the letters of the alphabet

nŏta, ae, f. [nosco], a mark, sign, note (cf.: signum, insigne, indicium): nota alias significat signum; ut in pecoribus, tabulis, libris, litterae singulae aut binae, alias ignominiam, Paul. ex Fest. p. 174 Müll. (v. in the foll.).

Lit.

In gen.:

reliquis epistulis notam apponam eam, quae mihi tecum convenit,

Cic. Fam. 13, 6, a, 2:

si signa et notas ostenderem locorum,

id. de Or. 2, 41, 174; Liv. 37, 31:

sive puer furens Impressit memorem dente labris notam,

Hor. C. 1, 13, 11:

caeruleae cui (angui) notae,

Verg. A. 5, 87.—

In partic.

Notae litterarum, marks or characters in writing, letters:

qui sonos vocis, qui infiniti videbantur, paucis litterarum notis terminavit,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 25, 62:

sortes in robore insculptae priscarum litterarum notis,

id. Div. 2, 41, 85.—So without litterarum:

quosque legat versus oculo properante viator, Grandibus in tituli marmore caede notis,

Ov. Tr. 3, 3, 72:

foliisque notas et nomina mandat,

Verg. A. 3, 444: C nota praenominis, cum sola Gaium notat;

item numeri cum centum significat,

Diom. 418 P.—

Transf., notae, a letter, epistle, writing ( poet.):

inspicit acceptas hostis ab hoste notas,

Ov. H. 4, 6; 20, 207; id. M. 6, 577:

incisa notis marmora publicis,

Hor. C. 4, 8, 13.—

Secret characters, secret writing, cipher:

in quibus (epistulis), si qua occultius perferenda essent, per notas scripsit,

Suet. Caes. 56; id. Aug. 88; Cic. Mur. 11, 25; cf. Gell. 17, 9; Isid. Orig. 1, 25.—

Short-hand characters, stenographic signs, used instead of the letters of the alphabet:

apud veteres cum usus notarum nullus esset, propter perscribendi difficultatem... quaedam verba atque nomina ex communi sensu primis litteris notabant, et singulae litterae quid significarent, in promptu erat,

Val. Prob. de Jur. Not. Signif. 1:

quid verborum notas, quibus quamvis citata excipitur oratio et celeritatem linguae manus sequitur?

Sen. Ep. 90, 25; Suet. Tit. 3:

notis scriptae tabulae non continentur edicto, quia notas litteras non esse Pedius scripsit,

Dig. 37, 1, 6; ib. 50, 13, 1, § 7: verba notis brevibus comprendere cuncta peritus, Raptimque punctis dicta praepetibus sequi, Prud. steph. 9, 23.—

Memoranda, notes, brief extracts:

idem (Aristoteles) locos, quasi argumentorum notas, tradidit,

Cic. Or. 14, 46.—

A note in music:

notis musicis cantica excipere,

Quint. 1, 12, 14. —

A critical mark, made on the margin of a book in reading, to point out particular passages:

notam apponere ad malum versum,

Cic. Pis. 30, 73:

mittam tibi libros, et imponam notas, ut ad ea ipsa protinus, quae probo et miror accedas,

Sen. Ep. 6, 4; cf. Isid. Orig. 1, 21; Varr. R. R. 1, 59, 2.— Hence,

Transf., a critical remark, a note, on a writing:

ex notā Marcelli constat, etc.,

Dig. 49, 17, 10; Cod. Th. 1, 4, 1.—

A mark on a wine-cask, to denote the quality of the wine:

nota Falerni,

Hor. C. 2, 3, 8; id. S. 1, 10, 24.—Hence,

Transf., a sort, kind, quality:

eae notae sunt optimae,

i. e. wines of those brands, Cic. Brut. 83, 287:

ex hac notā corporum est aër,

Sen. Q. N. 2, 2, 4:

secundae notae mel,

Col. 9, 15, 3:

eum ex hac notā litteratorum esse,

Petr. 83: de meliore notā, Cur. ap. Cic. Fam. 7, 29, 1:

quaedam beneficia non sunt ex hac vulgari notā, sed majora,

Sen. Ben. 3, 9, 1.—

A distinguishing mark. distinctive feature:

cujusque generis dicendi nota,

Cic. Or. 23, 75; Phaedr. 4, 22, 22.—

A nod, beck, sign:

innuet: acceptas tu quoque redde notas,

Ov. A. A. 3, 514; id. M. 11, 466. —

A brand on the body of a bad slave:

multos honesti ordinis, deformatos prius stigmatum notis, ad metalla condemnavit,

Suet. Calig. 27.—Also of tattoo-marks:

barbarus compunctus notis Thraciis,

Cic. Off. 2, 7, 25:

interstincti corpora... fucatis et densioribus notis,

Amm. 31, 2, 14.—

A mark, spot, mole on the body (syn.:

naevus, macula): corpore traditur maculoso dispersis per pectus atque alvum genetivis notis,

Suet. Aug. 80; Hor. C. 4, 2, 59.—

A stamp impression on a coin:

nummos omnis notae,

Suet. Aug. 75; 94; id. Ner. 25.—

Trop.

