More Latin Numeral Adjectives

Mutliplicative Adjectives

• simplex, simplicis, single
• duplex, duplicis, double
• triplex, triplicis, triple
• quadruplex, -plicis, quadruple
• quīnquiplex, -plicis, quintuple
• sesiplex, -plicis, sextuple
• septemplex, -plicis, septuple
• octoplex, -plicis, octuple
• nonaplex, -plicis, nontuple(?)
• decemplex, -plicis, decemtuple(?)
• centuplex, -plicis, centuple(?)
• sēsquiplex, -plicis, 1 and 1/2 … ple (?)
• multiplex, -plicis, manifold

Proportional Adjectives

These are the adjectival forms of numeral adverbs.

• duplus, -a, -um, twice as large
• triplus, -a, -um thrice as large
• quadruplus, -a, -um, four times as large
• decemplus, -a, -um, ten times as large
• centiplus, -a, -um, 100 times as large

Temporal Adjectives

• bīmus, -a, -um, two-years old
• trīmus, -a, -um, three-years old

• biennis, -is, lasting two years
• triennis, -is, lasting three years

• bimēstris, -is, occurring every (or lasting) two months
• trimēstris, -is, occurring every (or lasting) three months

Partitive Adjectives

• bīnārius, -a, -um, two-parted
• ternārius, -a, -um, three-parted

Other Numeral Adjectives

• prīmārius, -a, -um, of the first rank
• bīnārius, -a, -um, of the second rank
• (note, these are the partitives, but with a distinct meaning)

Temporal Numeral Nouns

• biduum, -ī, two days
• triduum, -ī, three days
• biennium, -ī, two years
• triennium, -ī, three years

Other Numeral Nouns

• ūniō, -ōnis, unity
• bīniō, -ōnis, a pair (often of dice)

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Latin Distributives

These are difficult, and I’m not sure I grasp all of their aspects. If you’d like, feel free to expand or correct me in comments.

There are four central aspects to the Latin numeral:

• The cardinal: ūnus, duo, trēs, quattuor
• The ordinal: prīmus, secundus, tertius, quārtus
• The distributive: singulī, bīnī, ternī, quaternī
• The adverb: semel, bis, ter, quater

The distributive describes how many each or how many apiece. It’s a numeral of rate.

• The children received candy, one each: puerī mellīta accēpērunt, singula singulīs

Note a few things:

• The distributive numerals are plural adjectives, here matching mellīta (singula) and puerī (–> puerīs) (singulīs)
• They decline like the plural of bonus, -a, -um

The distributive are used to multiply, featured in the formula numeral adverb + distributive:

• 2 x 2 = bis bīna
• 3 x 7 = ter septēna

The poets also use distributives in place of cardinals, to express sets.

• He threw two shafts (in a set): bīna hastīlia torsit.

Distributives 1-10

• one each, singulī, -ae, -a
• two each, bīnī, -ae, -a
• three each, ternī, -ae, -a or trīnī, -ae, -a
• four each, quaternī, -ae, -a
• five each, quīnī, -ae, -a
• six each, sēnī, -ae, -a
• seven each, septēnī, -ae, -a
• eight each, octōnī, -ae, -a
• nine each, novēnī, -ae, -a
• ten each, dēnī, -ae, -a

Distributives 11-99

• eleven each, ūndēnī, -ae, -a
• twelve each, duodēnī, -ae, -a
• thirteen each, ternī dēnī, ternae dēnae, etc.
• eighteen each, octōnī dēnī or duodēvīcēnī, -ae, -a
• nineteen each, novēnī dēnī or ūndēvīcēni, -ae, -a
• twenty each, vīcēnī, -ae, -a
• twenty-one each, vīcēnī singulī, vīcēnae singulae, etc.
• thirty each, trīcēnī, -ae, -a
• fourty each, quadrāgēnī, -ae, -a
• fifty each, quīnquāgēnī, -ae, -a
• sixty each, sexāgēnī, -ae, -a
• seventy each, septuāgēnī, -ae, -a
• eighty each, octōgēnī, -ae, -a
• ninety each, nōnāgēnī, -ae, -a

Distributives 100+

• 100 each, centēnī, -ae, -a
• 200 each, ducēnī, -ae, -a
• 300 each, trecēnī, -ae, a
• 400 each, quadringēnī, -ae, -a
• 500 each, quīngēnī, -ae, -a
• 600 each, sescēnī, -ae, -a
• 700 each, septingēnī, -ae, -a
• 800 each, octingēnī, -ae, -a
• 900 each, nongēnī, -ae, -a
• 1,000 each, mīllēnī, -ae, -a
• 2,000 each bīna mīlia
• 100,000 each centēna mīlia

The Essential AG: 136

Numeral Adverbs

There are four central aspects to the Latin numeral:

• The cardinal: ūnus, duo, trēs, quattuor
• The ordinal: prīmus, secundus, tertius, quārtus
• The distributive: singulī, bīnī, ternī, quaternī
• The adverb: semel, bis, ter, quater

What is are numeral adverbs?

