I.

U-NOUNS.

N.

M. (F.)

F. (M.)

M. (F.)

Nom. ǎ

ús ĕr

Voc. Nom.

= N.

=

Acc. am

N.

N.

em

em (im)

um

= D.

SECTION II.

i First Declension: A-Nouns.

The First Declension contains Latin and latinized words with the Nominative Singular in ǎ. These are Feminine: Musă, muse, mensă, table; excepting Male Names and Appellatives: Messallă, Belgă, Belgian, scribá, secretary, poetă, poet; also Hadriă, Adriaticgulf; which are Masculine.

It also contains Greek Appellatives and Names, Proper and Patronymic, in ēs, ās, Masculine: aliptēs, a trainer, Aeneas, Atridēs; in ē, à, ă, Feminine: crambē, Agāvē, Neměā, Iphigeniă.

[In Tables of Declension and Conjugation byforms of equal authority are placed beside others: an am; byforms comparatively rare are added between brackets: ēn (am).]

Fem. Adjectives in ă, as bonă, teneră, nigră, are declined as mensă.

iii. Cases in the First Declension.

a) The old Gen. S. in as remains in the phrases paterfamilias, materfamilias, filiusfamilias, found in good writers from Terence to Suetonius and in the Plur. patres (matres, filii) familias. Familiae is also used with pater, &c., by Livy always: and familiarum is written with patres, &c.1

b) The old Gen. S. in at appears in Inscrr. It is used as a disyllable ai by Ennius, Plaut. Lucr. Verg. (aulāī, aurāī, aquãī, pictãi).

1 Alcumēna-s (Gen.) is cited from Plautus. The Gen. form in a-es, found chiefly in . late Inscrr. of I. I. or later R. L., may be an initation of Gr. ns.

c) The Gen. Plur. is formed in -um rather than -arum (which can however be used), by the following:

1) Patronymic Names in -des,

Aenea-des, Aenca-dum.

2) Many Names of Tribes, People, &c.,

Lapith-ae, Lapith-um.

3) Compounds of col- gen- (in poetry),

caelicol-a, caelicol-um; terrigen-a, terrigen-um.

4) Amphor-um from amphor-a, drachm-um from drach-
m-a, when used with Numerals :

terna milia amphorum, 3,000 amphors; mille drach-
mum, 1,000 drachms.

The form in abus of Dat. Abl. Pl. might serve to distinguish the Fem. from the Masc. not only in dea, but in many other Substantiva Mobilia. For this purpose it is ascribed by grammarians to numerous words:

filia, nata, liberta, conserva, domina, era, mima, nympha,
asina, equa, mula, anima :

and in some of these, especially filia, nata, liberta, it often occurs
in Inscrr. and legal forms. But, generally, there is little authority
for the use of this Case-ending by classical authors, in any words
but deabus, duabus, ambabus.

e) The Locative Case in ae (for a-1) is formed in the Sing. by militia, and Names of Towns:

militiae, at the wars, Romae, at Rome.

in is by Plural Names of towns :

The Plural of Appellatives follows that of mensa.

a) Many Greek Nouns of this Decl. were latinized early, and seem to have soon exchanged the Greek endings n, ac, n, ā, first

for ā, then, as shortening came into vogue, for ǎ, following the practice of the Aeolic dialect:

ancora, apotheca, aula, bibliotheca, comoedia, tragoedia, scaena, &c.

b) Words introduced later have much variety, fluctuating between the Greek and Latin form; and poetic usage in these often differs from that of prose.1 Thus we find :

A) Masc. Greek Nouns :

with

1) Patronymics, like Atrid-ēs ǎ :

Aeneades, Pelides, Tydides, &c. (ă being rare).

2) Appellatives, like aliptes:

anagnostes, geometres, Olympionices, sophistes.

3) Gentile Names, like Pers-ēs ǎ :

Scyth-es a, Sauromat-es, Sarmat-a ;

many in ītes ītă, ōtes ōtă :

Abderit-es a, Epirot-es a.

These sometimes pass to Decl. 3. with Accus. S. em, ēn.

4) Like Aeet-ēs ǎ :

Anchis-es a, Lycamb-es a, Orest-es a, Thyest-es, a. 5) Like Aeneas:

Anaxagoras, Diagoras, Lysias, Boreas, &c.

6) Like Marsy-ās ǎ :

Cinyr-as a, Dam-as a, Damoet-as a, Iarb-as a, Leonid-as a, Mid-as a.

B) Fem. Greek Nouns :

1) Like music-ă ē :

dialectic-a e, grammatic-a e, physic-a e, rhetoric-a e. 2) Like crambē:

aloe, epitome, hyperbole, &c.

3) Like Helen-ē ǎ :

Alcumen-, Erigon-ă, Hecat-a, Led-ă, Nymph-ă,
Semel-ă; which also take : Circ-e, Cybel-ē, Dirc-ē,
Europ-ē, Eurydic-ē, Penelop-ē; which also take ǎ.

'Cicero, as a rule, prefers Latin forms to Greek, and sometimes introduces the latter with acknowledgment of their origin ('quae hyperbole dicitur'), or with an apology, as Epp. ad Att. vii. 3: Reprehendendus sum quod homo Romanus Piraeea scripsi, non Piraeeum; sic enim omnes nostri locuti sunt.'

Also local names, Aetn-ă, Cret-ă, Id-ă, Ithac-ă, Liby-ă, may take ĕ for ǎ in poetry.

4) Like Agave:

Calliope, Danae, Euterpe, Hebe, Lethe, Melpomene, Oenone,
Persephone, Procne, &c.

Medea; and the local Names Aegina, Lerna, Ossa.

7) Like Electră:

Cassandra.

Note. Many Nouns in es, which in Greek belong to the First Decl., having the form of Patronymics without really being such, pass over to the Third Decl. in Latin, forming Gen. -is :

Alcibiades, Euclides, Euripides, Miltiades, Simonides.

Yet these and many other names, Greek and barbarian, which take Gen. is, fluctuate between the First and Third Declension in the ending of the Accus. S. (ēn, em). Such are :

Achilles, Aristoteles, Archimedes, Artaxerxes, Cleanthes,
Datames, Diogenes, Diomedes, Euphrates, Mithridates,
Phrahates, Polynices, Polycrates, Socrates, Tiridates, Xer-
xes, &c.

SECTION III.

i Second Declension: 0-Nouns.

The Second Declension contains

1) Latin and latinised Nouns in us (for Ŏs) chiefly Masculine: dominus, lord;

2) Clipt Masculine Nouns in ĕr (for ĕr-os, r-Ŏs; see p. 82): puer, boy, magister, master; to which add vir (for vir-os), man;

3) Neuter Nouns in um: bellum, war.

4) Greek Nouns in os, Masc. and Fem.; in ōs, Masc. ; in on, Neuter; used chiefly by the poets.

ii. Table:

23 Second

Declen

sion.