this chat. The -a- at the end of the stem is short in the nominative and accusative singular, but along everywhere else (see my lexical entry above). This is true of all i-stem nouns ending in –al or -ar.

calcar, calcāris (n.): spur

(Here they got the -a- right. Go figure.)

There you have it! The neuter i-stem declension. It’s fairly regular; it merely entails a large quantity of regular rules.

The Essential AG: 68-9

The Vocative Case: Declension

A&G define the vocative as “the case of Direct Address.” (35f)

Generally speaking, the vocative and the nominative are the same.

However, in certain nouns of the second declension (those with nominative -us or -ius) have two exceptional variations. All nouns in -us feature an -e in the vocative (mūrus…mūre). Those ending in -ius (Vergilius, fīlius, genius, etc.) take a vocative -ī (Vergilī, filī, genī).

• [Highly attentive readers should note that this vocative does not shift its accent, rendering Vergílī, and not *Vérgilī, as one might expect.]

That’s how it stands for nouns. There’s a slight variation in policy for adjectives, though luckily the same general rule (same as the nominative) holds true for all but the second declension (bonus…bone). However, the one catch is that adjectives ending in -ius change to -ie and not -ī. Therefore, when calling to a Spartan son, we might say O fīlī Lacedaemonie! (not *Lacedaemonī).

If anyone has a better understanding of vocative plurals, which I assume are all identical to their nominative forms, feel free to say more in the comments below. A&G are totally silent on this issue, which I assume signals that listing the vocatives would be redundant (with respect to the nominatives).

The Essential AG: 38a