Glossary

  • +ABL – Indicates that a word (often an adjective or verb) “governs” the ablative case, meaning it requires an ablative complement (for example, the adjective dignus takes an ablative: dignus alicui “worthy of someone”). This tag is used in grammars to mark that construction.
  • +ACC – Indicates that a word (often a verb or preposition) governs the accusative case (e.g. ad “to” always takes an accusative object). This tag signals that the dependent phrase should be in the accusative. For example, in ad urbem (“to the city”), the preposition ad “governs” the accusative urbem.
  • 1 – First person. Marks verbs or pronouns relating to the speaker (“I” or “we”). In morphology, it means first-person forms (e.g. sum, amō, ībāmus). Latin first-person forms change endings (e.g. -ō, -mus) to indicate “I” or “we”.
  • 1ST CONJ – First conjugation. Verbs whose present infinitive ends in -āre (e.g. amāre “to love”) belong to the first conjugation. Their present stem ends in -ā- (e.g. am-, portā-). First conjugation verbs form present tense by adding personal endings to the -ā- stem (e.g. amō, amās, amat).
  • 1ST DECL – First declension. Nouns (and most adjectives) whose genitive singular ends in -ae (e.g. puella, puellae “girl”) belong here. First-declension nouns are mostly feminine and use endings like -a (nom. sg.), -ae (gen./dat sg.), -am (acc sg.), -ā (abl sg.). For example, puella magna (“the great girl”) shows agreement in case and number (both are 1st declension forms).
  • 2 – Second person. Marks “you” (singular or plural). In verbs, second-person forms (e.g. amas “you love”) correspond to English “you” (singular or plural). Second-person endings (-s, -tis) are used for addressing one or more listeners.
  • 2ND CONJ – Second conjugation. Verbs with infinitives in -ēre (long ē, as in monēre “to advise”, docēre “to teach”). Second-conjugation verbs have a present stem in -ē- (e.g. mon-, doc-) and use this stem for present-tense forms (e.g. moneō, moneās, monēt).
  • 2ND DECL – Second declension. Nouns with genitive singular in -ī (e.g. servus, servī “slave” (masculine) or bellum, bellī “war” (neuter)). Second-declension masculine nouns typically end in -us (nom. sg.) and neuters in -um. Their typical cases include -us/-um (nom. sg.), -ī (gen. sg.), -ō (dat/abl sg.), -um (acc. masc sg., nom./acc. neut sg.), -ī (nom. pl. masc, gen. pl. neut.), -ōrum/ -ōrum (gen. pl.), etc.
  • 3 – Third person. Refers to “he, she, it” or “they.” In verbs, third-person forms (e.g. amat “he loves”, amant “they love”) correspond to third-person subjects. Pronouns is, ea, id and qui, quae, quod (relatives) are third-person forms in Latin.
  • 3RD CONJ – Third conjugation. Verbs with infinitives typically in -ere (short e, as in regere “to rule” or dūcere “to lead”). Third-conjugation verbs have a present stem formed differently (often from the third principal part) and variable endings (e.g. rego, regis, regit; dūco, dūcis, dūcit). They include a large class with mixed stem shapes.
  • 3RD DECL – Third declension. Nouns with genitive singular usually ending in -is (e.g. rēx, rēgis “king”; corpus, corporis “body”). Genders vary (masculine, feminine, neuter). Nominative singular forms vary widely (-s, -x, -e, -us, etc.), but agree with genitive plural -um. Third-declension nouns use endings like -is (gen. sg.), -ī (dat. sg.), -em (acc. sg. for masc/fem), -e (abl. sg.), and -ēs/-a (nom./acc. pl. masc/fem; neut. pl. ends in -a), etc.
  • 4 – Fourth person. (Not used in standard Latin person agreement – Latin only has 1st, 2nd, 3rd persons.)
  • 4TH CONJ – Fourth conjugation. Verbs with infinitives in -īre (e.g. audīre “to hear”). Their present stem ends in -ī (e.g. audi-, inveni-), and they use -iō in the first-person singular present (e.g. audiō, audīs, audit). Future forms are -iam, -iēs, etc.
  • 4TH DECL – Fourth declension. Nouns with genitive singular in -ūs (e.g. manus, manūs “hand” (fem.), frūctus, frūctūs “fruit” (masc.)). Fourth-declension nouns have nominative/accusative singular in -us, dative/ablative -uī, and plural forms -ūs (nom./acc.) and -uum (gen.). Most are masculine or feminine (like manus), though cornū, cornuūs “horn” is neuter.
