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

I.-Eur. -ko-, the -y of Engl. ‘stony,’ ‘angry,’ &c., is used mainly in the formation of Adjectives from (1) Adverbs, e.g. anti-cus, of place, anti-quus, of time, posti-cus, reci-procus from rĕco- (Prep. rĕ-) and proco- (Prep. pro). (2) Nouns, e.g. belli-cus, civi-cus. The suffix had often a Diminutive sense, which in Latin was usually expressed by the compound suffix -KO-LO- (§ 9), e.g. seni-culus (but also sene-ca). Other forms are -icus, e.g. histriōn-icus, -ticus, e.g. rus-ticus, -īcus, e.g. am-īcus, -ācus, e.g. mĕr-ācus; and with addition of the YO-suffix (§ 3) -icius (Derivatives from Nouns and Adjectives), e.g. patricius, -ticius (Derivatives from Perf. Participles Pass.), e.g. dediticius (also novicius).

(Nouns and Adjectives of third Declension.) I-stems were closely associated with Adjectives; and a good many O-stem Adjectives in Latin have become I-stems, e.g. inermis (O. Lat. inermus), sterilis (sterilus Lucr. ii. 845), sublimis (sublimus Lucr. i. 340 sublimaque caeli). U-stem Adjectives have also become I-stems (ch. iv. § 1), e.g. brevis (Gk. βραχύς), levis (Gk. ἐλαχύς). Verbal Adjectives in -ilis are by-forms with Passive sense of Active Verbal Adjectives in -lus, e.g. bibilis, ‘easily drunk,’ beside bibulus, ‘easily drinking.’ So Verbal Adjs. in -bilis, connected with the DHLO-suffix, e.g. ama-bilis, no-bilis, sometimes derived from the P.P.P. stem, e.g. sensibilis, flexibilis. -TI- was the suffix of Verbal Nouns as -TO- of the Perfect Part. Pass. (§ 10), e.g. Gk. πίστις beside πιστός. These Nouns were of the Fem. gender and had, like the P.P.P., the weak grade (ch. x. § 12) of the root. Latin examples are: mens for men-ti-, from the root men-, ‘to think’; fors for bhᵉr-ti-, from the root bher-, ‘to bear’; mors for mᵉr-ti-, from the root mer-. In Latin, as in Celtic, we find this suffix enlarged by an EN-suffix (§ 15), e.g. mentio, Acc. mentionem; ratio, Acc. rationem; datio, Acc. dationem; and this compound suffix supplanted almost entirely the older TI-suffix. The suffix -TĀTI- (or -tāt-), used to form Fem. Abstract Nouns, derived from Adjectives and Nouns, and the similar suffix -TŪTI- (or -tūt-) exhibit this TI-suffix added to the TĀ- and TŪ-suffixes, e.g. Lat. juventas (cf. juventa), juventus. We find a form of the suffix -tut- augmented by an N-suffix, -tūdo, Gen. -tūdinis, e.g. servitūdo beside servitūs. The Ī-suffix was used in forming Feminines in I.-Eur. and appears augmented with c in Lat. genetrix, cornix, &c.

(Nouns of fourth Decl.) U-stem Adjectives passed in Latin, as we have seen (§ 12), into I-stems, e.g. gravis (Gk. βαρύς). The suffix -TU- (like the suffix -TI-, § 12) was used to form Verbal Nouns, e.g. spectātus, and its Acc. Sg. became the First Supine (ch. vi. § 16), e.g. spectatum ire, its Loc. Sg., the Second Supine (ibid.), e.g. spectatu pulcer. (On the passage of Fem. O-stems into the U-declension, see ch. iii. § 6.)

(Nouns of fifth Decl.) These have been already discussed in ch. iii. § 13.

(Nouns of third Decl.) An Adjective which is used as a Noun takes this suffix, [2] e.g. Rufo, ‘the Red,’ beside rufus, red (cf. Στραβῶν beside στραβός); and so we find many Latin nicknames in -ō, Gen. -ōnis, e.g. Naso, Capito, with terms of contempt like bibo, aleo. The more respectful formation was in -ōnus, [3] e.g. patronus.

[2]: This is the origin of the German ‘weak’ declension of the Adjective, where the Adj. is preceded by the Def. Article, e.g. des rothen, Gen. Sg., die rothen Nom. Acc. Pl.

[3]: Hence Gk. Λητώ (Dor. Λατώ) became Latona.

The MEN-suffix was used to form Neuter Verbal Nouns, e.g. teg-men, a covering, from tego, to cover. On the connection of cognomen and cognomentum, &c., see § 10; and on Verbal Nouns in -TI-EN-, e.g. captio, -ōnis Gen., see § 12.

(Nouns of third Decl.) I.-Eur. Neuters in -r (-ᵉr) seem to have substituted n for r in the oblique cases (cf. Lat. femur, Gen. feminis, ch. iii. § 1), which has led to such curious declensions in Latin as it-in-er-is, jec-in-or-is and joc-in-er-is. -TER- is the suffix used for forming (1) words of relationship, e.g. pa-ter, ma-ter, (2) Nomina Agentis, e.g. da-tor (Gk. δοτήρ and δώτωρ), which in Latin show the O-grade of the suffix (ch. x. § 12).

(Nouns of third Decl.) When a Verb-root ending in a vowel formed the second part of a compound the T-suffix was used, e.g. Lat. com-es (stem com-it-) from the root ei-, ‘to go,’ anti-stes from stā-, ‘to stand,’ sacer-dos from dō-, ‘to give.’ The NT-suffix (-ent-, -ont-) was used to form the Pres. Part. Act., e.g. ferent- (Gk. φέροντ-), sont- (Gk. ὄν; ch. vi. § 17).

