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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Genitive of Friendship

Yeah, I made that genitive up, but only to describe a real phenomenon in Latin! Some adjectives of likeness, nearness, and belonging that normally take the dative will occasionally take a possessive genitive. This transition is especially common where the adjective approaches the force of a noun.

• Fuit hōc quondam proprium populī Rōmānī: this was once peculiar to the Roman people. (~a peculiar trait of)
• Fuit semper amīcus Cicerōnis: he was always friendly with Cicero. (~a friend of)
• Adeō patris similis es: you’re just like your master. (~a chip off the old block)

Here’s the full list of adjectives that perform this function—

• aequālis,  aequāle: of the same age (~a contemporary of)
• affīnis, affīne: related to by marriage (~kinsman of)
• aliēnus, -a, -um: belonging to another (~a stranger to)
• cōgnātus, -a, -um: fellow-born (~kinsman of)
• commūnis, commūne: common to (~kinsman of)
• cōnsanguineus, -a, -um: sharing a bloodline (~kinsman of)
• contrārius, -a, -um: opposite (~the opposite of)
• dispār: unlike (dispar suī, in philosophical diction)
• familiāris, familiāre: of close relation (~intimate of)
• fīnitimus, -a, -um: adjoining (~neighbor of)
• inimīcus, -a, -um: hostile to (~enemy of)
• necessārius, -a, -um: connected with (~component of)
• pār: equal to (~a match)
• pecūliāris, pecūliāre: personal (~peculiar trait of)
• propinquus, -a, -um: neighboring (~neighbor of)
• proprius, -a, -um: personal (~peculiar trait of)
• sacer, sacra, sacrum: holy (~holy with respect to some deity)
• similis, simile: alike to (~spitting image of)
• superstes: surviving (~survivor of)
• vīcīnus, -a, -um: neighboring (~neighbor of)

Note that this genitive construction is actually more common for proprius, -a, -um than the dative construction.

Similis with the genitive is especially common with personal pronouns (meī, tuī, suī) and within the fixed phrase vērī similis (probable).

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)