Uses of Diēs

Lewis and Short have a different take on the masculine/feminine division of diēs. They claim that diēs is properly masculine, but appears in poetry (metrī gratiā) as a feminine noun to mean ‘day’ in prose to mean ‘time’ or ‘date.’

They pull a number of examples from Ennius, Ovid, Horace and Vergil to support this, but then also lay bare that Julius Caesar (feminine) and Sallust (masculine) use the two genders of diēs for the same phrases. What are your thoughts on this?

Caesar actually uses a variety of diēs phrases:

postridiē eius diē : after that day

diem ex diē dūcere : to lead (troops) day by day

The phrase in diēs is generally translated ‘every day.’ Cf. cotidiē and in diem, which mean roughly the same.

The feminine uses of diēs in prose are generally of a piece: dictā, edictā, cōnstitūtā, praestitūtā, pacta, statā, annuā… you get the idea.

A few more phrases:

• dicere diem alicuī : to bring a charge against someone (by specifying a court day)
• diēs natālis : birthday
• in diem vīvere : to live day-to-day (paycheck-to-paycheck, so to speak—hopefully few of my readers!)

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The Latin Dual

Don’t worry—it’s extinct! However, it’s insightful to see that ambō the long ō ending that is characteristic of Greek duals and dual-related adverbs: ἄμφω, δύω, κτλ.

The Essential AG: p.59, ftn.

Position of Inter and Intrā

1. Inter may appear after its corresponding object.

• rex inter prīmōs cōnsisterat: he was mad a king among equals.
• mediōs inter hostēs Londinium perrēxit: he pressed on to London amid enemies (enemy ambushes.

2. Except (perhaps?) for metrical purposes, intra will always proceed it’s corresponding object.

• intrā trēs diēs: within three days
• intrā lūcem: before the day was done

The Essential AG: 435

Some Idioms with Inter

These aren’t from A&G—I picked them up in the cobweb-covered corners of Lewis and Short. Enjoy!

• iam tandem paene inter manūs est: at last, it’s finally within reach!
• inter viam eō: I’m on the way!
• Haec Toddī inter cēnam rettūlī: I reported these things to Todd at dinner.
• inter initia architectī gestōrum saepe inter sē distulērunt: during the start-up phase, the founders of the company often quarreled amongst themselves
• inter hās turbās senātus tamen convēnit: despite these upheavals, the senate convened (inter + accusative… tamen)

The Criminal Inter?

The judicial phrase inter sīcāriōs means ‘on the charge of assassination.’ I’m not sure if this is as general use of inter (neither A&G nor L&S seems to say) but if I may title the ‘criminal inter‘ (from crīmen, charge/accusation) preposition, then consider the following possibilities:

• inter impudentēs: on the charge of shamelessness
• inter cinaedōs: on the charge of sodomy

By any and all means, correct me if I’m crazy or defend me if you think I might be on to something. I realize this is speculation; we only have limited textual data to support a theory on either side—it’s really a matter of personal judgment and extrapolation based on our available resources.

The Essential AG: 353.2

Some Inter-esting Distinctions

In my last post, I introduced intra, to which I will now compare and contrast intra, a considerably more common and complex preposition, individuated from intra through the following uses.

1. The et double-accusative.

• inter mōns et durum: between a rock and a hard place
• inter tē et mē: between you and me

2. The inter sē construction.

• inter sē loquuntur: they talk amongst themselves
• inter se confērunt: they compare amongst themselves

3. The ‘amid’ construction.

• inter hostium tēla: amid the weapons of the enemies
• inter imbrim: during the rainfall
• prīmus inter parēs: the first among equals

4. The temporal ‘while’ construction (with a gerund)

• inter bibendum: while drinking
• inter agendum: while carrying forward

The Essential AG: 221.15

Compound Verbs with Intrā—

You would think, given the vast tribe of verbal compounds with inter- as a prefix, that a few species of intrā-compounds would also inhabit that wood of the Latin dictionary. In fact, they are highly endangered, perhaps even extinct. Here are a few compound adjectives and nouns that I discovered; the verbs were nowhere to be found.

• intrābilis (adj)—possible to enter
• intrāclusus (adj)—shut in, enclosed
• intrāmeātus, -ūs (n)—a journey within
• intrāmūrānus (adj)—within the walls
• intrāneus (adj)—within

An Intrā-duction

The preposition intrā takes an accusative. It is likely derived from the adjectival feminine adjective singular of inter, intra, intrum (intrā) — an archaic adjective which also produced the corresponding preposition inter.

Intra + accusative is primarily used with a single class of nouns, and denotes a space ‘within which.’

• intrā moenia, within the walls
• intrā me deus est, the Lord is within me
• intrā iactum telī, within a javelin’s throw (denoting distance)

Intra + accusative of time is one ways of denoting the time within something occurred.

• intrā quattuor annōs, within four years
• intrā lucem, before the day was done
• intrā diēs paucōs, within few days (before a few days had passed)
• intrā morae breve tempus, without a moment’s delay

It can also mean less than a given duration or quantity.

• intrā centum fūnera fēcit, he inflicted fewer than 100 casualties
• intrā trēs diēs abiit, he left before three days had passed (compare above)

It can also appear without a direct object.

• ea intrā est, she is within

The Essential AG: 130

Greek Patronymics in Latin

Patronymics are generally Greek-derived Latin nouns with special endings, appearing frequently in epic poetry and rarely elsewhere. They may be masculine or feminine, but always one or the other, depending on the specific ending:

• -adēs, idēs, īdēs and -eus are masculine
• –ās, is, and -ēis are feminine

In Greek, these are usually adjectives; in Latin, they are usually nouns.

Exempla:

• Tydareus, -ī (the Spartan king) —> Tyndaridēs, -ae (either Castor or Pollux, the twin sons of Tyndareus)
• Tydareus, -ī (the Spartan king) —> Tyndaris, -idis (Helen, the daughter of Tyndareus)
• Anchīsēs, -ae (Anchises, the Dardanian prince) —> Anchīsiadēs, -ae (Aeneas, the son of Anchises)
• Tydeus, -ī, (Tydeus, the Aeolian hero) —> Tydīdēs, -ae (Domedes, the son of Tydeus)
• Oīleus, -ī (Oileus, the Locrian king) —> Aiāx Oīleus, Aiācis Oīleī (Ajax Minor, the son of Oileus)
• Hesperus, -ī (the Evening Star) —> Hesperis, -idis sg. (a daughter of Hesperus) —> Hesperides, -um pl. the Hesperides (not Hesperidēs, -ae, which would be masculine)

The Essential AG: 244

A Reader’s Diēgest

Here are a few notes on the Latin for day—diēs.

1. Diēs is a fifth-declension noun.

(photo credit: Wiktionary)

2. Diēs is typically masculine (like most fifth declension nouns), but is occasionally feminine, especially in fixed phrases and general reference to time or dates.

• cōnstitūtā diē : on a fixed day
• longa diēs intervēnit : a long time had passed

3. Diēs is one of only two nouns in the fifth declension that is entirely declined. Rēs is  the other such noun—all other fifth declension nouns are wanting in the plural (or at least the plural genitive, dative and ablative) in extant Latin literature.

The Essential AG: 96, 97, 98a