A Short Historical Latin Grammar: Chapter XI: Formation of Words

Stem suffixes.

For the forming of words we find sounds combined into ‘roots,’ and these developed into ‘stems.’ Thus the sounds t, e, and g are combined into the root tĕg-, ‘to cover’ (Lat. teg-o, teg-men, tectus for *teg-tus, tog-a with O-grade of root, ch. x. § 12), which is further developed into the stems tŏgā- (Lat. Nom. Sg. tŏgă, earlier tŏgā, Gen. Pl. togā-rum, &c.), tegmen- (Lat. Nom. Sg. tegmen, Gen. Sg. tegminis, earlier *teg-men-es, &c.) by the addition to the root of the stem-suffixes -ā-, -men-. It is these stem-suffixes, used in the making of Nouns and Adjectives, which will be treated in §§ 2–19.

Ŏ-, which should rather be called the Ĕ-Ŏ-suffix, since it alternates with -ĕ- (e.g. I.-Eur. Voc. Sg. of Masc. O-stems ended in -ĕ, e.g. ekwĕ, ‘O horse,’ Lat. equĕ), was associated with the Masc. and Neut. Gender. Ā-, which should rather be called the Ă-Ā-suffix, since it alternates with ă (e.g. I.-Eur. Voc. Sg. of Fem. A-stems ended in -ă, e.g. ekwă, ‘O mare’) was associated with the Fem. Gender. Hence the O- and A-suffixes were used in Adjectives, e.g. I.-Eur. nĕwŏ- Masc. and Neut., nĕwā- Fem. (Lat. novos, novom, nova). The A-suffix is very common in Abstract Nouns (Nomina Actionis), e.g. I.-Eur. bhugā, ‘the action of fleeing’ (Gk. φυγή), Lat. fuga, from the weak grade (ch. x. § 12) of the root bheug-, ‘to flee’ (Gk. φεύγω; cf. Lat. fugio). The O-suffix is used in a great variety of ways. An example of its use in Nomina Agentis is Lat. procus, a suitor, from the O-grade (ch. x. § 12) of the root prĕk-, ‘to ask’ (cf. Lat. precor). Other examples of the suffix are: parcus, sparing, from parco, I spare; dolus, a stratagem, from the O-grade of a root dĕl-, ‘to deceive’; jugum, a yoke, from the weak grade of the root yeug-, ‘to join.’

These I.-Eur. suffixes were used to form (a) Verbal Adjectives, especially Gerundives, the Neuter and Fem. being often employed as Verbal Nouns, e.g. socius from the O-grade of the root seqᵘ-, ‘to accompany’ (Lat. sequor); eximius, which had originally the sense of eximendus (e.g. Ter. Hec. 66: utin eximium neminem habeam? ‘am I to make no exception?’); studium from studeo; exuviae from exuo; pluvia from pluo. (b) Adjectives derived from Nouns, especially Compound Adjectives, the Neuter and Fem. being often used as Abstract Nouns, e.g. patrius from pater; somnium, a dream, from somnus, sleep; falsi-jurius from falsus and jus; jurg(i)um from jus and ago; litigium from lis and ago; judicium from jus and dico; aedificium from aedes and facio; vindemia from vinum and demo. (c) Adjectives which have a sense of comparison or distinction, indicating a special locality, direction, &c., e.g. I.-Eur. mĕdhyo- (Gk. μέ(σ)σος), Lat. medius; I.-Eur. alyo- (Gk. ἄλλος), Lat. alius. Gk. δεξιός has this suffix, while Lat. dexter (Gk. δεξίτερος) has the TERO-suffix, which has the same force (§ 8). Also some Ordinal Numbers, e.g. Lat. tertius.

A notable use of this suffix in Latin is in the formation of Proper Names. While in all, or most, of the other I.-Eur. languages Compounds were used for Proper Names, the son taking a Compound slightly varied from the father’s (e.g. Gk. Δεινο-κράτης, son of Δεινο-κλῆς, Germ. Walt-bert, son of Wald-ram), the Latins used simple stems with this IO-suffix, e.g. Lūcius, Stātius, which correspond to some contracted or pet-names in the other I.-Eur. nations, e.g. Gk. Ζεύξιᾱς, for the more ceremonious Ζεύξ-ιππος, Λεύκις beside Λεύκ-ιππος.

