Indeclinable

Gender of Sexless Objects.—The gender of most nouns denoting sexless objects has to be learned by the endings (211, 228, 255) and by observation. The following general rules should be noted.

a. Masculine are the names of winds, months, and most rivers. Thus, ὁ Βορέᾱς the North Wind, ὁ Ἑκατομβαιών Hecatombaeon, ὁ Κηφισσός Cephissus.

N.—The gender of these proper names is made to correspond to ὁ ἄνεμος wind, ὁ μήν month, ὁ ποταμός river. In the case of winds and rivers the gender may be due in part to personification.

b. Feminine are the names of almost all countries, islands, cities, trees, and plants. Thus, ἡ Ἀττική Attica, ἡ Δῆλος Delos, ἡ Κόρινθος Corinth, ἡ πίτυς pine, ἡ ἄμπελος vine. The gender here follows that of ἡ γῆ or ἡ χώρᾱ land, country, ἡ νῆσος island, ἡ πόλις city, ἡ δρῦς, originally tree in general, but later oak (τὸ δένδρον is the ordinary word for tree).

c. Feminine are most abstract words, that is, words denoting a quality or a condition. Thus, ἡ ἀρετή virtue, ἡ εὔνοια good-will, ἡ ταχύτης swiftness, ἡ ἐλπίς hope.

d. Neuter are diminutives (197 b), words and expressions quoted, letters of the alphabet, infinitives, and indeclinable nouns. Thus, τὸ ῡ̔μεῖς the word ‘you,’ τὸ γνῶθι σεαυτόν the saying ‘learn to know thyself,’ τὸ ἄλφα alpha, τὸ παιδεύειν to educate, τὸ χρεών necessity.

N.—But some names of women end in -ιον (197 b): ἡ Γλυκέριον Glycerium.

Indeclinables are substantives having one form for all cases: τὸ χρεών, τοῦ χρεών, etc. fatality, τὸ ἄλφα alpha, τὸ λέγειν to speak, most cardinal numbers (τὸ δέκα ten), several foreign words, as Ἰακώβ Jacob, Δαβίδ David.

Δεῖνα.—The indefinite pronoun δεῖνα, always used with the article, means such a one. It is declined thus: sing. ὁ, ἡ, τὸ δεῖνα; τοῦ, τῆς, τοῦ δεῖνος; τῷ, τῇ, τῷ δεῖνι; τὸν, τὴν, τὸ δεῖνα; plur. (masc.) οἱ δεῖνες, τῶν δείνων, τοὺς δεῖνας. Example: ὁ δεῖνα τοῦ δεῖνος τὸν δεῖνα εἰσήγγειλεν such a one son of such a one impeached such a one [D.] 13. 5. δεῖνα is rarely indeclinable. Its use is colloquial and it occurs (in poetry) only in comedy.

The numeral adjectives and corresponding adverbs are as follows:

N.—Above 10,000: δύο μῡριάδες 20,000, etc., μῡριάκις μῡ́ριοι, i.e. 10,000 x 10,000.

The cardinals from 1 to 4 are declined as follows:

a. εἷς is for ἑν-ς (cp. 245). The stem ἑν was originally σεμ (Lat. semel, simplex, singuli), weak forms of which are ἅ-παξ, ἁ-πλοῦς, from σμ-π- (35 b). μία stands for σμ-ια.

b. οὐδὲ εἷς, μηδὲ εἷς not even one unite (with change in accent) to form the compounds οὐδείς, μηδείς no one. These words are declined like εἷς: thus, οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν, οὐδενός, οὐδεμιᾶς, οὐδενός, etc., and sometimes in the plural (no men, none or nobodies) οὐδένες, οὐδένων, οὐδέσι, οὐδένας. For emphasis the compounds may be divided, as οὐδὲ εἷς not ONE. A preposition or ἄν may separate the two parts, as οὐδ᾽ ἀπὸ μιᾶς from not a single one, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἑνί ne uni quidem.

c. πρῶτος (primus) means the first among more than two, πρότερος (prior) the first of two.

d. δύο may be used with the gen. and dat. pl., as δύο μνηνῶν of two months. δὺοῖν occurs rarely with plurals: παισὶν . . . δυοῖν D. 39.32. δυεῖν for δυοῖν does not appear till about 300 B.C.

e. ἄμφω both, N. A. ἄμφω, G. D. ἀμφοῖν (Lat. ambo). But both is more commonly ἀμφότεροι, -αι, -α.

f. For τέτταρες, -ράκοντα, etc., early Attic prose and tragedy have τέσσαρες, etc.

g. The first numeral is inflected in τρεῖς καὶ δέκα 13, τέτταρες καὶ δέκα 14 τρεισκαίδεκα and Ionic τεσσερεσκαίδεκα (very rare in Attic) are indeclinable.

The cardinals from 5 to 199 are indeclinable; from 200 the cardinals, and all the ordinals from first on, are declined like ἀγαθός.

a. Compound numbers above 20 are expressed by placing the smaller number first (with καί) or the larger number first (with or without καί).

b. For 21st, 31st, etc., εἷς (for πρῶτος) καὶ εἰκοστός (τριᾱκοστός) is permissible, but otherwise the cardinal is rarely thus joined with the ordinal.

c. Compounds of 10, 20, etc., with 8 and 9 are usually expressed by subtraction with the participle of δέω lack, as 18, 19, δυοῖν (ἑνὸς) δέοντες εἴκοσι. So ναυσὶ μιᾶς δεούσαις τεττάρακοντα with 39 ships, δυοῖν δέοντα πεντήκοντα ἔτη 48 years; and with ordinals ἑνὸς δέον εἰκοστὸν ἔτος the 19th year. The same method may be employed in other numbers than 8's or 9's: ἑπτὰ ἀποδέοντες τριᾱκόσιοι, i.e. 293.

d. An ordinal followed by ἐπὶ δέκα denotes the day of the month from the 13th to the 19th, as πέμπτῃ ἐπὶ δέκα on the 15th.

χρή it is necessary is really an indeclinable substantive meaning necessity with the verb understood. In the present indicative ἐστί is to be supplied. Elsewhere χρή unites with the form of the verb to be supplied; as subj. χρῇ (χρὴ + ᾖ), opt. χρείη (χρὴ + εἴη), inf. χρῆναι (χρὴ + εἶναι), part. indeclinable χρεών (χρὴ + ὄν); imperf. χρῆν (χρὴ + ἦν), and less commonly ἐχρῆν with an augment because the composite character of χρῆν was forgotten, fut. χρῆσται (χρὴ + ἔσται).

a. ἀπόχρη it suffices has pl. ἀποχρῶσι, part. ἀποχρῶν, -χρῶσα, -χρῶν, imperf. ἀπέχρη, fut. ἀποχρήσει, aor. ἀπέχρησε.