• Like English numeral adverbs, Latin numeral adverbs answer the question ‘how many times was something done?’
• How many times does Scylla engulf the strait each day? Thrice. [She does action x three times.]

[Side note: I first discovered the word ‘thrice’ while reading Homer in 6th grade. It’s probably the only moment of ‘word recognition’ that I can remember having. Does anyone else have stories about learning new words as a kid? I’d love to hear them in the comments.]
Here are the Latin adverbs (they answer quotiēns / quotiēs? How many times?).
1-10

• once, semel
• twice, bis
• thrice, ter
• four times, quater
• five times, quīnuiēns (or quīnquiēs, and sic for all numeral adverbs in -ēns)
• six times, sexiēns
• seven times, septiēns
• eight times, octiēns
• nine times, noviēns
• ten times, deciēns

11-19

• eleven times, ūndeciēns
• twelve times, duodeciēns
• thirteen times, terdeciēns
• fourteen times, quaterdeciēns
• fifteen times, quīndeciēns
• sixteen times, sēdeciēns
• seventeen times, septiēnsdeciēns
• eighteen times, duodēvīciēns
• nineteen times, ūndēvīciēns

20-99

• twenty times, vīciēns
• twenty-one times, semel vīciēns or vīcīens et semel or vīciēns semel (and sic for all numbers 21-99)
• twenty-two times, bis vīciēns
• twenty-nine times, ūndētrīciēns
• thirty times, trīciēns
• forty times, quadrāgiēns
• fifty times, quīnquāgiēns
• sixty times, sexāgiēns
• seventy times, septuāgiēns
• eighty times, octōgiēns
• ninety times, nōnāgiēns

100+

• 100 times, centiēns
• 200 times, ducentiēns
• 300 times, trecentiēns
• 400 times, quadringentiēns
• 500 times, quīngentiēns
• 600 times, sescentiēns
• 700 times, septingentiēns
• 800 times, octingentiēns
• 900 times, nōngentiēns
• 1000 times, mīliēns
• 2000 times, bis mīliēns
• 10,000 times, deciēns mīliēns

Cardinal Numerals, 11-100,000’s

There are four central aspects to the Latin numeral:

• The cardinal: ūnus, duo, trēs, quattuor
• The ordinal: prīmus, secundus, tertius, quārtus
• The distributive: singulī, bīnī, ternī, quaternī
• The adverb: semel, bis, ter, quater

The numerals 11-19 are indeclinable:

• note that 18 and 19 start counting back from twenty, while the others count up from ten
• French and Spanish (and other Romance languages?) also seem to freak out and shift form somewhere after 15; I’m not sure why no one thought a standardized 11-19 was a good idea

The numerals 20-100 are expressed as follows; bases of ten do not decline:

To achieve a number like 85, the Romans have two preferred methods:

• tens+ ones= (octōgintā quīnque mīlitēs)
• ones + et + tens =(quīnque et octōgintā mīlitēs)
• note that octōgintā et quīnque (a third option) is less common, but may appear
• also, note that numbers like 28 and 29 nine subtract as 18 and 19 above: duodētrīgintā, ūndētrīgintā, ūndēoctōgintā (79), etc.

The hundreds above 100 decline as adjectives like bonus, bona, bonum

Mille is an odd bird: it’s indeclinable as a singular (mīlle mīlitēs) but declines as a neuter plural (tria mīlia mīlitum)

• Note that there’s no typo here (though I am prone to typos): the singular mīlle has two l‘s; the plural mīlia/mīlium/mīlibus/mīlia/mīlibus has only one.
• He came with a thousand soldiers: cum mīlle mīlitibus vēnit.
• To express this sentence with three thousand, we decline tria mīlia and make mīles a partitive gentive
• He cam with three thousand soldiers: cum tribus mīlibus mīlitum vēnit.

To express numbers with three digits or more:

If et appears anywhere, it appears only between the two highest demoninations:

• 1776: mīlle (et) septigentī septuāgintā sex
• 2012: duo mīlia (et) duodecim