Genitives like “axeos”












4















I recently encountered a text written in Latin in Finland about two centuries ago using the form axeos.
From context it was clear that it was a genitive, and it looks just like the Greek genitive of words like polis.
But the word axis has also a Latin style genitive axis, and L&S mentions it as the only genitive.



When do genitives like axeos appear in Latin?
I assume they only appear in (perceived) Greek loans where nominative and genitive would look alike, ending in -is.
Is this form restricted to some contexts, eras, words, or authors?
Is only used when ambiguity between nominative and genitive would be an issue?
I understand the form but, frankly, I have no idea when to expect it.
Any insight is welcome.










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    4















    I recently encountered a text written in Latin in Finland about two centuries ago using the form axeos.
    From context it was clear that it was a genitive, and it looks just like the Greek genitive of words like polis.
    But the word axis has also a Latin style genitive axis, and L&S mentions it as the only genitive.



    When do genitives like axeos appear in Latin?
    I assume they only appear in (perceived) Greek loans where nominative and genitive would look alike, ending in -is.
    Is this form restricted to some contexts, eras, words, or authors?
    Is only used when ambiguity between nominative and genitive would be an issue?
    I understand the form but, frankly, I have no idea when to expect it.
    Any insight is welcome.










    share|improve this question



























      4












      4








      4








      I recently encountered a text written in Latin in Finland about two centuries ago using the form axeos.
      From context it was clear that it was a genitive, and it looks just like the Greek genitive of words like polis.
      But the word axis has also a Latin style genitive axis, and L&S mentions it as the only genitive.



      When do genitives like axeos appear in Latin?
      I assume they only appear in (perceived) Greek loans where nominative and genitive would look alike, ending in -is.
      Is this form restricted to some contexts, eras, words, or authors?
      Is only used when ambiguity between nominative and genitive would be an issue?
      I understand the form but, frankly, I have no idea when to expect it.
      Any insight is welcome.










      share|improve this question
















      I recently encountered a text written in Latin in Finland about two centuries ago using the form axeos.
      From context it was clear that it was a genitive, and it looks just like the Greek genitive of words like polis.
      But the word axis has also a Latin style genitive axis, and L&S mentions it as the only genitive.



      When do genitives like axeos appear in Latin?
      I assume they only appear in (perceived) Greek loans where nominative and genitive would look alike, ending in -is.
      Is this form restricted to some contexts, eras, words, or authors?
      Is only used when ambiguity between nominative and genitive would be an issue?
      I understand the form but, frankly, I have no idea when to expect it.
      Any insight is welcome.







      greek morphologia declinatio substantivum declinatio-tertia






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      edited yesterday







      Joonas Ilmavirta

















      asked yesterday









      Joonas IlmavirtaJoonas Ilmavirta

      47.9k1167277




      47.9k1167277






















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          For what it's worth, I think this was simply a mistake.



          Greek nouns ending in -is are generally third-declension i-stems, like póli-s. In Attic, these nouns tend to show an -i- in some forms and an -ei- in others, with no particular logic that I've ever learned; quantitative metathesis and contraction then make the forms even less predictable. The genitive singular of póli-s, for example, shifted from *póli-os to *poléi-os to póle-ōs.



          Since these forms are so unpredictable, they have to be memorized rather than derived; I imagine Greek-speakers just learned that -is went to -eōs in the genitive, as a special rule, treating pól- as the stem and -eōs as the ending.



          This writer seems to have then brought it into Latin as a sort of hypercorrection: axis is a native Latin word that never came through Greek (the Greek cognate is áxōn, with a regular genitive áxon-os), and Latin never had the vowel alternations and shifts that created póleōs.






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          • You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

            – Joonas Ilmavirta
            8 hours ago











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          6














          For what it's worth, I think this was simply a mistake.