  • 5TH DECL – Fifth declension. Nouns with genitive singular in -eī (usually written -ēī). The classic example is rēs, reī “thing, matter” (fem.). All fifth-declension nouns are feminine (except diēs, which can be masc.). They form -ēs (nom./acc. sg.), -eī (gen. sg.), -eī or -eī (dat. sg.), -ē (abl. sg.), and plural -ēs (nom./acc.), -ērum (gen.), etc.
  • ABL – Ablative case. The ablative expresses means, manner, separation, cause, accompaniment, etc., often translated by “with, by, from, in”. It covers functions once divided into separate cases in older Latin. For example, in patria can mean “in the country” (locative sense), gladiīs pugnat “he fights with swords” (instrument), mentis causa “for the sake of the mind” (cause), ā murō “from a wall” (separation). Without a governing preposition, ablative often means “by/with” or indicates ablative absolute constructions (see ABL.ABS). Ablative nouns agree with adjectives or other modifiers in case and number.
  • ABL.ABS – Ablative absolute. A phrase in the ablative (often noun + participle) standing syntactically independent of the main clause, usually providing background circumstantial detail (time, cause, condition). For example, Caesare duce, hostēs fugient (“with Caesar as leader, the enemies will flee”). In Caesare duce, Caesare (Caesar) and duce (leader, ablative of dux) form an ablative absolute. It typically involves a noun and a participle or adjective both in ablative, conveying a clause (“when/after/since …” or “with …”). The ablative absolute often follows verbs of speaking or timing verbs.
  • ACC – Accusative case. Used for the direct object of transitive verbs (the thing or person directly acted on). It also indicates motion toward (place to which), duration (extent of space/time), and is used after many prepositions (like in when meaning “into, onto”). For example, in librum lege “read the book”, librum is accusative direct object. The accusative agrees with its modifiers in case and number.
  • ACT – Active voice. Indicates that the subject of a verb is performing the action (e.g. amo, regunt). In active voice, verbs take active endings (e.g. -ō, -s, -t in present) and may govern objects (accusatives). For example, in puella puerum amat (“the girl loves the boy”), the verb amat is active, with puella as subject and puerum as direct object.
  • ADJ – Adjective. A word that modifies or qualifies a noun or pronoun, agreeing with it in gender, number, and case. Latin adjectives come in declension patterns (1st/2nd declension adjectives like magnus, magna, magnum or 3rd declension like fortis, fortis, forte) and must match their noun: e.g. vir bonus (“good man”) agrees in case, number (both nominative singular). Adjectives can be attributive (directly modifying) or predicate (linked by sum or other copula).
  • ADV – Adverb. A word modifying a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; it does not decline. Latin adverbs often end in -ē or -iter for first/second declension adjectives (e.g. magnē “greatly” from magnus; celeriter “quickly” from celer). Some adverbs are invariant. They express manner, time, place, degree, etc., and do not agree with nouns. For example, celeriter currit (“he runs quickly”), multum (“much”) in multum labōrāvit (“he labored a lot”).
  • APPOS – Apposition. A noun (or adjective) placed next to another noun to explain or identify it, agreeing in case and number. For example, in Marcus, imperātor Rōmānus (“Marcus, the Roman commander”), imperātor Rōmānus is in apposition to Marcus. An appositive stands in the same case as the noun it describes and can be either attributive or predicate apposition.
  • C – Common gender. In Latin, a noun or adjective is “common gender” if it can be either masculine or feminine depending on context (e.g. parens, parentis can be “father” or “mother” based on the actual referent). The tag “C” indicates this neutral gender category in grammars.
  • CMPR – Comparative degree. The comparative form of an adjective or adverb (e.g. altior “taller,” celsius “higher,” citius “faster”). It denotes a greater degree of a quality relative to something else. Comparatives are often formed with -ior, -ius (masc./fem., neut.) or -ius endings, or by using magis + positive (especially in adverbs, though Latin prefers inflections). Comparatives imply “more ___” or “rather ___” (e.g. brevior “shorter/rather short,” audācior “more/too bold”).
  • CONJ – Conjunction. A word that connects words, phrases, or clauses. Latin has coordinating conjunctions (e.g. et “and”, sed “but”, aut “or”) and subordinating conjunctions (e.g. quod “because/that”, ut “that, so that”). Conjunctions are indeclinable and link elements within a sentence. For example, Marcus et Julia (“Marcus and Julia”), or Dīcit quod verum est (“He says that it is true”).
