neuter < ne (not) + uter (either): neither (neither one nor the other; neither of the two)
Uter puer aegrotat, Mārcusne an Quīntus? │ Which boy is ill, Marcus or Quintus?
> Neuter puer, ¦ nec Mārcus nec Quīntus. │ Neither boy, neither Marcus nor Quintus.
Neuter eōrum [masc.] vēnit. │ Neither of them came.
Neutra eārum [fem.] vēnit. │ Neither of them came.
Neutra aciēs laeta ex eō certāmine abiit. (Livy) │ Neither army (battle-line) went off rejoicing from that battle.
mēcum ubi est, tēcum est tamen; tēcum ubi autem est, mēcum ibi autemst: [i] neuter [ii] neutrī [dative case with the verb invideō] invidet (Plautus) │ when she's with me, still she's with you; and when she's with you, she's with me as well: [i] neither of us envies [ii] the other.
A few more off-beat examples from Adler:
Utrum nauta baculum meum, an saccum meum habet ? Neutrum habet. │ Does the sailor have my stick or my sack? He has neither.
Utrum vēndere vult equum hunc an illum? Neutrum vēndere vult. │ Does he want to sell this horse or that one? │ He wants to sell neither [ = he doesn’t want to sell either (of them)]
Utrum occīdere vult gallīnam hanc an illam? Neutram occīdere vult. │ Does he want to kill this hen or that one? He wants to kill neither [ = he doesn’t want to kill either (of them)]
Māluntne loquī potius, quam scrībere? Neutrum libenter faciunt. │ Do they prefer to speak rather than (to) write? │ They prefer doing neither.
Exercise: Complete the Latin sentences with the appropriate form of neuter:
[1] He doesn’t want to marry either [one (f.)] of them [f.] │ ____ eārum in mātrimōnium dūcere vult.
[2] He wrote neither letter. │ ____ litterās scrīpsit.
[3] Neither of them [m.] seems very strong to me. │ ____ eōrum mihi valdē fortis vidētur.
[4] The walls of neither city are high. │ Moenia ____ urbis alta sunt.
[5] We must help neither of them [ = we mustn’t help either of them]. │ ____ eōrum iuvāre dēbēmus.
[6] Julia isn’t in either cottage / is in neither cottage. │ Iūlia est in _____ casā.
[7] The boy is neither’s son / isn’t the son of either [of them] │ _____ fīlius est puer.
neuter; neutrā; neutram; neutrās; neutrīus; neutrīus; neutrum
