[Latin endings] Fwd: Questions

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-07-08 17:08:00 EDT, Nick Pharris wrote:

> If one really wanted to get picky, the -i genitive is only for words
> that end in -us (and not all of those), -um, or occasionally -er.
> The -ae genitive is for words that end in -a.  What the Romans
> usually actually did when declining names that did not end in -us,
> -um, -er, or -a was to add -is in forming the genitive:

You are exactly right. However, the Code presently specifies the
>standard< ending -i to honor a single male, -ae to honor a single
female, -orum to honor a group of two or more persons at least one of
whom is male, and -arum to honor a group of two or more persons none
of whom is male.