[Novalug] WAY OT: Latin noun plurals

[mikepodoherty at netscape.net]

You know what is scary is that I understood the explanation.



-----Original Message-----

From: Garrett Nievin <gnievin at comcast.net>

To: novalug at calypso.tux.org

Sent: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 8:34 pm

Subject: Re: [Novalug] WAY OT: Latin noun plurals





















The term you can't recall is "Neuter".  Which literally means

"neither", as in "neither masculine nor feminine."





Second declension masculine nouns (e.g. gladius) have the -us ending in

the nominative singular and are masculine.  Nominative plural would be

gladii; change the -us to -i.  If "Prius" were a masculine noun, the

plural would be "Prii".  But it isn't, despite the deceptive -us suffix.



"Prius" is a neuter (masculine and feminine version are both "prior")

comparative adjective of the third declension (with two endings)

meaning "previous, preceding, prior, former; more fundamental, basic;

better, superior, preferable".  Cognate, of course, with English words

like "prior" and "priority".  Anyway, it certainly doesn't fit into the

masculine-second-declension-noun paradigm.  I won't get into all the

ins and outs of declensions of nouns and adjectives because it's deadly

boring.



Being a neuter adjective, of the third declension, the nominative

plural would be "priora".



Now I think I'll go pull out my copy of this and read it to my son

before bed (he loves it):

http://www.amazon.com/Quomodo-Invidiosulus-Grinchus-Christi-Abrogaverit/dp/0865164207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229045283&sr=1-1



Cheers,

Garrett



Ecce potestas casei.





On Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:24:09 -0500

Charles M Howe <cmhowe at patriot.net> wrote:



> Only Latin scholars with massive domes, preferably bald and with

> magnificent snowy beards may even READ this.

>

> The plural of stadium, which is neither male nor female (LOOONG senior

> moment: I can't remember the term), is stadia. What is the male 
ending.

> It might be a also.

>

> Why do I ask? A nephew and family visited two weeks ago. John was

> driving a Prius. I remarked that if the John Howe family had another

> Prius it could be said that they had Pria. It cracked him up. It took 
a

> week and a half for it to sink in that I was probably incorrect.

>

> Charlie, whose Latin skills can be detected  -- well, I don't think 
they

> CAN be detected

>

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