  • DAT – Dative case. Marks the indirect object (the recipient or beneficiary) of a verb, often translated “to” or “for” someone. For example, in puellae librum dat (“he gives the girl a book”), puellae is dative (“to the girl”). The dative is also used with certain adjectives (e.g. dignus, amicus) to indicate “worthy of” or “friendly to”, with “for” as a useful English gloss. Typical endings include -ae (1st declension sg.), -ō (2nd declension sg.), and -ibus (plural), etc.
  • DATV – (If present) likely a variant tag for Dative case (not explicitly in table). [No entry as code “DATV”].
  • DEM – Demonstrative pronoun/adjective. Points out a specific noun or pronoun (e.g. hic “this (one)”, iste “that (near you)”, ille “that (over there)”). Demonstratives function like adjectives (agreeing with a noun) or alone as pronouns. They highlight particular persons or things. For example, hic puer (“this boy” – hic = “this”), or ille alone meaning “that one.” Demonstratives are declined (e.g. hic, haec, hoc; ille, illa, illud). They often introduce or emphasize something (the hic series for near the speaker, ille/iste for further away).
  • DEP – Deponent verb. A verb that uses passive morphological forms but carries an active meaning. Deponent verbs do not have active-voice forms at all; their passive endings express actions the subject performs, not actions done to the subject. For example, loquor means “I speak,” not “I am spoken,” and locutus est means “he spoke,” not “he was spoken.” Deponents follow regular passive morphology in all tenses and moods but must always be translated actively. They are common in both classical Latin and the Vulgate and are essential to recognize to avoid mistranslation.
  • F – Feminine gender. One of Latin’s three noun genders. Feminine nouns and adjectives typically end in -a (1st decl.) or have specific forms (e.g. uxor, rex in 3rd decl.). Adjectives agree in gender, so a feminine noun takes feminine adjective forms (e.g. puella bona – both nominative sg. feminine).
  • FUT – Future tense. Expresses an action that will happen (or “shall happen”) after the present. In Latin, the future tense of verbs (indicative) typically uses specific endings: e.g., first conjugation -bō, -bis, -bit (or -ābō in others), second -bō, -bis, -bit, third -am, -ēs, -et (common 3rd conj.), or forms like amābō, docēbō, regam (classical). The future perfect (–erit) is sometimes called “future perfect,” but that is FUTP (see below). The future corresponds to English “will…” or “shall…” (e.g. dūcam “I will lead”).
  • FUTP – Future perfect tense. A compound future tense meaning “will have done.” Formed with the future of sum plus the perfect passive participle (e.g. ductus erō “I will have been led” in passive, dūxerō active). It expresses an action that will be completed before a future time. For example, ānnum intrōgressus erō “I will have entered in a year.” This tense is one of the perfectum tenses.
  • GER – Gerund. A verbal noun in Latin: the neuter singular of the gerundive used substantively. It expresses the action of the verb in noun form (often translated as “-ing” or with “of doing”). Forms end in -ndum (gen.), -ndō (dat./abl.), -ndum (acc.), -ndī (gen.) for example from amāre: amandī (of loving), amandō (to/for loving). The gerund can take objects (e.g. amatōrum amandō “to loving his loved ones”). It is used where Latin needs a noun form of the verb, often with prepositions: ad amandum (“for loving/for the purpose of loving”), metūiendō exercitus (“by fearing, the army”). It only appears in cases genitive, dative, accusative, ablative (no nom.), and is often replaced by the infinitive for subject or by gerundive constructions when objects occur. The gerund retains verbal sense (governs an object) but behaves as a noun (requiring agreement or case of surrounding words).
  • GERUNDV – Gerundive. Also known as the future passive participle. A verbal adjective ending in -ndus, -nda, -ndum indicating necessity or obligation (“to be -ed”). It agrees with a noun like an adjective. For example, legenda rēs “a thing to be read” or librī legendī “of the book having to be read.” Most commonly it is used in the periphrastic passive (Gerundive + sum = obligation): mīlitandō pāra sunt “they must be prepared by fighting,” or cōnsulēs faciendī erant “the consuls had to be made [i.e. had to appoint].” It denotes necessity/appropriateness (literal “worthy of being done”), or obligation (as in the passive periphrastic with sum, meaning “must be done”).
