Chapter 103 Allen and Greenough's Latin Grammar Dickinson College Christopher Francese

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Many nouns are defective in case-forms: Some early or late forms and other rarities are omitted. —

Indeclinable nouns, used only as nominative and accusative singular: fās , nefās , īnstar , nihil , opus ( need ), secus . The indeclinable adjective necesse is used as a nominative or accusative. The genitive nihilī and the ablative nihilō (from nihilum , nothing ) occur .

Nouns found in one case only (monoptotes):—

In the nominative singular: glōs (F.). In the genitive singular: dicis , naucī (N.). In the dative singular: dīvīsuī (M.) (cf. § 94 . c ). In the accusative singular: amussim (M.); vēnum (dative vēnō in Tacitus). In the ablative singular: pondō (N.); māne (N.); astū (M.), by craft; iussū , iniussū , nātū , and many other verbal nouns in -us 94 . c ). Māne is also used as an indeclinable accusative, and an old form mānī is used as ablative. Pondō with a numeral is often apparently equivalent to pounds. A nominative singular astus and a plural astūs occur rarely in later writers. In the accusative plural: īnfitiās .

Nouns found in two cases only (diptotes):—

In the nominative and ablative singular: fors , forte (F.). In the genitive and ablative singular: spontis (rare), sponte (F.). In the accusative singular and plural: dicam , dicās (F.). In the accusative and ablative plural: forās , forīs (F.) (cf. forēs ), used as adverbs.

Nouns found in three cases only (triptotes):—

In the nominative, accusative, and ablative singular: impetus , -um , -ū (M.) The dative singular impetuī and the ablative plural impetibus occur once each. ; luēs , -em , -ē (F.). In the nominative, accusative, and dative or ablative plural: grātēs , -ibus (F). In the nominative, genitive, and dative or ablative plural: iūgera , -um , -ibus (N.); but iūgerum , etc., in the singular (cf. § 105 . b ).

Nouns found in four cases only (tetraptotes):—

In the genitive, dative, accusative, ablative singular: diciōnis , -ī , -em , -e (F.).

Nouns declined regularly in the plural , but defective in the singular: —

Nouns found in the singular, in genitive, dative, accusative, ablative: frūgis , -ī , -em , -e (F.); opis , -ī (once only), -em , -e (F.; nominative Ops as a divinity). Nouns found in the dative, accusative, ablative: precī , -em , -e (F.). Nouns found in the accusative and ablative: cassem , -e (F.); sordem , -e (F.). Nouns found in the ablative only: ambāge (F.); fauce (F.); obice (C.).

Nouns regular in the singular , defective in the plural: —

The following neuters have in the plural the nominative and accusative only: fel ( fella ), far ( farra ), hordeum ( hordea ), iūs , broth ( iūra ), mel ( mella ), murmur ( murmura ), pūs ( pūra ), rūs ( rūra ), tūs or thūs ( tūra ). The neuter iūs , right , has only iūra in classical writers, but a very rare genitive plural iūrum occurs in old Latin. calx , cor , cōs , crux , fax , faex , lanx , lūx , nex , ōs ( ōris ), The ablative plural ōribus is rare, the classical idiombeing in ōre omnium , in everybody's mouth , etc., not in ōribus omnium . os ( ossis ), The genitive plural ossium is late; ossuum (from ossua , plural of a neuter u- stem) is early and late. pāx , pix , rōs , sāl , sōl , vas ( vadis ), want the genitive plural. Most nouns of the fifth declension want the whole or part of the plural (see § 98 . a ).

Nouns defective in both singular and plural: —

Noun found in the genitive, accusative, ablative singular; nominative, accusative, dative, ablative plural: vicis , -em , -e ; -ēs , -ibus . Noun found in the genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative singular; genitive plural wanting: dapis , -ī , -em , -e ; -ēs , -ibus . An old nominative daps is cited.

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