          Greek nouns ending in -is are generally third-declension i-stems, like póli-s. In Attic, these nouns tend to show an -i- in some forms and an -ei- in others, with no particular logic that I've ever learned; quantitative metathesis and contraction then make the forms even less predictable. The genitive singular of póli-s, for example, shifted from *póli-os to *poléi-os to póle-ōs.



          Since these forms are so unpredictable, they have to be memorized rather than derived; I imagine Greek-speakers just learned that -is went to -eōs in the genitive, as a special rule, treating pól- as the stem and -eōs as the ending.



          This writer seems to have then brought it into Latin as a sort of hypercorrection: axis is a native Latin word that never came through Greek (the Greek cognate is áxōn, with a regular genitive áxon-os), and Latin never had the vowel alternations and shifts that created póleōs.






          share|improve this answer
























          • You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

            – Joonas Ilmavirta
            8 hours ago
















          6














          For what it's worth, I think this was simply a mistake.



          Greek nouns ending in -is are generally third-declension i-stems, like póli-s. In Attic, these nouns tend to show an -i- in some forms and an -ei- in others, with no particular logic that I've ever learned; quantitative metathesis and contraction then make the forms even less predictable. The genitive singular of póli-s, for example, shifted from *póli-os to *poléi-os to póle-ōs.



          Since these forms are so unpredictable, they have to be memorized rather than derived; I imagine Greek-speakers just learned that -is went to -eōs in the genitive, as a special rule, treating pól- as the stem and -eōs as the ending.



          This writer seems to have then brought it into Latin as a sort of hypercorrection: axis is a native Latin word that never came through Greek (the Greek cognate is áxōn, with a regular genitive áxon-os), and Latin never had the vowel alternations and shifts that created póleōs.






          share|improve this answer
























          • You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

            – Joonas Ilmavirta
            8 hours ago














          6












          6








          6







          For what it's worth, I think this was simply a mistake.



          Greek nouns ending in -is are generally third-declension i-stems, like póli-s. In Attic, these nouns tend to show an -i- in some forms and an -ei- in others, with no particular logic that I've ever learned; quantitative metathesis and contraction then make the forms even less predictable. The genitive singular of póli-s, for example, shifted from *póli-os to *poléi-os to póle-ōs.



          Since these forms are so unpredictable, they have to be memorized rather than derived; I imagine Greek-speakers just learned that -is went to -eōs in the genitive, as a special rule, treating pól- as the stem and -eōs as the ending.



          This writer seems to have then brought it into Latin as a sort of hypercorrection: axis is a native Latin word that never came through Greek (the Greek cognate is áxōn, with a regular genitive áxon-os), and Latin never had the vowel alternations and shifts that created póleōs.






          share|improve this answer













          For what it's worth, I think this was simply a mistake.



          Greek nouns ending in -is are generally third-declension i-stems, like póli-s. In Attic, these nouns tend to show an -i- in some forms and an -ei- in others, with no particular logic that I've ever learned; quantitative metathesis and contraction then make the forms even less predictable. The genitive singular of póli-s, for example, shifted from *póli-os to *poléi-os to póle-ōs.



          Since these forms are so unpredictable, they have to be memorized rather than derived; I imagine Greek-speakers just learned that -is went to -eōs in the genitive, as a special rule, treating pól- as the stem and -eōs as the ending.



          This writer seems to have then brought it into Latin as a sort of hypercorrection: axis is a native Latin word that never came through Greek (the Greek cognate is áxōn, with a regular genitive áxon-os), and Latin never had the vowel alternations and shifts that created póleōs.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered yesterday









          DraconisDraconis

          16.6k22172




          16.6k22172













          • You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

            – Joonas Ilmavirta
            8 hours ago



















          • You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

            – Joonas Ilmavirta
            8 hours ago

















          You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

          – Joonas Ilmavirta
          8 hours ago





          You have convinced me that it is most likely hypercorrection. Now I just wonder how common it is.

          – Joonas Ilmavirta
          8 hours ago


















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