In gen., a mark, sign, token:

notae ac vestigia suorum flagitiorum,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 47, § 115:

quam scite per notas nos certiores facit Juppiter,

id. Div. 2, 21, 47:

mihi quoque impendere idem exitium, certis quibusdam notis augurabar,

Plin. Ep. 3, 11, 3:

nomina et notae morti destinatorum,

Suet. Calig. 49:

pro re publicā cicatrices ac notas virtutis accipere,

Cic. Rab. Perd. 13, 36: interspirationis enim, non defatigationis nostrae neque librariorum notae, signs of punctuation marks, Cic. de Or. 3, 44, 173.—

In partic.

A characteristic quality, character:

patefacta interiore notā animi sui,

Suet. Tib. 54.—

Nota censoria, or simply nota, the mark or note which the censors affixed in their lists of citizens to the name of any one whom they censured for immorality or want of patriotism:

censoriae severitatis nota,

Cic. Clu. 46, 129:

patrum memoriā institutum fertur, ut censores motis e senatu adscriberent notas,

Liv. 39, 42, 6 sq.:

duo milia nominum in aerarios relata, tribuque omnes moti, additumque tam acri censoriae notae triste senatus consultum, ut, etc.,

id. 24, 18, 9 Weissenb.:

censores senatum sine ullius notā legerunt,

not excluding any one, id. 32, 7, 3:

censores eo anno... de senatu novem ejecerunt. Insignes notae fuerunt Maluginensis et Scipionis et, etc.,

id. 41, 27, 1 sq.:

notae jam destinatae exemptus est,

Gell. 4, 20, 8; v. Dict. of Antiq. p. 664 sq.—Hence,

Transf., a mark of ignominy or infamy, a reproach, disgrace: quem scis scire tuas omnes maculasque notasque, Lucil. ap. Non. 354, 21:

quae nota domesticae turpitudinis non inusta vitae tuae est?

Cic. Cat. 1, 6, 13:

Gabinii litteras insigni quādam notā atque ignominiā novā condemnāstis,

id. Prov. Cons. 10, 25:

o turpem notam temporum illorum,

id. Off. 3, 18, 74:

homo omnibus notis turpitudinis insignis,

id. Rab. Perd. 9, 24:

nota ignominiaque Philippi,

Liv. 21, 44, 7:

sempiternas foedissimae turpitudinis notas subire,

Cic. Pis. 18, 41:

notā laborare,

Dig. 3, 2, 2.

nĭgellus, a, um, adj. dim. [1. niger], somewhat black, dark (ante-class.): oculi suppaetuli nigellis pupulis, Varr. ap. Non. 456, 8:

amiculum,

id. ib. 550, 6:

vina,

Pall. 3, 25, 12:

Cadmi nigellae filiae,

i. e. the letters of the alphabet, Aus. Ep. 4, 74.

Nĭgellus, i, m., a Roman surname, Inscr. Grut. 226, 8.—In fem.: ‡ Nĭgella, Inscr. Fabr. p. 4, n. 20.

nĭgellus, a, um, adj. dim. [1. niger], somewhat black, dark (ante-class.): oculi suppaetuli nigellis pupulis, Varr. ap. Non. 456, 8:

amiculum,

id. ib. 550, 6:

vina,

Pall. 3, 25, 12:

Cadmi nigellae filiae,

i. e. the letters of the alphabet, Aus. Ep. 4, 74.

Nĭgellus, i, m., a Roman surname, Inscr. Grut. 226, 8.—In fem.: ‡ Nĭgella, Inscr. Fabr. p. 4, n. 20.

nĭgellus, a, um, adj. dim. [1. niger], somewhat black, dark (ante-class.): oculi suppaetuli nigellis pupulis, Varr. ap. Non. 456, 8:

amiculum,

id. ib. 550, 6:

vina,

Pall. 3, 25, 12:

Cadmi nigellae filiae,

i. e. the letters of the alphabet, Aus. Ep. 4, 74.

Nĭgellus, i, m., a Roman surname, Inscr. Grut. 226, 8.—In fem.: ‡ Nĭgella, Inscr. Fabr. p. 4, n. 20.

A, a, indecl. n. (sometimes joined with littera), the first letter of the Latin alphabet, corresponding to the a, a of the other Indo-. European languages:

A primum est: hinc incipiam, et quae nomina ab hoc sunt, Lucil. ap. Terent. Scaur. p. 2255 P.: sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,

Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:

ne in A quidem atque S litteras exire temere masculina Graeca nomina recto casu patiebantur,

Quint. 1, 5, 61.

