Re: YAEPT: uu/ii (< Quick Latin pronunciation question)
| From: | Eugene Oh <un.doing@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, May 27, 2008, 15:11 |
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On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 10:51 PM, caeruleancentaur
<caeruleancentaur@...> wrote:
> 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?
>
There is an overriding rule in Latin that all neuter nominatives,
accusatives and vocatives end in -um in the singular and -a in the
plural, whichever declension pattern they belong to. Hence oppidum,
oppida; tempus, tempora; opus, opera; animal, animalia; etc.
This is different from the other two genders, which occur in
practically all other declensions: poeta, nauta, domus, manus, etc.
Eugene
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