Re: YAEPT: uu/ii (< Quick Latin pronunciation question)

Quoting caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>:

> >Benct Philip Jonsson <bpj@...> wrote:
>
> >Moreover the plural, if there were any, would have been _uira_, since
> >the word is neuter in spite of being a second declension noun in _-us_!
>
> In the first declension, overwhelmingly feminine, there are a few
> masculine words, e.g., "poeta," poet.  The plural is the normal -ae of
> the first declension, "poetae," not the -i of the second.
>
> By analogy, wouldn't the hypothetical plural of "virus," even though
> neuter, be the "viri" of the second declension?  Why would a third
> declension ending, "vira," be introduced?
Characterizing -a as a third declension ending is misleading; it's the regular
ending of neuter nom/acc plurals of any declension. Cf regular 2nd decl neuters
like _templum_, pl _templa_.

--
Andreas Johansson

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