The sound of the A is short or long in every part of the word; as, ăb, păter, ită; ā, māter, frustrā. During a short period (between about 620 and 670 A. U. C. = from 134 to 84 B.C.) long a was written aa, probably first by the poet L. Attius, in the manner of the Oscan language; so we find in Latin inscriptions: AA. CETEREIS (i.e.a ceteris), CALAASI, FAATO, HAACE, MAARCIVM, PAAPVS, PAASTORES, VAARVS; and in Greek writing, MAAPKOPs PsIOS MAAPKEAAOS, KOINTON MAAPKION (like Osc. aasas = Lat. āra, Osc. Paapi = Lat. Pāpius, Osc. Paakul = Lat. Pāculus, Pācullus, Pācuvius, etc.), v. Ritschl, Monum. Epigr. p. 28 sq., and cf. Mommsen, Unterital. Dialekte, p. 210 sq. (The Umbrian language has gone a step farther, and written long a by aha, as Aharna, Naharcom, trahaf, etc.; cf. Aufrecht and Kirchhoff, Umbrische Sprachdenkm. p. 76 sq.) Vid. also the letters E and U.

In etymological and grammatical formation of words, short a very often (sometimes also long a) is changed into other vowels.

Short a is changed,

, into long a —

In consequence of the suppression of the following consonants at the end or in the middle of the word: ŭb, ā; vădis, vūs; ăg-, ăg-men, exāmen; tăg-, contūmino; căd-, cāsus. Hence also in the abl. sing. of the first decl., and in the particles derived from it. in consequence of the suppression of the original ablat. end. - d: PRAEDAD (Col. Rostr.), praedā; SENTENTIAD (S. C. de Bacch.), sententiā; EXTBAD (ib.), extrā; SVPRAD (ib.), suprā. —Hence,

In perfect forms: scăb-o, scābi; căveo, cūvi; făv-eo, fāvi; păv-eo, pāvi (for scăbui, căvui, făvui, păvui).

In other forms: ăgo, ambūges; păc-, păc-iscor, pâcis (pâx); săg-ax, sūgus, sāga; măc-er, mâcero; făg- (phagein), fūgus. (Contrary to analogy, ă remains short in dănunt, from dă-in-unt, V. Ritschl, l.l.p. 17.)

Short a is changed into é or ē—

Into é.

Most frequently in the second part of compounds, particularly before two consonants: facio, confectus; jacio, conjectus; rapio, dereptus; dăm-, damno, condemno; fāl-, fallo, fefelli; măn-, mando, commendo; scando, ascendo; ăp-, aptus, ineptus; ăr-, ars, iners, sollers; ăn-, annus, perennis; căpio, auceps; căput, triceps; ăgo, remex; jăcio, objex. And thus in Plautus, according to the best MSS., dispenno, dispessus from pando, compectus from compăciscor, anteceptus from capio (on the other hand, in Vergil, according to the best MS., aspurgo, attractare, deiractare, kept their a unchanged).

Sometimes ă is changed into ĕ also before one consonant (but in this case it is usually changed into ĭ; v. infra, 3. a. a.): grădior, ingrĕdior; pătior, perpĕtior; părio, repĕrio; păro, vitupĕro; ăp-, coepi (i. e. co-ŭpi); căno, tubicĕn, tibicĕn; in the reduplicated carcĕr (from carcar) farfŏrus (written also farfārus); and so, according to the better MSS., aequipĕro from păro, and defĕtigo from fătigo.

In words taken from the Greek: talanton, talŏntum; phalara, phalŏrae; sisaron, sisŏr (but, according to the best MSS., cumŭra from kamara, not camŏra).

Short a is changed to ē in some perfect forms: ăgo, ēgi; fūcio, féci; jăci, jĕci; frag-, frango, frēgi; căpio, cēpi, and păg-, pango, pēgi (together with pepĭgi and panxi, v. pango).

Short a is changed to ĭ, a (most frequently in the second part of compounds)

before one consonant: ăgo, abĭgo; făcio, confĭcio; cădo, concĭdo; sălio, assĭlio; răpio, abrĭpio; păter, Juppĭter (in Umbrian lang. unchanged, Jupater), Marspĭter; Diespĭter, Opĭter; rătus, irrĭtus; ămicus, inìmicus (but ŭ remains unchanged in adŭmo, impătiens, and in some compounds of a later period of Roman literature, as praejacio, calefacio, etc.). —

Sometimes also before two consonants (where it is usually changed into ĕ; v. supra, 2. a. b.): tăg-, tango, contingo; păg-, pango, compingo (unchanged in some compounds, as peragro, desacro, depango, obcanto, etc.).

ă is changed into ĭ in the reduplicated perfect forms: cădo, cecĭdi; căno, cecĭni; tăg-, tango, tetĭgi; păg-, pango, pepĭgi.

