7. In the dative plural the Greek termination si or sin is used very rarely, and only by poets. Ovid, e. g., has Lemniasi and Troasin, from Lemniades and Troades. In prose writers there are very few examples that can be relied upon, such as ethesi from τὰ ἤθη. [§ 74.] 8. The accusative plural in us is admissible in all words which have this termination in Greek. It is however seldom used in prose, though in common nouns it occurs more frequently than the accusat. sing in ă, e. g. harpagonas, phalangas, pyramidas, and even in Cicero we find aspidas, cantharidas. He also uses the proper names Aethiopas, Arcadas, and Cyclopas, and Livy always has the accusat. Macedonas. It is surprising to find, that the same termination is now and then given also to barbarian names of nations, e. g. Allobrogas in Cæsar, and Lingonas, Nemetas, Ordovicas, Brigantas, Siluras and Vangionas in Tacitus. CHAP. XVII. GENDER OF WORDS OF THE THIRD DECLENSION. MAS CULINES. [§ 75.] MASCULINE are those which end in o, or, os, and er, and those in es which increase in the genitive, especially those in es, itis, e. g. sermo, error, sudor, flos, mos, venter, stipes. Exceptions in o. Words ending in do, go and io are feminine, e. g. consuetudo, formido, grando, imago, oratio, dictio, lectio, auditio, communio, &c., also caro and the Greek words echo and Argo (the ship of the Argonauts). The following, however, are masculine in do, the words cardo and ordo, together with udo and cudo or cudon; in go: ligo, margo, and harpago; and all words in io, which are not abstract nouns derived from verbs and adjectives, but common names of things, such as pugio (a dagger), scipio (a staff), septentrio (north pole), titio (a fire-brand); several names of animals, as curculio, papilio, scorpio, stellio, vespertilio, and a few others of rare occurrence; and lastly those formed from numerals, such as unio, binio or duplio, ternio, qua * Also spelled gurgulio; it is masculine in its two significations of "airpipe," and "wood worm." ternio, quinio, senio, &c. Unio in the sense of a particular pearl (margarita) is likewise masculine; but when it signifies unity (unitas), and is used in an abstract sense, it is feminine; but it is only in ecclesiastical writers that it has this meaning. Note. Cupido, desire, therefore is feminine, but masculine when it is the name of the god of Love. Poets, however, sometimes use it as a masculine, even in the former signification, and Horace does so always, as pravus cupido, falsus cupido. Margo may have either gender, but the masculine is more frequent, as was remarked above. [§ 76.] Exceptions in or. The following words in or, oris, are neuter: ador, aequor, marmor, and cor, cordis. Arbor is feminine according to the general rule. (See § 39.) Exceptions in os. Cos, dos, and the Greek eōs are feminine. Os, ossis, and os, oris, and the Greek words chaos, ethos, epos, melos, are neuter. Exceptions in er. A great many words in er are neuter, viz. cadaver, iter, spinther, tūber (a hump), uber, ver, and verber (rarely used in the singular, but very frequently in the plural, verbera), and all the names of plants in er: acer, cicer, laser, papaver, piper, siler, siser, suber and zingiber. Tuber (a kind of peach-tree) is feminine; but when it denotes the fruit, it is masculine. Linter is commonly used as a feminine, but is well attested also as a masculine. Exceptions in es increasing in the genitive. The following are feminine: merges, itis; seges and teges, ĕtis; merces, ēdis ; quies, ētis, with its compounds inquies and requies. Compes, which, however, does not occur in the nominative sing., but only in the plural compedes, is feminine. Aes, aeris, is neuter; ales and quadrupes are properly adjectives, but as substantives. they are mostly used as feminines. CHAP. XVIII. GENDER OF WORDS OF THE THIRD DECLENSION. - FEMI NINES. [§ 77.] FEMININE are those which end in as, is, ys, aus, and x, those in es which do not increase in the genitive, and those in s preceded by a consonant, e. g. auctoritas, navis, chlamys, laus and fraus, pax, radix, arx, nubes, pars, mors, hiems. Exceptions in as. The following are masculine:-as, gen. assis, and its compounds, though they have different terminations, as quadrans, a fourth of an as; bes, two-thirds of an as; decussis, ten ases*; and the Greek words which make their genitive in antis, as adamas, elephas, and the names of mountains: Acragas, Atlas, Mimas. Mas, măris, and vas, vădis, are, of course, masculine. The following are neuters: Greek words in as, which make their genitive ătis, as artocreas, erysipělas (see § 58.), and the Latin words vas, vasis, and fas and nefas, which, however, occur only in the nom. and accus. Exceptions in is. The following are masculine:- 1) Those in is, gen. eris, as cinis, cucumis, pulvis and vomis (commonly vomer); 2) The following which increase in the genitive: glis, lapis, pollis, and sanguis; 3) The following which do not increase: amnis, axis, callis, canalis, cassis (used especially in the plural casses, a hunter's net, and not to be confounded with cassis, idis, a helmet); caulis or colis, collis, crinis, ensis, fascis (generally in the plural, fasces), finis, follis, funis, fustis, ignis, mensis, orbis, panis, piscis, postis, scrobis, sentis, torquis, torris, unguis, vectis, vermis. Some of these words, however, are used by good authors also as feminines, though not often, especially callis, canalis, scrobis, torquis, and finis, cinis, in the singular, whereas the plural fines in the sense of boundary or territory, and cineres in the sense of the ashes of a corpse, are always masculine. As mensis is masculine, Aprilis, Quintilis, and Sextilis have the same gender. Some substantives in is are properly adjectives, and a substantive masculine