The ending -eus (from -ŏ-yŏ-s) arose from the addition of this IO-suffix to O-stems, e.g. aureus, made of gold, from aurum (stem aurŏ-, aurĭ-, gold), and came to acquire the sense of material, ‘made of,’ ‘composed of.’ It was in time assigned to any stem; e.g. in flammeus, made of fire, it is added to an A-stem; in vitineus, made of a vine, to an I-stem; in corneus, made of horn, to a U-stem. The ending -tōrium, which arose from the addition of the IO-suffix to TER-stems (see below), indicated the place or instrument of an action, e.g. audi-torium, ‘the place of hearing,’ deversorium for *devert-torium (ch. x. § 17), ‘a lodging-place,’ scalp-torium, ‘an instrument for scratching,’ and corresponds to Gk. -τήριον of βουλευ-τήριον, ἐργασ-τήριον, both indicating place, καυσ-τήριον, ‘instrument for burning,’ κρι-τήριον, ‘means of judging.’ Similarly we have -monium, -monia from MEN-stems (see below), e.g. ali-monia and ali-monium (cf. ali-men-tum), flamonium from flamen, an ending extended to tristi-monia, sancti-monia, &c.

A common ending of Abstract Nouns is -itia (often -ities, ch. iii. § 13), e.g. laetitia from laetus (stem laeto-), -itium, e.g. servitium from servus (stem servo-), flagitium, lanitium. These are formed on the type of militia from miles (stem milit-). From N-stems we have, e.g. colonia, in O. Lat. ‘a dwelling place’ (Plaut. Aul. 576: ut conmutet coloniam).

This suffix is much used in Adjectives denoting colour, e.g. helvus (Engl. yellow from I.-Eur. ghĕl-wŏ-), furvus (older *fus-uos; cf. fus-cus; on the change of s to r see ch. x. § 19), flavus, ravus. Greek Verbal Adjectives in -τέος for -τεϝος, with Gerundive force, e.g. διωκτέος, requiring to be pursued, capable of being pursued, are in Latin represented by formations in -uus, e.g. caeduus, excipuus, praecipuus, conspicuus, pascuus, and aruus (Plaut. Truc. 149: non aruos hic sed pascuos ager est; whence arvum), while another class of Verbal Adjectives, derived from Verbal Noun TI-stems (see below) and denoting state or condition, end in -īvus, e.g. furtivus from the Verbal Noun-stem furti-, of which the Acc. Sg. survives in the Adverb furtim (ch. vii. § 3), nativus, captivus, votivus. Examples of Adjectives with the UO-suffix derived from Nouns are: annuus from annus; Minerva (O. Lat. Menerua of four syllables) for *Menes-ua from I.-Eur. mēnŏs Neut. (stem mēnĕs-), ‘intelligence’ (Gk. μένος); strenuus (cf. Gk. στρηνύς, health); patruus from pater.

This I.-Eur. suffix was chiefly used in the formation of Verbal Adjectives, usually with the force of a Perfect Participle Passive, e.g. Lat. plenus, lit. ‘filled,’ donum, lit. ‘a thing given.’ In Greek we find some Adjectives of Time in -ινός, derived from a Locative Case ending in ī, e.g. χειμερ-ινός, ἐαρ-ινός, ἑσπερ-ινός, and correspondingly in Latin hibernus, vernus, vesperna, the evening meal. Adjectives in -īnus in Latin, like faginus, junipinus, show an I.-Eur. suffix -īnŏ-, denoting material or origin, e.g. Gk. φήγ-ινος, made of beech-wood, βύβλινος, made of papyrus, &c. The suffix -ῖνος in Greek, denoting species, occurs frequently with the names of animals, e.g. δελφακ-ῖνη from δέλφαξ, κορακ-ῖνος from κόραξ; and similarly in Latin we have bovinus, equinus, suinus (Engl. swine), fibrinus, &c., the feminine often being employed with ellipse of caro, flesh, e.g. vitulina, veal, suina, pork. Latin -īnus is often due to the addition of the NO-suffix to IO-stems, e.g. Latinus from Latium (though, when the suffix -īno-, and not -no-, is added, we have -iēnus, e.g. alienus, from alius, laniena from lanius), or to I-stems, e.g. marinus from mare, piscina from piscis. The suffix -tinus of diu-tinus, cras-tinus, pris-tinus, &c., is more strictly the second part of a Compound than a suffix, representing a word for ‘time’ derived from the root ten-, ‘to stretch,’ just as -gnus of prīvi-gnus represents a word derived from the root gen-, ‘to produce.’ The -gnus of ilignus, salignus, larignus, on the other hand, shows the suffix -no-, the g being the development before n (ch. x. § 18) of the final c of the stems ilic-, salic-, laric-, and was by their analogy extended to other tree-adjectives like abiegnus from abies (stem abiet-). Similarly -ānus, the ending of Adjectives formed with the NO-suffix from A-stems (e.g. silvanus from silva, arcanus from arca, decimanus from decima, sc. pars, the tenth part, tithe, e.g. ager decimanus, land paying tithes, an Adjective which somehow acquired the sense of ‘large,’ ‘huge,’ e.g. decimanus acipenser, ‘a huge sturgeon’) is extended to Adjectives from other stems, e.g. urbanus from urbs (stem urbi-). By the addition of this NO-suffix to Nomina Agentis in -or we get -urnus, e.g. taciturnus, while ES-stems give -ēnus (ch. x. § 19), e.g. aēnus from aes; venenum, lit. ‘philtre,’ ‘love-potion,’ from Venus (stem venes-); egenus (cf. eges-tas): we have -ūnus after an U-stem in lacuna. A common use of the NO-suffix in Latin is to form Distributive Numerals, e.g. quaterni, bini, trini, terni (ch. iv. § 5). The termination -na is found in sarcina from sarcio, pagina from pango (cf. compages), angina from ango.

