Genitive Plural in -um
The ending -um for -orum is old, and it survives in poetry and in words for money.
How It Works
| Noun | Usual | Short |
|---|---|---|
| deus (god) | deorum | deum |
| vir (man) | virorum | virum |
| nummus (coin) | nummorum | nummum |
| sestertius (sesterce) | sestertiorum | sestertium |
| Danai (the Greeks) | Danaorum | Danaum |
Words of money often use the short form in prose, such as sestertium after a number. Poets use it to fit the meter.
Because deum and virum can also be accusative singular, look at the rest of the sentence: regina deum is the queen of the gods.
In your own Latin, -orum is the safe choice for gods and men. The short form is mainly for reading, and money words keep it. Both forms are genitive plural, and they mean the same.
Examples (4)
- Troas, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli,
the Trojans, what the Greeks and cruel Achilles had left,
Aeneid 1.30. Danaum is the genitive plural of Danai, the Greeks.
- Quidve dolens regina deum tot volvere casus
or grieving over what, the queen of the gods (drove the hero) to go through so many misfortunes
Aeneid 1.9. Deum is the genitive plural of deus, the gods. The hero whom the queen drove is named in the next line.
- Villa decem milibus nummum constat.
The house costs ten thousand coins.
Milibus is the ablative of price after constat, and nummum is the genitive plural of nummus.
- Quinque milia sestertium debet.
He owes five thousand sesterces.
Sestertium is the genitive plural of sestertius.
How It Connects
Learn This First
-um replaces -orum in the genitive plural.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Genitive Plural in -um in Bubblegum
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