Likewise in some roots which have ă: păg-, pignus; străg- (strangulo, strangô), stringo.

In words taken from the Greek: mêchanê, machĭna; patanê, patĭna; bukanê, bucĭna; trutanê, trutĭna; balaneion, balĭneum; Katana, Catĭna (written also Catana); Akragas, Agrĭgentum.

Short a is changed into short or long o.

Into ŏ: scăbo, scobs; păr, pars, portio; dăm-, dŏmo; Fabii, Fŏvii (v. Paul. ex Fest. p. 87); marmaron, marmŏr; Mars, redupl. Marmar, Marmor (Carm. Fratr. Arv.).

Into ō: dă-, dōnum, dōs; ăc-, ăcuo, ōcior (v. this art.).

Short a is changed into ŭ —

In the second part of compounds, particularly before l, p, and b: calco, inculco; salsus, insulsus; salto, exsulto; capio, occŭpo; răpio, surrupio and surruptus (also written surripio and surreptus); tăberna, contŭbernium; —before other consonants: quătio, conoŭtio; as, decussis; Mars, Mamŭrius, Mamŭralia; and once also condumnari (Tab. Bant. lin. 8, immediately followed by condemnatus, v. Klenze, Philol. Abhandl. tab. I., and Mommsen, Unterital. Dial. p. 149).

In words of Greek origin: Hekabê, Hecŭba; skutalê, scutŭla; kraipalê, crapŭla; passalos, pessŭlus; aphlaston, aplustre; thriambos, triumphus.

ă is perhaps changed into ŭ in ulciscor, compared with alc-, ulexô (arc-, arceo).

Long a is sometimes changed into ē or ō.

Into é: hālo, anhélo; fās-, féstus, profēstus; nām, némpe.

Into ō: gnā-, gnārus, ignārus, ignōro. (But in general long a remains unchanged in composition: lābor, delūbor; gnàvus, ignūnus; fàma, infūmis.)

Contrary to the mode of changing Greek a into Latin e, i, o, u (v. supra), Latin a has sometimes taken the place of other Greek vowels in words borrowed from the Greek, as: lonchê, lancea; kulix, călix; Ganumêoês, Caiāmitus.

The repugnance of the Latin Language to the Greek combined vowels ao has caused the translocation of them in Alumento for Daomeoôn (Paul. ex Fest. p. 18 Müll.).— Greek a is suppressed in Hercules from Hêraklês (probably in consequence of the inserted u; in late Latin we find Heracla and Heracula, cf. Ritschl, in Rhein. Mus. Neue Folge, vol. 12, p. 108).

Latin ă was early combined with the vowels i and u, forming the diphthongs ai and au; by changing the i into e, the diphthong ai soon became ae. So we find in the oldest inscriptions: AIDE, AIDLLIS, AIQVOM, GNAIVOD, HAICE, DVELONAI, TABELAI, DATAI, etc., which soon gave place to aedem, aedilis, aequom, Gnaeo, haec, Bellonae, tabellae, datae, etc. (the Col. Rostr. has PRAESENTE, PRAEDAD, and the S. C. de Bacch. AEDEM. The triphthong aei, found in CONQVAEISIVEI (?), is very rare; Miliar. Popil. lin. 11, v. Ritschl, l. l. p. 21). In some poets the old gen. sing. of the first decl. (- ai) is preserved, but is dissyllabic, āī. So in Ennius: Albūī Longūī, terrūī frugiferāī, frondosāī, lunāī, viāī; in Vergil: aulāī, aurāī, aquāī, pictāī; in Ausonius: herāī.

ue as well as au are changed into other vowels.

The sound of ae, e, and oe being very similar, these vowels are often interchanged in the best MSS., So we find caerimonia and cerimonia, caepa and cēpa, saeoulum and séculum; scaena and scēna; caelum and coelum, haedus and hoedus, macstus and moestus; cena, coena, and caena, etc.

In composition and reduplications ae becomes í: aequus, iníquus; quaero, inquíro; laedo, illído; taedet, pertisum (noticed by Cic.); aestumo, exístumo; cuedo, cecídi, concído, homicida.

ae is also changed into í in a Latinized word of Greek origin: Achaios (AchaiWos), Achíous.

The diphthong au is often changed to ó and ú (the latter particularly in compounds): caudex, códex; Claudius, Clodius; lautus, lotus; plaustrum, plōstrum; plaudo, plōdo, explōdo; paululum, pōlulum; faux, suffōco; si audes (acc. to Cic. or acc. to others, si audies), sódes, etc.; claudo, inclūdo; causa, accūso. Hence in some words a regular gradation of au, o, u is found: claudo, clōdicare, clúdo; raudus, ródus, rúdus; caupo, cópa, cūpa; naugae, nōgae (both forms in the MSS. of Plautus), nūgae; fraustra, frode, frude (in MSS. of Vergil); cf. Ritschl, in Wintercatalog 1854-55, and O. Ribbeck, in Jahn's Neue Jahrb. vol. 77, p. 181 sq.—The change of au into oē and ō appears only in audio, (oboedio) obēdio.