This suffix was used in the Middle or Passive Participles of Thematic Tenses of the I.-Eur. Verb (e.g. Gk. φερό-μενος); and although these Participles were lost in Latin, traces of this formation remain in the 2 Pl. Pres. Ind., e.g. legimini for legimini estis (ch. vi. § 17); perhaps also the 2 Pl. Pres. Imper., e.g. legimini; alumnus, ὁ τρεφόμενος; femina from the root dhē-, ‘to suckle’; Vertumnus, the god of the changing seasons, from verto; calumnia from O. Lat. calvor, to deceive. Stems with this suffix often stand side by side with MEN-stems, e.g. columna beside columen, terminus beside termen and termo.

The ending -mnus in Latin often arises from the addition of the NO-suffix to a stem ending in a Labial (ch. x. § 16), e.g. somnus for *sop-nus (cf. sopor), damnum (cf. Gk. δαπάνη), scamnum (cf. scabellum), &c.

Of this suffix, used to form Adjectives, Nouns, especially Masculine Nouns but sometimes Fem., and Superlatives (ch. iv. § 2), Latin examples are: formus, warm (Gk. θερμός, Engl. warm), from the root ghᵘer-; fūmus (Gk. θυμός) from the root dheu-; animus (Gk. ἄνεμος); fama (Gk. φήμη); palma (Gk. παλάμη); minimus, summus for *supmus (ch. x. § 16). The suffix -tĕmŏ- (ch. iv. § 2) had a local rather than a ‘superlative’ meaning, e.g. maritimus, finitimus; but intimus, ultimus, citimus have acquired a superlative force; similarly optimus, if from ob. (But cf. p. 65.)

This suffix in its various forms was used to make Adjectives and Concrete Nouns, e.g. I.-Eur. rŭdhro-, ‘red,’ from the weak grade of the root reudh- (Gk. ἐ-ρυθρός), Lat. ruber; I.-Eur. ăgro-, ‘a field,’ from the root ag-, ‘to drive’ (Gk. ἀγρός), Lat. ager. In Latin the Nom. Sg. ending -rŏs became after a short vowel -er (ch. iii. § 6), as is seen in these two examples, but not after a long vowel, e.g. plērus (ch. vii. § 3), gnārus, mātūrus (cf. pēnuria). The suffixes -ĕRŎ-, -TĔRŎ- became Comparative Suffixes in Greek (ch. iv. § 2), though their original sense was rather that of likeness, of equal than of greater degree (cf. Hom. Gk. θηλύτερος, feminine, not ‘more feminine’). Latin Adverbs in -iter have the TERO-suffix (ch. vii. § 2), e.g. breviter (Gk. βραχύτερος); so have magis-ter, minis-ter, ci-ter, ex-ter; while with a prefixed -as- (cf. Gk. -αδ- of πελειάς, -άδος, a wild dove) we have -aster, a suffix implying imitation, e.g. oleaster, a wild olive, ‘like the true olive,’ and often used in a contemptuous sense for ‘a poor imitation,’ e.g. peditaster, with Dim. peditastellus in Plaut. Mil. 54:

at peditastelli quia erant, siui uiuerent,

‘they were tag-rag and bob-tail infantry; so I spared their lives.’

The local sense of the TERO-suffix (Gk. ὀρέστερος, living in the hills, ἀγρότερος, living in the country) appears in -ter of paluster, telluster, and -ester of campester, silvester. The same suffix is used in Possessive Pronouns in Latin, e.g. vester, as in Gk., e.g. ὑμέτερος, and in various pronominal and locative Adjectives, with the sense of ‘like,’ ‘in the direction of,’ e.g. alter, uter, i-terum, citer (Engl. hither), exter (cf. dexter, δεξί-τερος, sinister), to which Adverbs with -tro- correspond, e.g. citro, citra, extra.

