A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges

by George Martin Lane

Vergilius, G. Vergílī ([87]); fīlius, son, G. fīlī; cōnūbium, marriage, G. cōnūbī.

[457]. Vergil has once a genitive -iī, fluviī, river’s. Propertius has -iī two or three times; with Ovid, Seneca, and later writers, -iī is common: as, gladiī, of a sword; even in proper names, which were the last to take -iī: as, Tarquiniī; but family names almost always retain a single -ī. Locatives have -iī: as, Iconiī (Cic.).

[458]. Proper names ending in -āius, -ēius, or -ōius have -āī, -ēī, or -ōī in the genitive and vocative singular and nominative plural, and -āīs, -ēīs, or -ōīs in the dative and ablative plural ([127, 7]): as,

Gāius, G., V., and N. Pl. Gāī, D. and Ab. Pl. Gāīs; Pompēī, Pompēīs; Bōī, Bōīs. In verse -ēī of the vocative is sometimes made one syllable ([120]): as, Pompe͡i; Volte͡i (Hor.).

[459]. Latin proper names in -ius have the vocative in -ī only: as,

Vergilius, V. Vergílī; Mercurius, V. Mercúrī ([87]). So, also, fīlius, fīlī, son; genius, genī, good angel; volturius, volturī, vulture; meus, mī, my.

[460]. Town names and a few appellatives have a locative case in -ī: as, Ephesī, in Ephesus; humī, on the ground; bellī, in war.

PLURAL CASES.

[461]. In the nominative plural masculine, -ei sometimes occurs ([465]): as, nātei geminei, twins born (Plaut.); -eis or -īs is rare ([465]): as, Sardeis, Sardians; oculīs, eyes; not infrequently hīsce, these here (Plaut.); masculine stems in -io- have rarely a single -ī: as, fīlī, sons. For -āī, -ēī, or -ōī, see [458]. The nominative and accusative plural of neuters ended anciently in -ā ([130, 2]). But -ā was shortened at an early period.

[462]. In the common genitive plural -ōrum, the -o- of the stem is lengthened ([123]). A genitive plural in -ū̆m (or, after v, in -ŏ̄m) is common from dīvos, dīvus, and deus, god; from dēnārius, denar, modius, peck, nummus, money, sēstertius, sesterce, and talentum, talent, with numerals; and from cardinals and distributives ([641]): as, dīvŏ̄m, divū̆m, deū̆m; mīlle sēstertiŭm; ducentū̆m; bīnŭm. The u was originally long ([132]); but it was shortened before 100 A.D.