Au sometimes takes the place of av-: faveo, fautum, favitor, fautor; navis, navita, nauta; avis, auceps, auspex. So Latin aut corresponds to Sanscr. avo. (whence - vā, Lat. - ve), Osc. avti, Umbr. ute, ote; and so the Lat. preposition ab, through av, becomes au in the words aufero and aufugio (prop. av-fero, av-fugio, for ab-fero, ab-fugio). Vid. the art. ab init.

In primitive roots, which have their kindred forms in the sister-languages of the Latin, the original a, still found in the Sanscrit, is in Latin either preserved or more frequently changed into other vowels.

Original a preserved: Sanscr. mātri, Lat. màter; S. bhrātri, L. fràter; S. nāsā, L. nàsus and nàris; S. ap, L. aqua; S. apa, L. ab; S. nāma, L. năm; S. ćatur, [p. 2] L. quattuor (in Greek changed: thettares); S. capūla, L. căput (in Greek changed: kephalê, etc.).

Original a is changed into other Latin vowels—

Into e: S. ad, L. ed (ĕdo); S. as, L. es (esse); S. pat, L. pet (peto); S. pād, L. pĕd (pès); S. dant, L. dent (dens); S. ǵan, L. gen (gigno); S. mā, L. mè-tior; S. saptan, L. septem; S. daśan, L. decem; S. śata, L. centum; S. aham, L. ŏgo; S. pāra, L. per; S. paśu, L. pŏcus; S. asva, L. ŏquus, etc.

Into i: S. an-, a- (neg. part.), L. in-: S. ana (prep.), L. in; S. antar, L. inter; S. sama, L. similis; S. agni, L. ignis; S. abhra, L. imber; S. panéa, L. quinque, etc.

Into o: S. avi, L. ŏvi (ovis); S. vać, L. vōc (voco); S. pra, L. pro; S. pā, L. po (pŏtum); S. nāma, L. nōmen; S. api, L. ŏb; S. navan, L. nŏvem; S. nava, L. nŏvus, etc.

Into u: S. marmara, L. murmur.

Into ai, ae: S. prati, L. (prai) prae; S. śaśpa, L. caespes.

Into different vowels in the different derivatives: S. mā, L. mê-tior, mŏdus; S. praó, L. prŏcor, prŏcus; S. vah, L. vĕho, via.

Sometimes the Latin has preserved the original a, while even the Sanscrit has changed it: Lat. pa-, pater, Sanscr. pd, pitri.

As an abbreviation A. usually denotes the praenomen Aulus; A. A. = Auli duo, Inscr. Orell. 1530 (but A. A. = Aquae Aponi, the modern Abano, ib. 1643 sq.; 2620; 3011). The three directors of the mint were designated by III. VIRI A. A. A. F. F. (i. e. auro, argento, aeri flando, feriundo), ib. 569; 2242; 2379; 3134 al.;

so also A. A. A.,

ib. 3441 (cf. Cic. Fam. 7, 13 fin., and v. the art. Triumviri); A. D. A. agris dandis adsignandis, and A. I. A. agris judicandis adsignandis; A. O. amico optimo; A. P. a populo or aediliciae potestatis; A. P. R. aerario populi Romani. —Upon the voting tablets in judicial trials A. denoted absoluo; hence A. is called littera salutaris, Cic. Mil. 6, 15; v. littera. In the Roman Comitia A. (= antiquo) denoted the rejection of the point in question; v. antiquo. In Cicero's Tusculan Disputations the A. designated one of the disputants = adulescens or auditor, opp. to M. for magister or Marcus (Cicero); but it is to be remarked that the letters A and M do not occur in the best MSS. of this treatise; cf. edd. ad Cic. Tusc. 1, 5, 9.—In dates A. D. = ante diem; v. ante; A. U. C. = anno urbis conditae; A. P. R. C. anno post Romam conditam.

a, prep.=ab, v. ab.

ā, interj.=ah, v. ah.

A, a, indecl. n. (sometimes joined with littera), the first letter of the Latin alphabet, corresponding to the a, a of the other Indo-. European languages:

A primum est: hinc incipiam, et quae nomina ab hoc sunt, Lucil. ap. Terent. Scaur. p. 2255 P.: sus rostro si humi A litteram impresserit,

Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23:

ne in A quidem atque S litteras exire temere masculina Graeca nomina recto casu patiebantur,

Quint. 1, 5, 61.

