“General Rules for Suffixes”

Secondary Suffixes

Most Stems

     When a suffix is added to a nonmonosyllabic substantive or a adjective stem, the two may be treated as if they were the two parts of a Stem Compound. (Sometimes the connecting vowel disappears before a consonant.)

• vacci-, combining form of vaccā-, stem of vacca, + -īnus = vaccīnus

• belli-, combining form of bello-, stem of bellum, + -icus = bellicus

• cīvi-, stem and combining form of civis, + -cus = cīvicus

• bovi-, combining form of bou-, stem of bōs, + -īnus = bovīnus

• sui-, combining form of sū-, stem of sūs, + -īnus = suīnus

• faci-, combining form of faciē-, stem of faciēs, + -ālis = faciālis

• fīni-, combining form of fīnis, + -ālis = fīnālis

• canti-, combining form of cantus, + -icum = canticum

• viri-, combining form of vir, + -tūs = virtūs (connecting vowel dropped)

Pure I-Stems and U-Stems

     More often than not, however, pure i-stems (third declension) and u-stems (fourth declension) retain their original stem vowels (i and u, respectively) before a suffix beginning with a dissimilar vowel. (Apparently, the stem vowels i and u are being thought of as consonants rather than vowels, and therefore do not disappear before dissimilar vowels.)

• api-, stem of apis, + -ārius = apiārius (stem vowel i is kept)

• rēti-, stem of rēte, + -ārius = rētiārius (stem vowel i is kept)

• spīritu-, stem of spīritus, + -ālis = spīrituālis (stem vowel u is kept)

• sexu-, stem of sexus, + -ālis = sexuālis (stem vowel u is kept)

Certain Suffixes Beginning with Consonants

     Certain suffixes beginning with consonants (e.g. -lis, -nus) may be attached directly to ā-stems (first declension), o-stems (second declension), i-stems (third declension), u-stems (fourth declension), and ē-stems (fifth declension).  The stem vowels appear long before the suffixes.  (The stem vowel -o does not usually do this, however.)

• vitā-, stem of vita, + -lis = vitālis (-ā- + -lis = -ālis)

• bello-, stem of bellum, + -na = Bellōna (-o- + -na = -ōna)

• turri-, stem of turris, + -tus = turrītus (-i- + -tus = -ītus)

• vulpi-, stem of vulpēs, + -nus = vulpīnus (-i- + -nus = -īnus)

• cornu-, stem of cornū, + -tus = cornūtus (-u- + -tus = -ūtus)

• fidē-, stem of fidēs, + -lis = fidēlis (-ē- + -lis = -ēlis)

Subsections

Primary and Secondary Suffixes

1. Primary Suffixes
2. Secondary Suffixes

Vowel Changes

1. Contraction of Double-Vowel Combinations
2. Monosyllabic Stems

Rēgulae Generālēs Suffīxōrum | Pāginae Latīnitātis | DIĒS GAUDIĪ

© 2007 Ian Andreas Miller.  All rights reserved.  Those statements refer to all of the original content on this page.