Ablatival use of genitive

The genitive most commonly limits the meaning of substantives, adjectives, and adverbs, less commonly that of verbs.

Since the genitive has absorbed the ablative it includes (1) the genitive proper, denoting the class to which a person or thing belongs, and (2) the ablatival genitive.

a. The name genitive is derived from casus genitivus, the case of origin, the inadequate Latin translation of γενικὴ πτῶσις case denoting the class.

The genitive is used with verbs of beginning.

a. Partitive: ἔφη Κῦρον ἄρχειν τοῦ λόγου ὧδε he said that Cyrus began the discussion as follows X. A. 1.6.5, τοῦ λόγου ἤρχετο ὧδε he began his speech as follows 3. 2. 7. On ἄρχειν as distinguished from ἄρχεσθαι see 1734. 5.

b. Ablatival (1391) denoting the point of departure: σέο δ᾽ ἄρξομαι I will make a beginning with thee I 97. In this sense ἀπό or ἐξ is usually added: ἀρξάμενοι ἀπὸ σοῦ D. 18.297, ἄρξομαι ἀπὸ τῆς ῑ̓ᾱτρικῆς λέγων I will make a beginning by speaking of medicine P. S. 186b.

The genitive of the thing obtained may be joined with an ablatival genitive (1410) of the person: οὗ δὲ δὴ πάντων οἰόμεθα τεύξεσθαι ἐπαίνου in a case where we expect to win praise from all men X. A. 5.7.33. But where the thing obtained is expressed by a neuter pronoun, the accusative is employed.

It is uncertain whether verbs signifying to miss take a partitive or an ablatival genitive: οὐδεὶς ἡμάρτανεν ἀνδρός no one missed his man X. A. 3.4.15, σφαλέντες τῆς δόξης disappointed in expectations T. 4.85.