1st Declension: Greek Nouns

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44. Many nouns of the 1st declension borrowed from the Greek are entirely Latinized (aula court); but others retain traces of their Greek case-forms in the singular.

Paradigm for 1st declension nouns of Greek derivation

 

There are (besides proper names) about thirty-five of these words, several being names of plants or arts.

crambē  cabbage
mūsicē  music

Most have also regular Latin forms (comēta); but the Nominative sometimes has the a long.

a. Greek forms are found only in the singular; the plural, when it occurs, is regular (comētae, -ārum, etc.).

b. Many Greek nouns vary among the 1st, the 2nd, and the 3rd declensions.

Boōtae (genitive of Boōtēs, -is),
Thūcȳdidās (accusative plural of Thūcȳdidēs, -is).

See § 52.a and § 81.

Note— The Greek accusative Scīpiadam (from Scīpiadēs, descendant of the Scipios) is found in Horace.

Suggested Citation

Meagan Ayer, Allen and Greenough’s New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-947822-04-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/latin/1st-declension-greek-nouns