18 Greek nouns in -eus (-es) sometimes follow the second declension in Latin; as:

We have also Achillei and Ulixi in the G., though in other cases Achilles and Ulixes follow the third declension.

19 Contracted Greek nouns are contracted also in Latin; as:

20 Neuter nouns corresponding to Greek words in -os follow this declension; as pelagus, 'the surface of the sea;' virus, 'poison.' Vulgus, the multitude,' is generally neuter; but sometimes also masculine.

21 The following nouns in -us, -os are feminine:

(1) Names of countries; as Egyptus, Cyprus, Samos, &c. (2) Alvus, 'belly;' colus, 'distaff,' or 'spinning-rock;' humus, 'ground;' vannus, 'winnowing fan.'

(3) Certain Greek words, as periodus, 'period;' dialectus, 'dialect;' abyssus, 'a bottomless pit,' &c.

(4) All names of trees, and some of shrubs; as populus, ‘the poplar' (distinguished by quantity also from populus, 'the people ;') fagus, the beech;' pirus, 'the pear-tree;' mālus and põmus, 'the apple-tree' (but pirum, 'the pear;' mālum and pōmum, 'the apple;') buxus, 'the box-tree' (but buxum, 'box-wood;') &c.

§ 4. Third Declension, or consonantal and semi-consonantal

nouns.

22 Nouns of the third declension are arranged according to the nature of the characteristic consonant which precedes the case

ending; and they fall into two great classes, according as they retain the consonant or vocalize it into i or u. The characteristic of the crude form is often lost in the nominative singular, but is always seen in the genitive plural, as the following table will show:

1 The form aetatium is found in some MSS., but it is not the usual spelling.

A. First class, or consonantal nouns.

23 (a) Labial nouns are m. or f.; as caelebs, c. 'an unmarried person;' auceps, c. 'a fowler;' forceps, c. 'a pair of tongs,' which change e into in the oblique cases. If the characteristic is preceded by r, the noun really belongs to the i declension; thus we have urbs, G. pl. urb-I-um; also in some other instances, as trabs, G. pl. trab-I-um, &c.: see below, 28. Although hiemps is written with an inserted p, it is properly a liquid noun; below, 26. Singular.

N. V. cælebs

forceps

24 (b) Guttural nouns are m. or f.; as dux, ducis, c. ‘a leader;' judex, judicis, c. ‘a judge;' conjux, conjugis, c. ‘a consort.' The following are irregular: senex, sẽnis, c. ‘an old man or woman;' supellex, supellectilis, f. ‘household furniture.' Nix, nivis, f. 'snow,' and merx, mercis, f. 'merchandise,' and some others in x, are really nouns in i, like urbs and pars; see below, 28.

25 (c) Dental nouns are of all genders: (a) as lapis, lapidis, m. a stone;' cuspis, cuspidis, f. 'a point;' comes, comitis, c. a companion.' Vāt-ēs, 'a prophet,' inserts a long e in the N. sing.

only. Apparently dental nouns, in which the characteristic t is preceded by n, r, or a long vowel, are really nouns in i. This is the case with fons, pars, lis (līt-i-), &c.; see below, 28. But feminines in -tāt-, -tūt-, as boni-tas, vir-tus, are dentals.

(8) Dental nouns of the neuter gender properly end in t, but caput, capitis, 'a head,' and its compounds, are the only words which still retain the genuine characteristic in the nominative. It is sometimes preserved in the oblique cases, as in poēma, poemătis, 'a poem;' lac, lactis, 'milk;' or under the medial form d, as cor, cordis, 'the heart.' But in most instances it is either omitted altogether, as in carmen, carminis, 'a poem' (cf. carmentis, ‘a poetess'); agmen, agminis, 'a troop' (cf. armentum, 'a herd'); or softened into s or r (2, (2) b. Obs.), as in corpus, corporis, 'a body;' tempus, temporis, 'time;' opus, operis, 'a work;' some,- -as jecur (for jecinor), jecinoris, 'the liver;' iter (for itiner), itinĕris, 'the journey;' jubar, jubăris, 'a ray of light;' nectar, nectăris, 'nectar;' far, farris, 'corn;'-probably had both 7 and t, and r and t in the original form.