Latin Fourth Declension Nouns

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1. Masculine and feminine fourth declension nouns

   Basic paradigm

   manus, manus. nf., hand.

   Case	Singular	Plural
   Nominative	manus	manus
   Genitive	manus	manuum
   Dative	manui, manu	manibus, (manubus)
   Accusative	manum	manus
   Ablative	manu	manibus, (manubus)
   Locative	mani	manibus, (manubus)
   Vocative	manus	manus

   The -ubus endings in the dative, ablative and locative plurals are used for acus, arcus, quercus, tribus, and usually for lacus and portus. The -ibus ending is used for most other fourth declension nouns.

   Some examples

   • acus, -us. nf., needle.
   • aestus, -us. nm., heat.
   • anus, -us. nf., crone, hag, old woman. (Not to be unintentionally confused with anus, -i which means something entirely different.)
   • arcus, -us. nm., bow.
   • artus, -us. nm., joint, limb.
   • condus, -us. nm., shopkeeper.
   • cultus, -us. nm., civilization.
   • domus, -us (-i). nf., house, home. (Usually declension 4, but sometimes declension 2.)
   • exercitus, -us. nm., army.
   • fructus, -us. nm., enjoyment, profit, fruit produce.
   • gradus, -us. nm., step, pace.
   • Idus, -uum. nf. pl., Ides. (as in ``Beware the Ides of March!'')
   • lacus, -us. nm., lake.
   • magistratus, -us. nm., magistrate.
   • manus, -us. nf., hand.
   • metus, -us. nf., fear, dread.
   • porticus, -us. nf., colonnade.
   • portus, -us. nm., harbor.
   • quercus, -us. nf., oak.
   • senatus, -us. nm., senate.
   • sexus, -us. nm., sex, gender.
   • sinus, -us. nm., indentation, fold, curve, (math.) sine. (This noun should not be confused with sinus, -i which refers to a large drinking cup.)
     • cosinus, -us. nm., (math.) cosine.
   • tonsus, -us. nm., haircut.
   • tribus, -us. nf., tribe.

     Borrowed words of dubious origin and usage

     When Latin borrows nouns, say from Greek, or perhaps through a time warp from English, these nouns may have somewhat creative declensions. Humez and Humez give the following:

   • bozo, bozus. nm., clown.

     By the way, both Webster's New World Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary indicate that the English slang word ``bozo'' is of obscure origin.

     Masculine abstract nouns (Supines)

     These are are all verbal nouns called supines. Generally in Latin, the supine is restricted to accusative and ablative fourth declension forms. A few supines exist in other cases as well. In the nominative, these take the form of the perfect passive participle, but they are present active in meaning.

   • adventus, -us. nm., approach, arrival. (from advenio, -venire, -veni, -ventus. arrive.)
   • casus, -us. nm., chance, case, falling. (from cado, -ere, cecidi, casurus. fall.)
   • census, -us. nm., census. (from censeo, -êre, -ui, -us. expect, tax, register.)
   • coitus, -us. nm., sexual intercourse. (from coeo, -ire, -ii, -iturus. (irreg.) meet, mate.)
   • cruciatus, -us. nm., torture. (from crucio (1). torture.)
   • flatus, -us. nm., wind. (from flo (1). blow.)
   • fletus, -us. nm., weeping. (from fleo, flêre, flexi, fletus. weep.)
   • fremitus, -us. nm., (loud) grumbling, muttering. (from fremo, -ere, -ui, -itus.. complain loudly about.)
   • motus, -us. nm., motion. (from moveo, -êre, movi, motus.. move.)
   • prospectus, -us. nm., view, prospect. (from prospicio, -spicere, spexi, -spectus. contemplate.)
   • reditus, -us. nm., return. (from redeo, redire, redi(v)i, rediturus. return.)
   • sensus, -us. nm., sensation, feeling. (from sentio, sentire, sensi, sensus. sense, perceive.)
   • sonitus, -us. nm., sound, noise, din. (from sono, sonare, sonui, sonitus. sound.)
   • spiritus, -us. nm., breath, soul, enthusiasm. (from an older form of spiro (1). breathe.)

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2. Neuter fourth declension nouns

   Basic paradigm

   cornu, cornus. nn., horn.

   Case	Singular	Plural
   Nominative	cornu	cornua
   Genitive	cornus	cornuum
   Dative	cornu	cornibus
   Accusative	cornu	cornua
   Ablative	cornu	cornibus
   Locative	?	cornibus
   Vocative	cornu	cornua

   Some examples

   • cornu, -us. nn., horn.
   • genu, -us. nn., knee.

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   Last updated: Tue Jun 8 09:15:15 EDT 1999