Re: Memorium / Memoriam ?

Aaron J. Dinkin wrote:
On Tue, 23 May 2006 12:39:21 GMT, Alan Jones <atj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

The word "memorium" isn't in the Oxford English Dictionary. In
Latin, it's the genitive plural of the adjective "memor", and would
mean "of those mindful".

I'm pretty sure the genitive plural of "memor" is "memorum", not
"memorium".

I'd have thought so, too, and had originally written that "memorium" wasn't
either an English or a Latin word; but checking in Perseus to make quite
sure I found "memorium" as m/f/n gen pl. Gildersleeve and Lodge have a note
to the effect that -ium is found in adjectives after a stem with a long
vowel, but I think the -o- in "memor" is always short. They also say that
genitive -um/-ium is inconsistently used, with -um sometimes preferred in
verse and -ium in prose. I wonder how many classical instances there are of
the adjective "memor" in the gen. pl. form.

Alan Jones


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: fritillus frivolus
    ... suggesting the sound of rattling dice. ... Latin was not ... to that of a ball-mill, and that means literally 'little ... deverbative adjectives in *-wo-. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • fritillus frivolus
    ... Latin <fritillus> 'dice-box' is of obscure origin. ... to that of a ball-mill, and that means literally 'little ... deverbative adjectives in *-wo-. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: what do you do in the offseason? thinking of trying a new sport
    ... Word order is fluid in Latin, ... prepositional phrase -- 'by means of' rather than an indirect object. ... 'You' is either reflexive (I don't remember how latin reflexives work) ... rather than actual verbs or adjectives, ...
    (rec.skiing.alpine)
  • Re: near future
    ... is probably not a typo. ... capitalise Latin, too. ... rather than actual words of the Latin language: e.g. "adjectives" ... If your message looks like spam I may not see it. ...
    (alt.usage.english)