  • IND – Indicative mood. The “mood of reality.” Used for stating facts or asking questions of fact. It is the default mood for ordinary statements: e.g. Puella legit “The girl is reading/is reading.” Latin has indicative forms in six main tenses (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect) in both active and passive voices.
  • INDECL – Indeclinable form. Used for particles, certain adverbs, and uninflected forms that do not change for case, number, or gender. Examples include interjections (e.g. heu, eheu), adverbs like diū (for a long time), hodie (today), and foreign or Greek imports (e.g. poēta in the plural is poētae by declension, but inānis (“empty”) is 3rd declension; true indeclinables are rare in Latin outside of adverbs, conjunctions, and onomatopoeic words). The tag INDECL marks words that are the same in all forms (e.g. tamen, igitur). They function as invariants in syntax.
  • INDEF – Indefinite pronoun. Refers to non-specific or unspecified persons or things (e.g. quis, quid “someone, something”; aliquis “somebody, anyone”; quidam “a certain one”; quisque “each one”). Indefinites behave like pronouns and decline (e.g. aliquis, aliquid, quisque). They express vagueness or generality: quisquis venit “whoever comes”; quidam vir “a certain man”; aliquī libri “some books.” They are often translated as “some” or “any” (depending on context) and do not refer to a particular known entity.
  • INF – Infinitive. The basic (dictionary) form of a verb, not marked for person or number. In Latin, it often ends in -re (active) or -īrī (passive, e.g. amō, amāre “to love”; ducor, ducī “to be led”). The infinitive can function substantively (e.g. Amāre est humanum “To err is human” – “to err” = infinitive acting as subject) or in indirect discourse (with an accusative subject). It is also used in complementary/indirect clauses (Accusative + Infinitive construction) as the head of an indirect statement (e.g. dīcit puellam legere “he says that the girl is reading”), and after certain verbs (volō, nolo, malo + inf. for commands). The infinitive has tenses (present, perfect, future: e.g. legere “to read,” lēgisse “to have read,” lātūrus esse “to be about to bring”) and can be used as a noun (see Infinitive as Noun usage).
  • INTJ – Interjection. A word or phrase expressing emotion or exclamation, not fitting syntactically into the sentence. Examples include heu! (“alas!”), eheu! (“oh!”), heus! (“hey!”), ō! (vocative interjection). They stand alone or are set off by commas. They do not decline and do not agree with other words. For example, “Eheu!” inquit (“‘Alas!’ he said.”) where eheu expresses regret or sorrow.
  • IOBJ – Indirect object. The dative object of a verb, usually the recipient or beneficiary (often translated “to/for someone”). For example, in Marcus dat puellae librum (“Marcus gives the girl a book”), puellae is the indirect object (to the girl). Indirect objects are marked by the dative case and typically answer “to whom/for whom” the action is done. Latin also uses dative after certain adjective or verb patterns to convey advantage or disadvantage (nox est mihi “it is night for me” meaning “I am sleepy”).
  • LOC – Locative case. A special case (retained from Old Latin) indicating location “in” or “at” with names of cities, towns, small islands, and a few common nouns (domus, humus). It is identical to the genitive or ablative in form (1st/2nd declension nom./abl. + -ī or -ae; 3rd declension noun rōmae “at Rome,” domī “at home”). It answers “where?” without a preposition. For example, Rōmae sunt means “they are in Rome.” Beyond these limited uses, Latin typically uses the ablative (with in) or accusative (with in) to express location. (The locative is rare and often marked in grammars as a special tag.)
  • M – Masculine gender. Nouns/adjectives of masculine gender (e.g. dominus, puer, Magnus). Masculine forms typically end in -us (2nd decl.) or various forms in 3rd decl. Adjectives agree in masculine gender when modifying masculine nouns (e.g. bonus puer “good boy”). Gender affects which adjective forms or participle endings are used (e.g. -us in nominative sg.).
  • N – Neuter gender. Nouns/adjectives of neuter gender (e.g. bellum, puerum as accusative of puer, magnum). Neuter nouns typically end in -um (2nd decl.) or have various 3rd declension forms. Neuter adjectives have -um in nom./acc. sg., and -a in nom./acc. pl. (e.g. bonum bellum, bona bella). Notably, neuter subjects take neuter participles and adjectives.
  • NOM – Nominative case. Marks the subject of a clause (the doer or topic) or predicate nominative after a linking verb. It also is used for predicate adjectives when linked by est, vocatur, etc.. For example, puella currit (“the girl runs”) – puella is nominative subject. Puella est magna (“the girl is big”) – puella (subject) and magna (predicate adjective) are nominative. Nominative nouns agree with their adjectives in number and gender.