The WENT-suffix, like our ‘-ful,’ was added to Noun stems to form Adjectives, with the sense ‘possessed of,’ ‘abounding in,’ and occasionally ‘resembling,’ e.g. Gk. χαρίεις for *χαρι-ϝεντ-s, possessed of grace, graceful. In Latin it is augmented by the TO-suffix (§ 10), e.g. dolosus (Gk. δολόεις) for *dolo-venssus, nivosus (Gk. νιφόεις) for *nivo-venssus, with ss for tt (ch. x. § 17). Older spellings of this suffix are -onsus, -ossus (ch. x. § 19 n.).

Examples of Guttural Suffixes in Latin are Adjectives in -āx, expressing tendency or character, e.g. bibāx, dicāx, rapāx, pervicāx (cf. -ācus, § 11). (On Fem. -trix see § 12.)

(Nouns and Adjectives of third Decl.) The ES-suffix (varying with -ŏs-, &c., ch. x. § 12) was used to form Neuter Abstract Nouns with E-grade of root (ch. x. § 12) and accent on the root, e.g. I.-Eur. gĕnos Nom. Sg., gĕnĕs- in oblique Cases (Gk. γένος, γένε(σ)ος; Lat. genus, older *genos, generis, from *geneses, ch. iii. § 8). These Neuter-stems became Adjectives by transferring the accent to the suffix and substituting -ēs for -ŏs in Nom. Sg. Masc., -ĕs in Nom. Sg. Neut., e.g. Gk. εὐγενής Masc., -νές Neut. Beside them we find occasionally Masc. or Fem. Nouns with -ōs in Nom. Sg., a formation which came into great favour in Latin, e.g. tenor Masc. (from *tenōs, p. 52) beside tenus Neut. (Gk. τένος, a string) from the root ten-, ‘to stretch.’ But Adjective S-stems were avoided in Latin (cf. degener, bicorpor), the usual way of making an Adj. from a Neuter S-stem being to add the TO-suffix (§ 10), e.g. sceles-tus, funes-tus, jus-tus. A case of these Neuters was used as an Infinitive in various I.-Eur. languages, e.g. Lat. gignerĕ (Loc. Sg.), amari (Dat. Sg.) (see ch. vi. § 15). The YES-suffix was used to form Comparatives, Lat. -ior Nom., -iōris Gen., e.g. melior, melioris (from melios, *melios-es) (ch. iv. § 2).

Nouns formed directly from the root, without any suffix except those of the cases, are especially frequent as the second element of a Compound, and take in this position the function of a Nomen Agentis, e.g. au-spex, ‘seer of birds,’ from the root spec-, to see; parti-ceps, ‘taking a share.’ They are also found independently, e.g. Lat. dux, a leader. The Lat. Third Conj. Inf. Pass., e.g. agi, seems to be the Dat. of a suffixless Verbal Noun (ch. vi. § 15).

Compounds are seldom resolvable into two intact words like Gk. Διόσ-κουροι, Lat. juris-jurandi, patres-familiarum. The same is true of Reduplicates, which arose out of the habit of repeating a word for the sake of emphasis (cf. ‘a great, great deed’) or mimicry (cf. Lat. mur-mur); for one element is reduced almost beyond recognition, either the second element (in ‘broken’ or curtailed Reduplication), e.g. Lat. bal-b-us, gur-g-es, or more usually the first, e.g. ci-cind-ela, a glow-worm. [4] So in Compounds the full stem without the case suffixes is generally used in the first part of the Compound, e.g. juri-dicus (contrasted with juris-jurandi), patri-cida (contrasted with patres familiarum).

[4]: Lat. gur-gul-io, the throat, quer-quer-us, shivering, give equal prominence to both elements.

In Latin, owing to the weakening of unaccented vowels (ch. ii. § 14), every vowel in the final syllable of such a stem was liable to change under the early accentuation of the first syllable of each word (ch. ii. § 12), the usual reduction of a short vowel being to ĭ (ch. ii. § 14). Ĭ is thus the Latin ‘Composition-Vowel’ par excellence, usually representing I.-Eur. ŏ, which is found not only with O-stems, e.g. Gk. ἱππό-δαμος (cf. Lat. belli-ger), but also often with A-stems, e.g. Gk. νῑκό-μαχος beside νῑκη-φόρος (cf. Lat. ali-ger), N-stems, e.g. Gk. ἀκμό-θετον (cf. Lat. homi-cida), and appended to many Consonant-stems, e.g. Gk. δρακόντ-ό-μαλλος (Lat. pedi-sequus). [5]

[5]: Cf. silvifragus, used by Lucretius, who however complains that the ‘patrii sermonis egestas’ prevented him from reproducing the Greek compound ὁμοιομέρεια, i. 832.

Composition does not play so great a part in Latin as in Greek (cf. Liv. xxvi. 11. 4 quos ‘androgynos’ vulgus, ut pleraque, faciliore ad duplicanda verba Graeco sermone, appellat). The early dramatists and other imitators of Greek poetry incurred the censure of Quintilian for their attempts to reproduce Greek compounds like κυρταύχην in Latin, as in Pacuvius’ description of dolphins:

Nērei repāndirostrum, incuruiceruicum pecus;

and Virgil uses a periphrasis like (Averna) sonantia silvis (A. iii. 442), where an earlier poet might have employed a compound like silvisonus. The compound Proper Names of other I.-Eur. languages are, as we have seen (§ 3), replaced in Latin (and the other Italic languages) by Adjective IO-stems, such as Lūcius.