This suffix -TERO- must be distinguished from the suffix -TRO-, which was used to form Neuter Nouns indicating an instrument, &c., e.g. aratrum, ‘an instrument for ploughing,’ a plough, and from the Latin suffix -cro-, which represents the stem cĕro-, making, from the root cer-, to make (cf. Lat. creare), e.g. lūdi-cer, or stands by Assimilation for -clo- when an l precedes, e.g. involū-crum for *involu-clum. This -clo- (I.-Eur. -TLO-, § 9) is a suffix closely associated with -tro-, forming Neuter Nouns which indicate a tool or instrument. Another suffix, -DHRO-, (Lat. -bro-) is used in the same way, though in Latin it affects also the Feminine gender, -bra, e.g. terebra, a gimlet, borer, from tero, to bore; cribrum, a sieve, from cerno, to sift. But Lat. -bro-, -bra represents an original -sro-, -sra- (ch. x. § 19) in tenebrae from *temus, darkness, whence temere (ch. vii. § 4), cerebrum. Lat. -ōrus of honorus, decorus, canorus, odorus, &c., stands for -ōsus (ch. x. § 19), arising from the addition of the O-suffix to S-stems; we have -ērus in e.g. severus, procerus.

This suffix in its various forms was used for Nomina Agentis (Nouns and Adjectives), and often came to denote an instrument, while as a secondary suffix it was specially used to form Diminutives. Thus Engl. shovel, literally ‘an instrument with which one shoves,’ meant originally ‘the shover’; Engl. throstle is a Diminutive. Latin examples are: lĕgŭlus, a picker, from lego; pendulus, hanging, from pendo, pendeo; vinculum, a bond, ‘an instrument for binding,’ from vincio; cistula, a little chest, from cista. The Diminutive suffix is added a second time in cistella, a jewel-box, &c. A common Diminutive suffix is -culo-, a combination of the two Diminutive suffixes -KO- (§ 11) and -LO-, e.g. auri-cula, a little ear, cor-culum, a little heart, which when added to Adjectives, esp. Comparatives, gives the sense of ‘somewhat,’ e.g. meliusculus, somewhat better. From Diminutive -culum must be distinguished the -culum, [1] -clum from I.-Eur. -TLO-, used to form Neuter Nouns denoting the instrument with which an action is performed or the place of its performance, e.g. vehi-clum (vehiculum), ‘that by which one is carried,’ po-clum (poculum), ‘that out of which one drinks,’ cubi-clum (cubiculum), ‘the place where one lies down.’ The suffix -DHLO- (in Latin -būlum) had much the same function, e.g. stā-bulum, ‘a place for standing.’ The presence of an l in the first part of the word causes a dissimilation of -clum to -crum, -blum to -brum, in ambulā-crum, ‘a place for walking,’ &c. Nouns in -ēla, like querela, sequela, are derived from Neuter ES-stems, so that querela stands for *queresla, sequela for *sequesla (ch. x. § 19).

[1]: This is the form with the Parasitic Vowel (ch. ii. § 12).

This suffix was used to form (1) Verbal Adjectives, which in Latin became Perfect Participles Passive, e.g. geni-tus from the root gen- (see ch. vi. § 17). (2) Ordinal Numbers, e.g. quin(c)tus (ch. iv. § 5). Abstract Nouns in -TĀ- are found beside Perf. Participles Pass. in -to-, e.g. Gk. γενετή, birth, Lat. deprensa (for *deprend-ta, ch. x. § 17). The TO-suffix is often added to the MEN-suffix (§ 15) in neuter nouns, e.g. Lat. cognomen-tum beside cognomen, such forms being apparently the Neuter of Participles, formed not from verbs but from nouns (cf. Engl. ‘crested,’ ‘horned’); e.g. cognomentum points to a *cognōmentus beside cognominatus, like sceles-tus beside scelera-tus. The forms with -mentum are, as a rule, those used by prose writers, the forms with -men being relegated to poetry. With -mentum, Plur. -menta has been compared the Greek Plur. -ματα, e.g. στρώματα (Lat. strāmenta), κασσύματα (cf. Lat. assumenta). Similar are arbus-tum, salic-tum, while arboretum is a quasi-participle from arboresco, like acetum, vinegar, from acesco; so nuc-etum, ilic-etum, &c. The -cētum of ilicētum, &c., and the -ctum of salictum, &c., were extended by false analogy, e.g. bu-cetum, vire-ctum.