  • OBJ – Direct object. The noun phrase in the accusative case that directly receives the action of a transitive verb. It answers “whom?” or “what?” For example, in puerum videt (“he sees the boy”), puerum is the direct object. Latin marks direct objects with accusative endings (e.g. -um, -am for singular) and the verb typically agrees with the subject in person/number.
  • PASS – Passive voice. Indicates the subject is acted upon (receives the action). Passive verbs use passive endings or periphrastic forms (e.g. -or, -ris, -tur in present; or the participle+sum). For example, amor a Caesare laudātur (“the love is praised by Caesar”) or amātus est (“has been loved”). Deponent verbs (see DEP) use passive forms but active meaning. The passive is also used in periphrastic tenses (perfect passive with participle + sum).
  • PERF – Perfect tense. A past tense indicating a completed action (equivalent to English “did” or “have done”). Latin perfect uses the perfect stem + perfect endings (-ī, -istī, -it, etc.). For example, amāvī “I loved / have loved”. It often implies a single or completed event. The perfect tense is part of the “perfectum” system (with pluperfect and future perfect).
  • PERS – Personal pronoun. Refers to specific persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd person: “I, you, he/she/it/they”). Latin personal pronouns include ego, tū (1st/2nd sg.), nōs, vōs (1st/2nd pl.), and third-person is, ea, id (He/She/It, often used in place of pronoun). They decline by case (e.g., mē, mihi, mē for “me”). In Latin, subject pronouns are often omitted since verb endings show person. For example, amō alone means “I love” (ego understood).
  • PL – Plural number. Indicates more than one (nouns, verbs, adjectives take plural forms). For example, puer (singular) vs. puērī (plural nominative “boys”), or verb amat (sg. “he loves”) vs. amant (pl. “they love”). Latin marks plurality by endings: typically -ī, -ae, -a in nominative plural, -ōrum, -ārum, -ōrum in genitive plural, etc., and verbs add -nt in third person plural present.
  • PLUP – Pluperfect tense (past perfect). Indicates an action completed before another past action (“had done”). Formed with the perfect participle + the imperfect of sum (e.g. ductus erat “he had been led”) or active 3rd principal part with -eram (active voice). For example, vēnītus erat / vēnīerat means “he had come.” It situates one past action prior to another past reference point.
  • POS – Positive degree. The base form of an adjective or adverb, simply stating a quality without comparison (e.g. altus “high/tall” or celeriter “quickly”). This is the unmarked degree (as opposed to comparative or superlative). Most adjectives have a positive form that appears in dictionaries (e.g. bonus, laetus, celer). Latin adverbs often form positive degree with -e or -ter. The tag POS marks these non-comparative forms.
  • POSS – Possessive pronoun/adjective. Indicates ownership or relation, derived from personal pronouns (e.g. meus “my/mine”, tuus “your/yours”, suus “his/her/its own” when reflecting back to subject, noster “our”, vester “your (pl.)”, suus for third person reflexive). They function like adjectives (agreeing with the noun possessed: liber meus “my book”) or pronouns (standing alone: līber meus est “it is my book”). Possessive pronouns decline like 1st/2nd-declension adjectives.
  • PRED – Predicate (nominative/adjective) tag. Marks a predicate noun or adjective that completes a copular verb (sum, appellārī, etc.). A predicate noun or adjective agrees with the subject and follows a linking verb. For example, in Marcus est imperātor (“Marcus is commander”), imperātor is predicate nominative (tag PRED). In patria mea est (“my country is small”), maia (if implied) or so acts as predicate adjective – though usually we’d tag mea as pred. adj. This tag identifies words that stand as predicates.
  • PRON – Pronoun. A word that stands in for a noun or noun phrase. Latin pronouns include personal (ego, tū), reflexive (sē), demonstrative (hic, ille), relative (quī, quae, quod), interrogative (quis, quid), indefinite (quisquis, quidam), etc. They decline by case/gender/number. Pronouns can replace nouns or emphasize them. For example, ille vir magnus (“that great man”), or quid facit? (“What is he doing?” using the interrogative pronoun quid). Pronouns must agree in gender/number with their referents (e.g., relative pronouns agree with their antecedents).
