Appendix:Latin fifth declension
Description
[edit]Latin nouns of the fifth declension end in -ēs in the nominative singular, with a genitive in -ēī (after -i-) or in -ĕī (after consonant), and have an invariable stem. Other than rēs, spēs, and fidēs, fifth-declension nouns generally end more specifically in -iēs. Some nouns show variation between fifth-declension forms in -iēs and first-declension forms in -ia.
All fifth declension nouns are feminine except diēs (which was originally masculine, but came to be used in some circumstances as a feminine) and derivatives or compounds of diēs, such as merīdiēs.
Declension paradigm
[edit]| Case | Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stem in iēs |
-ēs | ||
| nominative | -ēs | -ēs | |
| genitive | -ēī | -eī | -ērum |
| dative | -ēī | -eī | -ēbus |
| accusative | -em | -ēs | |
| ablative | -ē | -ēbus | |
| vocative | -ēs | -ēs | |
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | diēs | diēs |
| genitive | diēī | diērum |
| dative | diēī | diēbus |
| accusative | diem | diēs |
| ablative | diē | diēbus |
| vocative | diēs | diēs |
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | rēs | rēs |
| genitive | reī | rērum |
| dative | reī | rēbus |
| accusative | rem | rēs |
| ablative | rē | rēbus |
| vocative | rēs | rēs |
Other than diēs and rēs, most fifth declension nouns were unused or rare in the plural in Classical Latin, especially the genitive and dative/ablative plural.[1][2]
- Genitive plural: aside from diērum and rērum, the form speciērum is used by some ancient authors, such as Apuleius Madaurensis (2nd century); Cicero mentions the form only to condemn it, saying fōrmārum would be better. Priscian cites faciērum from a fragment of a speech by Cato the Elder (“exempla earum facierum”).
- Dative/ablative plural: aside from diēbus and rēbus, the form speciēbus is used by some ancient authors, such as the jurist Gaius (Institutiones 2.79, 2nd century); Cicero mentions the form only to condemn it, saying fōrmīs would be better.
- Nominative and accusative plural forms in -ēs are somewhat less rare.
There is a closed set of locative singular forms in -ē, mainly temporal expressions derived from diēs: examples include hodiē, perendiē, prīdiē,[1] postrīdiē. When used in isolation, forms like these can be analyzed as adverbs rather than nouns: however, their original status as locative-case nouns is shown by expressions that contain an agreeing adjective in the locative case. Aulus Gellius (Noctes Atticae 10.24) describes expressions such as "diequinti"/"diequinte" as compound adverbs ("adverbio copulate") and attributes their use to to the time of Cicero and his predecessors.
Examples
[edit]Ending in -iēs:
Ending in consonant + -ēs:
See also
[edit]- Latin first declension
- Latin second declension
- Latin third declension
- Latin fourth declension
- Wikipedia article on declension
- Wikipedia article on Latin declension
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Allen, Joseph Henry, Greenough, James B. (1903) Allen and Greenough's New Latin grammar for schools and colleges: founded on comparative grammar, Boston: Ginn and Company, § 98
- ^ Priscian (1855) [c. AD 500] Grammatici Latini ex recensione Henrici Keilii, volume 2. Prisciani Institutionum Grammaticarum Libri I-XII ex recensione Martini Hertzii, Leipzig, page 367:
- Genetivus fit addita ablativo singulari 'rum': 'ab hac re harum rerum', 'a die dierum'; qui tamen in aliis fere omnibus usu apud plerosque deficit. itaque Cicero hoc approbat in topicis dicens: in divisione formarum, quas Graeci εἴδη vocant, nostri, si qui haec forte tractant, 'species' appellant, non pessime id quidem, sed inutiliter ad mutandos casus in dicendo. nolim enim, ne si Latine quidem dici possit, 'specierum' et 'speciebus' dicere, et saepe his casibus utendum est: at 'formis' et 'formarum' velim. inveniuntur tamen vetustissimi secundum analogiam hoc usi casu. Cato censorius in oratione, quam scripsit, uti praeda in publicum referatur: miror audere atque religione non tenerei, statuas deorum, exempla earum facierum, signa domi pro supellectile statuere. De dativo et ablativo pluralibus quintae declinationis. Dativus quoque et ablativus plurales ab ablativo fiunt singulari adiecta 'bus', ut 'ab hac re, die', 'his' et 'ab his rebus, diebus'. Sicut autem genetivi, sic etiam dativi et ablativi plurales in aliis nominibus eius declinationis deficiunt apud plerosque.