Single-Termination Third Declension Adjectives

Here’s a review of triple- and twin-termination adjectives, covered in earlier posts:

• Triple-termination: ācer, ācris, ācre (sharp)
• Twin-termination: levis (m/f), leve (light)

Formation of Single-Termination Third Declension Adjectives

These are complicated because they take several possible consonant stems. That said, their declension is more-or-less equivalent to third declension i-stem nouns (nūbes, nūbis or mare, maris)

atrōx, actrōcis, fierce

A few things to note:

• The ablative singular may be either atrōcī or (less often) atrōce
• The neuter plurals all feature the i–stem (-ia, -ium, -ibus, etc.)
• The masculine and feminine plural accusative may (rarely) be atrocīs

Here are a few more nouns to consider:

egēns, egentis: needy

praeceps, praecipitis: headlong

pār, paris: equal, alike

ūber, ūberis: fruitful, copious

The Essential AG: 118

Famous Phrase: cēterīs pāribus [all other things being equal]

(an ablative absolute, denoting non-variable components of scientific experiments or other forms of structural reasoning)

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Third Declension Twin-Termination Adjectives

Adjectives of the third declension have either one, two or three gendered endings.

• Triple-termination: ācer, ācris, ācre (sharp) [see here]
• Twin-termination: levis (m/f), leve (light)
• Single-termination: …these are complicated. I’ll address them in a coming post

Twin-Termination Formation

Adjectives of the third declension with two terminations are declined as follows:

Here are some additional twin-termination thirds to practice declining:

• faenebris, faenebre: lent at interest
• fūnebris, fūnebre: funereal
• illūstris, illūstre: shining, famous
• lūgubris, lūgubre: mournful
• mediocris, mediocre: (usually) moderate; (rarely) ordinary
• muliebris, muliebre: effeminate

The Essential AG: 116