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First Declension Generic Names Ending in
-e, and, Declining America |
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First Declension Generic Names Ending in
-e, and, Declining America P. M. Eckel The
following notes concern a relatively unfamiliar paradigm for first declension
Latin nouns that end in -e. These are almost exclusively feminine nouns.
Normally the standard endings of the first declension present little problem
(Rosa, Rosae, Rosae, Rosam, Rosa, etc.), and it is one of the first and hence
most familiar of the Latin paradigms presented to the beginning student. William Stearn (1983), however, in his classic treatise on
Botanical Latin, included the following paradigm (p. 70) in his treatment of
the first declension: Stearn's
Alternative Paradigm Singular [endings] Plural
[endings]
hypothetical plural names [Galianthe,-es,
s.f.I] Nom. Galianthe -e
Galianthes -es Gen. Galianthes -es
Galianthum -um Dat. Galianthae -ae Galianthibus -ibus Acc. Galianthen -en
Galianthes -es Abl. Galianthe -e
Galianthibus -ibus NOTE: The ablative singular ending is
the same as the nominative singular. To remind the reader, the standard
paradigm for first declension nouns is as follows: [Rosa,-ae,
s.f.I] Singular Plural Nom. Rosa
-a Rosae -ae Gen. Rosae
-ae Rosarum -arum Dat. Rosae
-ae Rosis -is Acc. Rosam
-am Rosas -as Abl. Rosa -a Rosis -is The singular endings in the first paradigm example are atypical.
Also, the plural endings resemble nouns of the Latin third declension. For
some reason, perhaps to differentiate first declension Greek nouns ending in
alpha from those ending in eta (both transliterated into Latin as '-a'),
Greek syntactic endings are retained for Greek nouns ending in -e,
representing the Greek letter 'eta.'
When composing new generic names from Greek words ending in eta,
the student has the option of declining such words with a terminal -a, and
using the standard Latin first declension paradigm. For example the Greek
word 'thece,' meaning a case or capsule, is usually rendered theca,-ae
(s.f.I), and the generic names Cleistotheca,-ae (s.f.I), Tetragonotheca,-ae
(s.f.I) are declined like Rosa and other typical words of the First
Declension. Generic names, however, such as Aphanothece, Chroothece and
Cyanothece are declined as in the alternative paradigm. Stearn also indicated that certain technical words used in
botany are declined this alternative way, using the word raphe (or rhaphe) as
an example. Raphe,-es (s.f.I) is used to describe the cord of vascular tissue
connecting the base of the nucellus with the placenta in an anatropous ovule.
It is also used of the median rib of a valve in diatoms, and also the suture
between carpels in species of the Apiaceae (Jackson 1928). In the glossary that is the triumphant
ending to his treatise, however, in probably what is a typographical error,
Stearn indicated raphe (and also pseudoraphe) as a Third Declension noun, yet
declined it according to the alternative paradigm for the first declension
presented above. The number of generic names ending in -e is quite lengthy as the
following short list indicates: Aeschynomene, Agarocybe, Agastache, Agave, Alsine, Andrachne,
Androsace, Anemone, Argemone, Astilbe, Atragene, Buchloe, Cakile, Callirhoe,
Callitriche, Calycotome, Campe, Cardamine, Carsiope, Chamaedaphne,
Chamaesyce, Chelone, Cleome, Clitocybe, Coryne, Cyclocybe, Daphne, Dicymbe,
Diplachne, Elatine, Eleusine, Endogone, Glycine, Helleborine, Hierochloe,
Iresine, Jasione, Leucothoe, Orobanche, Othake, Phyllodoce, Pleurogyne,
Poecilanthe, Schizachne, Silene, Xenolachne, Xenostele, Xenostigme. NOTE: Secale L. is a neuter genus, although the word in Greek,
both ancient and modern, is feminine - an error on Linnaeus' part but
retained in botanical usage. As some students of genera that have names that end in -e may
feel hesitant to attempt to render such a name in a Latin diagnosis or
description without a guide, the following examples are provided. Oresitrophe,-es (s.f.I) Nominative: Oresitrophe cymosa 1 m altitudine
attingens, Oresitrophe cymosa attaining 1 mm in height. Galianthe boliviana ad subg. Ebelia
pertinens, Galianthae cymosae affinis, Galianthe boliviana belongs to
subgenus Ebelia, related to Galianthe cymosa. Elatine latiglumis ad subg. Elatinem pertinet,
Elatine latiglumis belongs to subgenus Elatine. Genitive: Species Oresitrophes usque ad 5, species
of Oresitrophe to 5. Astilbe orizabensis subgeneris Astilbes
antheris poris dehiscentibus distinguenda, Astilbe orizabensis of the
subgenus Astilbe is to be distinguished by the anthers dehiscing by pores. Dative, adjectives such as affinis,-e (adj.B), similis,-e
(adj.B),dissimilis,-e (adj.B), simillimus,-a,-um (adj.A) take the dative case
without a preposition: Species nova Oresitrophae cymosae
similis, new species similar to Oresitrophe cymosa. Orobanche carnosa Orobanchae filiformi
arcte affinis, Orobanche carnosa is closely related to Orobanche filiformis. Accusative, direct object of a verb form: Species nova Oresitrophem blandam fructu
moniliformi aequans, the new species equals Oresitrophe blanda in its
tempting fruit. Galianthe chiquitana ad subg. Galianthen
pertinens, Galianthae verbenoidi affinis, Galianthe chiquitana, belonging to
subgenus Galianthe, related to Galianthe verbenoides. Buchloe foliis lanceolatis Schizachnem