being always understood, they are themselves used as masculines: e. g. annalis, commonly in the plural annales (libri), annals; jugales (equi), two horses yoked together; molaris (lapis), a millstone, or if dens is understood, a back-tooth or grinder; natalis (dies), birth-day; pugillares (libelli) a tablet for writing. Note. Anguis and tigris may have either gender; canis is generally mascul., but when it denotes a dog used in hunting, it is very often feminine. (See § 42.) Aqualis, callis, corbis, and clunis, plur. clunes, are used by good writers as words of either gender. Delphis is masculine, but the more * See the Appendix on Roman weights, coins, and measures. common forms are delphinus, or delphin. Cossis has not been mentioned above, because the only authority we have for it is a doubtful passage in Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxx. 39., and cossus, i, is more probable. That the names of rivers in is are masculine follows from the general rule (§ 37.); thus we read horridus Albis, flavus Tiberis, rapidus Tigris. Names of mountains with this termination are not numerous: Lucretilis, a hill in Latium, is masculine, for Horace says, amoenus Lucretilis. The Greek names, Carambis, a promontory on the Asiatic coast of the Black Sea, and Peloris in Sicily, are feminine, the word ärpa being understood. All the masculines in is, whatever may be their genitive, are contained in the following hexameter lines: Mascula sunt panis, piscis, crinis, cinis, ignis, Exceptions in ys. Names of rivers and mountains with this termination are masculine, according to the rules laid down in Chap. VI.; e. g. Halys, Othrys. [§ 78.] Exceptions in x. The following are masculine: 1) The Greek words in ax: as anthrax, cordax, thorax. 2) The majority of those in ex: apex, caudex, codex, cimex, cortex, culex, frutex, grex, irpex, latex, murex, obex, podex, pollex, pulex, pumex, ramex, silex, sorex, ulex, vertex or vortex. 3) Some in ix: viz. calix, fornix, phoenix, sorix; and generally also varix. 4) One word in ux: viz. tradux, properly an adjective, palmes being understood. 5) The following Greek words in yx: calyx, coccyx, onyx, oryx and bombyx (in the sense of silkworm; it is femin. when it signifies silk); and the names of mountains, such as Eryx. 6) The subdivisions of an as which end in unx: as quincunx, septunx, deunx. (See Appendix III.) Note. Many words in ex commonly enumerated in these lists are masline from their signification, such as rex, pontifex, carnifex, foenisex, vervex. Some words vary between the masculine and feminine genders, as cortex, obex, pumex, and silex, which have been mentioned above, but the masc. is better attested. To these we must add imbrex and rumex, both genders of which are supported by equal authority. It may be remarked, that the number of masculines in ex is greater than that of feminines; for if we put aside the above-mentioned masculines, there remain only the following feminines: forfex, lex, nex, supellex, prex (not used in the nom.), and faex. Pellex, ilex, vitex, and carex are feminines from their meaning, according to the general rule. Atriplex is the only neuter in ex, and is rarely used as a feminine. Onyx is masculine when it denotes a species of marble, or a vessel made of it; but as the name of a precious stone (see § 39.) it is feminine. Calx is sometimes used as a masculine like the diminutive calculus, but it does not occur in ancient writers. Lynx occurs as masculine only in a single passage of Horace (timidos lyncas), and is otherwise feminine, as in Greek. The archaic cum primo luci is believed to be preserved in a passage of Cicero (De Off. iii. 31.; comp. Varro, De L. L. vi. 9.). Exceptions in es, gen. is without increase. The Greek word acinaces alone (ȧkíváκns, ov) is decidedly masculine. Vepres, which rarely occurs in the singular, and palumbes, though commonly masculines, are found also as feminines. Exceptions in s preceded by a consonant. The following are masculine dens, fons, mons and pons; adeps commonly, and forceps sometimes. Some words are properly adjectives, but are used as masculine substantives, because a substantive of that gender is understood: confluens or confluentes (amnes), torrens (amnis), oriens and occidens (sol), rudens (funis), bidens and tridens; and several Greek words, such as elops, epops (Lat. upupa), merops, gryps (gryphis), hydrops, chalybs. Note. The divisions of the as ending in ns, e. g. sextans, quadrans, triens, dodrans, are masculine, as was remarked § 77. Serpens, in prose writers, is generally feminine, but the poets use it also as a masculine. Stirps, in a figurative sense, is always feminine, but in its original sense of "stem" it is frequently found as a masculine. Continens, the continent, properly an adjective, is of doubtful gender, though the feminine is perhaps preferable. Bidens, a fork, is masculine, but when it signifies "a sheep two years old" it is feminine, ovis being understood. The plural torrentia, from torrens, occurs in Curtius ix. 35., and must be explained by supplying flumina, torrens being properly an adjective. A few participles used as substantives in philosophical language are neuters, as ens, accidens, consequens. Animans, being properly a participle, occurs in all three genders; but according to the practice of Cicero it is generally feminine in the sense of " a living being," and masculine in the sense of "a rational creature." (See Schneider, Formenlehre, p. 126. fol.) CHAP. XIX. GENDER OF WORDS OF THE THIRD DECLENSION.-NEUTERS. [§ 79.] WORDS ending in a, e, i, y, c, l, n, t, ar, ur, us are neuter e. g. poëma, mare, sināpi, misy, lac and alec, animal, mel, carmen, flumen, caput (the only word of this termination), calcar, pulvinar, fulgur, guttur, opus, tempus. |