The sound of the A is short or long in every part of the word; as, ăb, păter, ită; ā, māter, frustrā. During a short period (between about 620 and 670 A. U. C. = from 134 to 84 B.C.) long a was written aa, probably first by the poet L. Attius, in the manner of the Oscan language; so we find in Latin inscriptions: AA. CETEREIS (i.e.a ceteris), CALAASI, FAATO, HAACE, MAARCIVM, PAAPVS, PAASTORES, VAARVS; and in Greek writing, MAAPKOPs PsIOS MAAPKEAAOS, KOINTON MAAPKION (like Osc. aasas = Lat. āra, Osc. Paapi = Lat. Pāpius, Osc. Paakul = Lat. Pāculus, Pācullus, Pācuvius, etc.), v. Ritschl, Monum. Epigr. p. 28 sq., and cf. Mommsen, Unterital. Dialekte, p. 210 sq. (The Umbrian language has gone a step farther, and written long a by aha, as Aharna, Naharcom, trahaf, etc.; cf. Aufrecht and Kirchhoff, Umbrische Sprachdenkm. p. 76 sq.) Vid. also the letters E and U.

In etymological and grammatical formation of words, short a very often (sometimes also long a) is changed into other vowels.

Short a is changed,

, into long a —

In consequence of the suppression of the following consonants at the end or in the middle of the word: ŭb, ā; vădis, vūs; ăg-, ăg-men, exāmen; tăg-, contūmino; căd-, cāsus. Hence also in the abl. sing. of the first decl., and in the particles derived from it. in consequence of the suppression of the original ablat. end. - d: PRAEDAD (Col. Rostr.), praedā; SENTENTIAD (S. C. de Bacch.), sententiā; EXTBAD (ib.), extrā; SVPRAD (ib.), suprā. —Hence,

In perfect forms: scăb-o, scābi; căveo, cūvi; făv-eo, fāvi; păv-eo, pāvi (for scăbui, căvui, făvui, păvui).

In other forms: ăgo, ambūges; păc-, păc-iscor, pâcis (pâx); săg-ax, sūgus, sāga; măc-er, mâcero; făg- (phagein), fūgus. (Contrary to analogy, ă remains short in dănunt, from dă-in-unt, V. Ritschl, l.l.p. 17.)

Short a is changed into é or ē—

Into é.

Most frequently in the second part of compounds, particularly before two consonants: facio, confectus; jacio, conjectus; rapio, dereptus; dăm-, damno, condemno; fāl-, fallo, fefelli; măn-, mando, commendo; scando, ascendo; ăp-, aptus, ineptus; ăr-, ars, iners, sollers; ăn-, annus, perennis; căpio, auceps; căput, triceps; ăgo, remex; jăcio, objex. And thus in Plautus, according to the best MSS., dispenno, dispessus from pando, compectus from compăciscor, anteceptus from capio (on the other hand, in Vergil, according to the best MS., aspurgo, attractare, deiractare, kept their a unchanged).

Sometimes ă is changed into ĕ also before one consonant (but in this case it is usually changed into ĭ; v. infra, 3. a. a.): grădior, ingrĕdior; pătior, perpĕtior; părio, repĕrio; păro, vitupĕro; ăp-, coepi (i. e. co-ŭpi); căno, tubicĕn, tibicĕn; in the reduplicated carcĕr (from carcar) farfŏrus (written also farfārus); and so, according to the better MSS., aequipĕro from păro, and defĕtigo from fătigo.

In words taken from the Greek: talanton, talŏntum; phalara, phalŏrae; sisaron, sisŏr (but, according to the best MSS., cumŭra from kamara, not camŏra).

Short a is changed to ē in some perfect forms: ăgo, ēgi; fūcio, féci; jăci, jĕci; frag-, frango, frēgi; căpio, cēpi, and păg-, pango, pēgi (together with pepĭgi and panxi, v. pango).

Short a is changed to ĭ, a (most frequently in the second part of compounds)

before one consonant: ăgo, abĭgo; făcio, confĭcio; cădo, concĭdo; sălio, assĭlio; răpio, abrĭpio; păter, Juppĭter (in Umbrian lang. unchanged, Jupater), Marspĭter; Diespĭter, Opĭter; rătus, irrĭtus; ămicus, inìmicus (but ŭ remains unchanged in adŭmo, impătiens, and in some compounds of a later period of Roman literature, as praejacio, calefacio, etc.). —

Sometimes also before two consonants (where it is usually changed into ĕ; v. supra, 2. a. b.): tăg-, tango, contingo; păg-, pango, compingo (unchanged in some compounds, as peragro, desacro, depango, obcanto, etc.).

ă is changed into ĭ in the reduplicated perfect forms: cădo, cecĭdi; căno, cecĭni; tăg-, tango, tetĭgi; păg-, pango, pepĭgi.

Likewise in some roots which have ă: păg-, pignus; străg- (strangulo, strangô), stringo.

