I have a lot of trouble with figuring out how what gender latin words are and I was wondering if someone could help me and give me a couple of hints. I particularly have trouble figuring out the gender of words like felix and fortis.
This list?For the third declension, it's useful to make groups based always on a nom.sg. gen.sg. pair, not just nom.sg. alone.
Like -us, -oris (short -oris) is always neuter but in lepus, leporis (can't think of another exception.)
Etc.
I once made a list like that on this forum. If I just knew where.
Hello,
each pair of endings, like "us, oris" or "or, oris" (etc) is usually fixed to one gender but there ARE exceptions.
I will write a few:
(I also beg any latinist, who will spot that I'm not aware of some other exception in these rules to write it down I'll be glad to learn)
us, oris / us,eris* - neuter (pectus, pectoris; tempus, temporis; vulnus, vulneris; corpus, corporis; latus, lateris; frigus, frigoris; litus, litoris; nemus, nemoris... It is handy to remember the nom./acc plural too as it is so different: pectora, tempora, corpora, vulnera, latera, frigora, litora, nemora) - the EXCEPTION I remember is for example "lepus, leporis" with plural "lepores" - a hare, masculine (+ of course accusative singular leporem which case is virtually non-existent for neuters); also "tellus, telluris" (with uris) - the earth, feminine with an accusative tellurem and nominative/accusative plural tellures
or, oris - masculine, this is like english "-er" (driver, worker... etc), or as pointed by Nikolaos some nouns as: dolor, doloris (a pain), the exception I recall now is "arbor, arboris" a tree; all trees are feminine, even if they end on "us" and are second declension. I think that my teacher was saying once that the ancient Romans had overall idea that certain godesses/feminine-numina inhabit the trees (all cities and islands are also feminine.... Corinthus pulchra - a nice city of Corinth) OR naturally soror, sororis (sorores) - a sister; uxor, uxoris - a wife
rix, ricis - feminine (or trix, tricis) - feminine opposite of "or, oris": bellatrix, bellatricis; meretrix, meretricis
ix, icis - appendix, appendicis are usually feminine too
tio, tionis - feminine: declinatio, declinationis; oratio, orationis; expugnatio, expugnationis... and many others I can't remember. I can't also remember now any exceptions to this rule.
en, inis - again neuter: carmen, carminis (carmina); nomen, nominis (nomina); flumen, fluminis (flumina); numen, numinis (numina); fulmen, fulminis (fulmina) - and there is one exception I've just found out: perten, pertinis (pertines) - a comb (with an accusative sg. pertinem, don't forget please that you NEVER ever create an accusative for neuter, so all these neuters I've just said are aswell accusatives)
Edit: also flamen, flaminis (flamines); existing accusative flaminem - kind of priest -> masculine
go, ginis - feminine (and I don't know so far about any exceptions): vorago, voraginis (voragines); origo, originis (origines); virgo, virginis (virgines); imago, imaginis (imagines)
is, is - can be masculine or feminine (don't know about such neuter), but my experience is, that when I see new noun ending having the nominative sg. and genitive sg. "is" then it's on 80% feminine (if not "common gender" = masculine or feminine), the exceptions I remember are: collis, piscis, sanguis, mensis (masculines)
ns, ntis - masculine or feminine, but my experience says that (when not obviously made from the present participle) masculine is more freqent: fons, fontis (fontes); dens, dentis (dentes); mons, montis (montes)
mo, monis - masculine (I don't know yet about any other): pulmo, pulmonis (pulmones); sermo, sermonis (sermones); (beware; not homo, hominis it's "minis")
tus, tutis - feminine (as far as I know): virtus, virtutis (virtutes); salus, salutis (salutes) <- is not completely the same, but quite alike ... and I can't remember any other, but there are more
tas, tatis - feminine: libertas, libertatis (libertates); veritas, veritatis (veritates); cupiditas, cupiditatis (cupiditates)
r(e), ris + al, lis - neuter: exemplar(e), exemplaris (exemplaria); mare, maris (maria); coclear(e), coclearis (coclearia), altar(e), altaris (altaria); animal, animalis(animalia)
ma, matis - (usually or always(?) neuters coming from greek) NEUTER: drama, dramatis (dramata); aenigma, aenigmatis (aenigmata); neo-latin noun I think: trauma, traumatis(traumata); programma, programmatis (programmata); systema, systematis (systemata); problema, problematis (problemata); poema, poematis (poemata)
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I will add more if I remember some, but you can do the observation yourself after all
And feel free to point out some exceptions or if you disagree with something!
Yeah, six years ago. My life has really changed since then, too. Still, every day above ground is a bonus!2012! I was a different Hobbit back then!