contingens, Buchloe by its lanceolate leaves touches Schizachne. Ablative, usually objects of the proposition 'ab' (generally
before vowels, l and r), or 'a' (generally before consonants). This
preposition is regularly associated with verb forms expressing difference
from. The organs or conditions by which something differs from another thing
is also rendered in the ablative case: Genus ab Oresitrophe cymosa differt imprimis
inflorescentia nodoso-racemosa, a Glycine filiforme calyce, ab utraque
habitu, the genus differs from Orestrophe primarily by the nodose-racemose
inflorescence, from Glycine by the calyx, from both by the habit. Species ab Clitocybe microcarpa sporis
alantoideis imprimis distinguitur, the species from Clitocybe microcarpa by
the sausage-shaped spores chiefly is to be distinguished. America Stearn also mentioned that America "often has the genitive
singular Americes instead of Americae" without further elaboration. The
name America derives from Americus Vespucius, according to one dictionary, or
Amerigo Vespucci, 1454-1512, an Italian navigator of Florence. It is obscure
how "America" can be construed as having Greek roots such that the
word might apply to the alternative paradigm, as a genitive singular in -es
would suggest. The following is a treatment of the noun America,-ae (s.f.I),
treated as a regular Latin first declension noun. It is provided here since
the Americas are often referred to in distributional contexts in Latin prose
sentences, but there are few references to the noun in major Latin manuals: America,-ae (s.f.I) Singular Plural: Nom. America -a
Americae -ae Gen. Americae -ae
Americarum -arum Dat. Americae -ae America -is Acc. Americam -am Americas -as Abl. America -a
Americis -is The following examples are from Bentham and Hooker's Genera Plantarum. Genitive singular/plural: Per tractus montium et fluviorum
Americae aequinoctialis, through the region of mountains and rivers of
equatorial America. Species 1, Americae tropicae incola,
species 1, native of tropical America. Species ad 13, Americae tropicae
incolae, species to 13, natives of tropical America. Species ad 7, Americae borealis incolae,
species to 7, natives of North America. Species ad 26, Americae australis
centralisve incolae, quarum una etiam in America boreali late dispersa,
species to 26, natives of South or Central America, of which one is also
broadly dispersed in North America. Species 1, civitatum australiorum
Americae borealis nec non regni chilensis incola, species one, an inhabitant
of the southern states of North America and also of the kingdom of Chile. Accusative: Per totum Americam septentrionalem
temperatam tenus Canada boreali habitat, it grows throughout temperate North
America as far as (to) boreal Canada.
Per omnem Americam, meridionalem,
australem, through all South America. Caeterae omnes a Patagonia usque ad
Americam borealem dispersae, all of the remaining dispersed from Patagonia to
boreal America. Species unica in Americam maxime
boreali-orientalem vagans, a single species ranging into America, mostly
northeastern. Ablative: Species 4 inter tropicos vigentes, 2 in
America, 2 in Asia, 1 etiam in Africa, species 4 flourishing amid tropical
regions, 2 in America, 2 in Asia, 1 also in Africa. The United States of America To render the "United States of America" it is first
necessary to remember that a "state", in the United States, is a
'republic'. Republic is actually a conflation of two words: res (s.f.V), a
feminine noun of the fifth Latin declension, and the modifying feminine
singular form of the adjective 'publicus': res publica. Sometimes the two
Latin words are run together, but, regardless, each one is declined
separately. The declension of 'res' is like that of 'species': Res
publica (literally the public business or public affair): Singular Plural: Nom. Res
-es Res -es Gen. Rei
-ei Rerum -erum Dat. Rei
-ei Rebus -ebus Acc. Rem
-em Res -es Abl. Re
-e Rebus -ebus Res Publicae Foederatae Americae, the
federated states of America (United States of America): the states, or
republics, are written in the plural as they are in English. Specimina Exsiccata Muscorum in Americae
Rebuspublicis Foederatis Detectorum, Dried Specimens of Mosses found in the
United States of America (the title of an exsiccat). NOTE: The above examples derive from the
exsiccata of American botanists. Bentham and Hooker use civitas,-atis
(s.f.III) for state: Species 1, civitatis Ohio Americae
borealis incola, one species, native of the state of Ohio (note no attempt to
Latinize 'Ohio'. the genitive singular of which is usually rendered 'Ohionis'
by American authors), of North America. Species 1, civitatum australiorum
Americae borealis nec non regni chilensis incola, species one, an inhabitant
of the southern states of North America and also of the Kingdom of Chile. Acknowledgements I thank Dan Nicolson for assuring me that this alternative first
declension is a valid Latin form and Tom Zanoni, editor of Brittonia, for
providing me with unpublished manuscripts to analyze, one of which included
new combinations or taxa in the genus Galianthe. Jackson,
B. D. 1928. A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent. ed.
4. Hafner Publishing Co., Inc., New York Stearn,
William T. 1983. Botanical Latin. ed. 3. David & Charles, London. |
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