Suffixes
The text has some good examples of suffixes that are used to form adjectives
[a] -āx: inclined to / having a tendency (do something)
rapāx lupus │ a ravenous wolf
rapiō, -ere [3-iō]: snatch; grab > rapāx, rapācis: grasping; greedy
audeō, -ēre [2/semi-deponent]: dare > audāx, audācis: bold; daring
edō, -ere [3]: eat > edāx, edācis: greedy; gluttonous
loquor, -ī [3/deponent]: talk > loquāx, loquācis: talkative
teneō, -ēre [2]: hold > tenāx, tenācis: clinging
mendāx, mendācis (not directly but connected to mentior, -īri [4/deponent]: lie): deceitful
Many of the genitive forms of these Latin adjectives have ended up in English derivatives e.g.
audāx, audācis > Engl. deriv: audacious; similarly: loquacious, mendacious, rapacious, tenacious
[b] -ōsus, -a, -um: “full of”
villus, -ī [2/m]: hair > villōsus, -a, -um: hairy
macula, -ae [1/f]: (here) spot > maculōsus, -a, -um: spotted; speckled; note: both the noun and the adjective can be negative e.g. a mark of shame, a stain on one’s character, but not in this text
spīna, -ae [1/f]: thorn; spine; prickle > spīnōsus, -a, -um: thorny; prickly
nervus, -ī [2/m]: various meanings including ‘nerve’ > nervōsus, -a, -um: nervous
ventus, -ī [2/m]: wind > ventōsus, -a, -um: windy
[c] -(ā)tus, -a, -um: used to form perfect passive participles e.g. laudātus, -a, -um: (having been) praised; however, it can also create certain adjectives that show that a person (or animal) possesses a certain physical feature; some of the examples are only attested from Late / Mediaeval Latin
aculeus, -ī [2/m] [i] sting (of an insect) [ii] (here) spine; thorn > aculeātus, -a, -um: prickly; having spines
barba, -ae [1/f]: beard > barbātus, -a, -um: having a beard; bearded
Image: the tomb of CORNELIVS LVCIVS SCIPIO BARBATVS, which scotches the rumour that no Romans had beards because this is an example of a cognōmen, cognōminis [3/n], a name that was added to the first and family name of a Roman; it can sometimes be interpreted as a nickname and / or reference to some physical characteristic: Marcus Tullius CICERŌ, the third part of his name is from cicer, -is [3/n]: chickpea, which might suggest that either Cicero himself had warts (although no sculpture depicts it) or, more likely, one of his ancestors did, and Cicero ‘inherited’ the nickname
iuba, -ae [1/f]: mane > iubātus, -a, -um: having a mane; crested
oculus, -ī [2/m]: eye > oculātus, -a, -um: having eyes / sight:
plūris est oculātus testis ūnus quam aurītī* decem (Plautus) │ of more value is one eye-witness than ten hearsays [literally: ten *people with ears; aurītus, -a, -um: having ears < auris, -is [3/f]: ear]
toga, -ae [1/f] > [i] (adj.) togātus, -a, -um: wearing a toga; [ii] togātus, -ī [2/m]: a Roman citizen (as opposed to a foreigner)
dēns, dentis [3/m]: tooth > dentātus, -a, -um: having teeth; Catullus, in a rather nasty poem which we look at in depth later, refers to a person being: āter atque dentātus │ swarthy and toothy
cauda, -ae [1/f]: tail > caudātus, -a, -um: having a tail; in Mediaeval manuscripts the term ē caudāta is used to refer to the writing of the letter /e/ with a ‘tail’ (ę) to represent Latin /ae/, for example: Ex ordine Sacrę [= sacrae] Congregationis. However, the pronunciation of Latin /ae/ shifted to /e/ and the specific use of ę was replaced by /e/ alone [Image: Deus, qui de beátę Maríæ vírginis …]
Grammar notes
[i] genitive plural after the superlative:
Caudāta vulpēs astūtissima ¦ omnium │ the tailed fox, the craftiest ¦ of (them) all
Tigris immānissima ¦ omnium │ the tiger the cruellest ¦ of all
[ii] Lynx vīsū pollēns │ the quick sighted lynx
pollēns, -entis: powerful; strong < polleō, -ēre [2]: be powerful
vīsus, -ūs [4/m]: sight
visū [ablative] pollēns [adjective]: this is known in grammar as the ablative of ‘respect’; take a look at a couple of English examples to see why the term ‘respect’ is used to describe this:
John is [A] really creative [adjective] ¦ [B] in Art
Sally’s [A] lazy [adjective] ¦ [B] when it comes to answering emails
i.e. [B] is most often a phrase or a clause which explains in what respect the person has a particular characteristic: John is creative [in what respect?] ¦ in (terms of) Art; Sally’s lazy [in what respect?] ¦ in (terms of) answering emails
This is the construction being used here:
Lynx vīsū pollēns │ the lynx is powerful [In what way? In what respect is it powerful?] ¦ in (terms of) sight; the literal translation is clumsy and so Hoole, the translator, reworks it to “quick sighted”
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/300425-level-3-beasts-in-egypt-and.html