  • PTCP – Participle. A verbal adjective formed from a verb. Latin participles have tense and voice: present active (-ns or -ntis, e.g. amāns “loving”), perfect passive (-tus/-a/-um, e.g. amatus “having been loved”), future active (-ūrus, e.g. amātūrus “about to love”). Participles agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, case. Because they are verbal adjectives, they can also take objects (the present active participle dūcentem “leading” can take a direct object in accusative, e.g. vir dūcentem gladium vidit “the man saw the one leading a sword”). Present participles denote ongoing action, perfect participles denote completed (passive) action, and future active participles express impending action. They are used in subordinate clauses, as adjectives, or in ablative absolutes.
  • PREP – Preposition. An invariable word placed before a noun (with its case) to show the noun’s relationship to another word. Latin prepositions govern a case (most commonly the accusative or ablative). For example, in takes the accusative for motion into (in urbem “into the city”) and the ablative for location (in urbe “in the city”); cum “with” takes ablative; ad “to/toward” takes accusative; sub takes accusative (“to under”) or ablative (“under”). The preposition does not change form but its meaning is interpreted via the case of its object.
  • REL – Relative pronoun. A pronoun introducing a relative clause, referring back to an antecedent (usually a noun in a previous clause) and linking the clauses. Latin relative pronouns qui, quae, quod (and forms) agree with their antecedent in gender and number, but have case determined by their role in the relative clause. For example, in vir quem vīdit (“the man whom he saw”), quem is the relative pronoun (accusative singular masculine) referring back to vir (“man”). Relative pronouns serve both as noun/adjective in the clause (agreeing with antecedent) and as the subordinating connector.
  • SEMIDEP – Semi-deponent (semi-deponent verb). A verb that has active forms in some tenses (usually the present system) but uses passive (deponent) forms in others (typically the perfect system). In meaning it is active throughout, but its perfect, pluperfect, etc. forms appear passive. For example, gaudeō, gāvīsus sum (“I rejoice”) – gaudeō (present active) but gāvīsus sum (perfect passive form) with active meaning. Semi-deponents are a rare class in Latin and must be learned individually (other examples include audēre, solēre).
  • SG – Singular number. Indicates one unit. A singular noun or verb agrees in number with single subject/object. For example, puer (sing.), amat (3sg) “the boy loves.” Latin marks singular by endings like -us, -a, -um (nom. sg.), -ō, -ae (dat. sg.), etc., distinct from plural.
  • SUBJ – Subjunctive mood. The mood of possibility, doubt, wish, or non-reality. Used in subordinate clauses (purpose, result, indirect question, cum-clauses, etc.) and certain main clause expressions (e.g. exhortations). Latin subjunctives (present: -em, -ēs, -et, imperfect: -rem, -rēs, -ret, etc.) do not directly correspond to English; often translated with “may/should/would.” For example, Utinam veniat! (“Would that he may come!”). The subjunctive is often called the mood of uncertainty or potentiality. In English, it appears in clauses with “if,” “that,” etc., whereas Latin uses subjunctive forms.
  • SUP – Supine. The supine in -um (accusative) is used after verbs of motion to express purpose: e.g. mīsit legātum rogātum (“he sent a legate to ask”), literally “to ask.” It is like “to X” after verbs like eō, veniō, mittō. It can take a direct object (like a verb). The supine in -ū (ablative) is used with a few adjectives or nouns (usually fās, nefās, opus) to express respect or specification, often equivalent to a gerund/infinitive clause: for example, dignum laudārī (“worthy of being praised”), or pudet dictū (“it is a shame to say”). It is otherwise unused. The term “supine” here is traditional and its forms are frozen; they resemble the 4th principal part (-um) and an old ablative (-ū). Usage is limited and often idiomatic.
  • SUP – (Duplicate listing for Superlative and Supine – from Gn through Ex 16:5 the code SUP was erroneously used for both the superlative degree and the supine, with no distinguishing marker) Superlative degree
  • SUPER – Superlative degree. The highest degree of comparison for adjectives/adverbs (e.g. altissimus “tallest/very tall,” celerrimē “very quickly”). Formed with -issim- (e.g. altus, altissimus) or irregular (bonus, optimus). Often denotes an extreme of quality. Without explicit comparison (quam, vel), a superlative can mean “very ___” (e.g. montem altissimum “a very high mountain,” not necessarily compared to another). With quam or vel, it implies “as ___ as possible” or “the most ___” (e.g. quam celerimē “as quickly as possible,” puerum dīligentissimum “the most diligent boy”). Latin frequently uses -issimus adjectives and -imē adverbs.

 

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