Tag Archives: loci

Plūralia Transexulālia

The following is a list of nouns that operates in a different grammatical gender where it appears in the plural, or features two possible genders in the plural that offer two distinct meanings.

  • balneum, -ī (n) bath —> balneae (f) baths
  • carbasus, -ūs (f) sail —> carbasa (n) sails
  • dēlicium, -ī (n) pleasure —> dēliciae (f) pet
  • epulum, -ī (n) feast —> epulae (f) feast
  • frēnum, -ī (n) bit —> frēnī (m) or frēna (n) bridle (the first the more common)
  • iocus, -ī (m) jest —> ioca (n) or iocī (m) jests (” “)
  • locus, -ī (m) place —> loca (n) places, but locī (m) topics
  • rāstrum, -ī (n) rake —> rāstrī (m) or rāstra (n) rakes (” “)

Allen and Greenough also have this entry—

  • caelum, -ī (n) heaven —> caelōs (m acc.) appears in Lucretius

This is an interesting case. According to Lewis and Short, it looks like the plural of caelum is actually lacking in Classical Latin except for a passage from Lucretius. However, caelī (m) meaning ‘heavings’ is frequent in Ecclesiastical Latin. Therefore, the evidence is inconclusive as to whether the noun is truly transgender.

The Essential A & G: 106b

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Plūrālia Aliēna

The follow is a list of nouns whose standard semantic meaning is altered when the noun is made plural.

  • aedēs, is (f) temple —> aedēs house
  • aqua, ae (f) water —> aquae mineral springs, watering hole
  • auxilium, -ī (n) help —> auxilia auxiliary forces
  • bonum, ī (n) a good —> bona goods, property
  • carcer, -ēris (m) dungeon, prison —> carcerēs race course barriers
  • castrum, -ī (n) fort —> castra military camp
  • comitium, -ī (n) place of assembly —> comitia election
  • cōpia (f) plenty —> cōpiae stores, troops
  • fidēs, -is (f) harp-spring —> fidēs, um lyre
  • fīnis, -is (m) end —> fīnēs boundaries
  • fortūna, -ae (f) fortune —> fortūnae possessions
  • grātia, -ae (f) favor —> grātiae thanks, the Graces
  • hortus, -ī (m) garden —> hortī pleasure-grounds
  • impedīmentum, -ī (n) hindrance —> impedīmenta baggage
  • literra, -ae (f) letter —> litterae literature, epistle
  • locus, -ī (m) place —> locī topics (but loca (n) places)
  • mōs, mōris (m) habit, custom —> mōres character
  • nātālis, -is (m) birthday —> nātālēs descent, origin
  • opera (f) work —> operae day-hands
  • ops, -is (f) help —> opēs resources, wealth
  • pars, -tis (f) part —> partēs stage role, party
  • rōstrum, -ī (n) beak of a ship —> rōstra speaker’s platform
  • sāl (m/n) salt —> salēs (m) witty jokes
  • tabella (f) tablet —> tabellae records

The Essential A & G: 107