In words taken from the Greek: mêchanê, machĭna; patanê, patĭna; bukanê, bucĭna; trutanê, trutĭna; balaneion, balĭneum; Katana, Catĭna (written also Catana); Akragas, Agrĭgentum.

Short a is changed into short or long o.

Into ŏ: scăbo, scobs; păr, pars, portio; dăm-, dŏmo; Fabii, Fŏvii (v. Paul. ex Fest. p. 87); marmaron, marmŏr; Mars, redupl. Marmar, Marmor (Carm. Fratr. Arv.).

Into ō: dă-, dōnum, dōs; ăc-, ăcuo, ōcior (v. this art.).

Short a is changed into ŭ —

In the second part of compounds, particularly before l, p, and b: calco, inculco; salsus, insulsus; salto, exsulto; capio, occŭpo; răpio, surrupio and surruptus (also written surripio and surreptus); tăberna, contŭbernium; —before other consonants: quătio, conoŭtio; as, decussis; Mars, Mamŭrius, Mamŭralia; and once also condumnari (Tab. Bant. lin. 8, immediately followed by condemnatus, v. Klenze, Philol. Abhandl. tab. I., and Mommsen, Unterital. Dial. p. 149).

In words of Greek origin: Hekabê, Hecŭba; skutalê, scutŭla; kraipalê, crapŭla; passalos, pessŭlus; aphlaston, aplustre; thriambos, triumphus.

ă is perhaps changed into ŭ in ulciscor, compared with alc-, ulexô (arc-, arceo).

Long a is sometimes changed into ē or ō.

Into é: hālo, anhélo; fās-, féstus, profēstus; nām, némpe.

Into ō: gnā-, gnārus, ignārus, ignōro. (But in general long a remains unchanged in composition: lābor, delūbor; gnàvus, ignūnus; fàma, infūmis.)

Contrary to the mode of changing Greek a into Latin e, i, o, u (v. supra), Latin a has sometimes taken the place of other Greek vowels in words borrowed from the Greek, as: lonchê, lancea; kulix, călix; Ganumêoês, Caiāmitus.

The repugnance of the Latin Language to the Greek combined vowels ao has caused the translocation of them in Alumento for Daomeoôn (Paul. ex Fest. p. 18 Müll.).— Greek a is suppressed in Hercules from Hêraklês (probably in consequence of the inserted u; in late Latin we find Heracla and Heracula, cf. Ritschl, in Rhein. Mus. Neue Folge, vol. 12, p. 108).

Latin ă was early combined with the vowels i and u, forming the diphthongs ai and au; by changing the i into e, the diphthong ai soon became ae. So we find in the oldest inscriptions: AIDE, AIDLLIS, AIQVOM, GNAIVOD, HAICE, DVELONAI, TABELAI, DATAI, etc., which soon gave place to aedem, aedilis, aequom, Gnaeo, haec, Bellonae, tabellae, datae, etc. (the Col. Rostr. has PRAESENTE, PRAEDAD, and the S. C. de Bacch. AEDEM. The triphthong aei, found in CONQVAEISIVEI (?), is very rare; Miliar. Popil. lin. 11, v. Ritschl, l. l. p. 21). In some poets the old gen. sing. of the first decl. (- ai) is preserved, but is dissyllabic, āī. So in Ennius: Albūī Longūī, terrūī frugiferāī, frondosāī, lunāī, viāī; in Vergil: aulāī, aurāī, aquāī, pictāī; in Ausonius: herāī.

ue as well as au are changed into other vowels.

The sound of ae, e, and oe being very similar, these vowels are often interchanged in the best MSS., So we find caerimonia and cerimonia, caepa and cēpa, saeoulum and séculum; scaena and scēna; caelum and coelum, haedus and hoedus, macstus and moestus; cena, coena, and caena, etc.

In composition and reduplications ae becomes í: aequus, iníquus; quaero, inquíro; laedo, illído; taedet, pertisum (noticed by Cic.); aestumo, exístumo; cuedo, cecídi, concído, homicida.

ae is also changed into í in a Latinized word of Greek origin: Achaios (AchaiWos), Achíous.

The diphthong au is often changed to ó and ú (the latter particularly in compounds): caudex, códex; Claudius, Clodius; lautus, lotus; plaustrum, plōstrum; plaudo, plōdo, explōdo; paululum, pōlulum; faux, suffōco; si audes (acc. to Cic. or acc. to others, si audies), sódes, etc.; claudo, inclūdo; causa, accūso. Hence in some words a regular gradation of au, o, u is found: claudo, clōdicare, clúdo; raudus, ródus, rúdus; caupo, cópa, cūpa; naugae, nōgae (both forms in the MSS. of Plautus), nūgae; fraustra, frode, frude (in MSS. of Vergil); cf. Ritschl, in Wintercatalog 1854-55, and O. Ribbeck, in Jahn's Neue Jahrb. vol. 77, p. 181 sq.—The change of au into oē and ō appears only in audio, (oboedio) obēdio.

Au sometimes takes the place of av-: faveo, fautum, favitor, fautor; navis, navita, nauta; avis, auceps, auspex. So Latin aut corresponds to Sanscr. avo. (whence - vā, Lat. - ve), Osc. avti, Umbr. ute, ote; and so the Lat. preposition ab, through av, becomes au in the words aufero and aufugio (prop. av-fero, av-fugio, for ab-fero, ab-fugio). Vid. the art. ab init.

In primitive roots, which have their kindred forms in the sister-languages of the Latin, the original a, still found in the Sanscrit, is in Latin either preserved or more frequently changed into other vowels.

Original a preserved: Sanscr. mātri, Lat. màter; S. bhrātri, L. fràter; S. nāsā, L. nàsus and nàris; S. ap, L. aqua; S. apa, L. ab; S. nāma, L. năm; S. ćatur, [p. 2] L. quattuor (in Greek changed: thettares); S. capūla, L. căput (in Greek changed: kephalê, etc.).

Original a is changed into other Latin vowels—

Into e: S. ad, L. ed (ĕdo); S. as, L. es (esse); S. pat, L. pet (peto); S. pād, L. pĕd (pès); S. dant, L. dent (dens); S. ǵan, L. gen (gigno); S. mā, L. mè-tior; S. saptan, L. septem; S. daśan, L. decem; S. śata, L. centum; S. aham, L. ŏgo; S. pāra, L. per; S. paśu, L. pŏcus; S. asva, L. ŏquus, etc.

Into i: S. an-, a- (neg. part.), L. in-: S. ana (prep.), L. in; S. antar, L. inter; S. sama, L. similis; S. agni, L. ignis; S. abhra, L. imber; S. panéa, L. quinque, etc.

Into o: S. avi, L. ŏvi (ovis); S. vać, L. vōc (voco); S. pra, L. pro; S. pā, L. po (pŏtum); S. nāma, L. nōmen; S. api, L. ŏb; S. navan, L. nŏvem; S. nava, L. nŏvus, etc.

Into u: S. marmara, L. murmur.

Into ai, ae: S. prati, L. (prai) prae; S. śaśpa, L. caespes.

Into different vowels in the different derivatives: S. mā, L. mê-tior, mŏdus; S. praó, L. prŏcor, prŏcus; S. vah, L. vĕho, via.

Sometimes the Latin has preserved the original a, while even the Sanscrit has changed it: Lat. pa-, pater, Sanscr. pd, pitri.

As an abbreviation A. usually denotes the praenomen Aulus; A. A. = Auli duo, Inscr. Orell. 1530 (but A. A. = Aquae Aponi, the modern Abano, ib. 1643 sq.; 2620; 3011). The three directors of the mint were designated by III. VIRI A. A. A. F. F. (i. e. auro, argento, aeri flando, feriundo), ib. 569; 2242; 2379; 3134 al.;

so also A. A. A.,

ib. 3441 (cf. Cic. Fam. 7, 13 fin., and v. the art. Triumviri); A. D. A. agris dandis adsignandis, and A. I. A. agris judicandis adsignandis; A. O. amico optimo; A. P. a populo or aediliciae potestatis; A. P. R. aerario populi Romani. —Upon the voting tablets in judicial trials A. denoted absoluo; hence A. is called littera salutaris, Cic. Mil. 6, 15; v. littera. In the Roman Comitia A. (= antiquo) denoted the rejection of the point in question; v. antiquo. In Cicero's Tusculan Disputations the A. designated one of the disputants = adulescens or auditor, opp. to M. for magister or Marcus (Cicero); but it is to be remarked that the letters A and M do not occur in the best MSS. of this treatise; cf. edd. ad Cic. Tusc. 1, 5, 9.—In dates A. D. = ante diem; v. ante; A. U. C. = anno urbis conditae; A. P. R. C. anno post Romam conditam.

a, prep.=ab, v. ab.

ā, interj.=ah, v. ah.

T, t. indecl. n. or (to agree with littera) f., the nineteenth letter of the Lat. alphabet ( i and j being counted as one), = Gr. T (tau). It is very freq. as a final letter, esp. in verbal endings of the third person.

As an initial, it is, in pure Lat. words, followed by no consonant except r: traho, tremo, tribuo, etc.; the combinations tl and tm are found only in words borrowed from the Greek: Tlepolemus, tmesis, Tmolus. Hence an initial t occurring in the ancient language before l (like an initial d before v, v. letter D) is rejected in classical Lat.: lātus (Part. of fero) for tlatus, from root tol- of tollo, tuli; cf. with TLAÔ, tlêtos; even when softened by a sibilant, the combination of t and l in stlata (genus navigii), stlembus (gravis, tardus), stlis, stlocus, was avoided, and, except in the formal lang. of law, which retained stlitibus judicandis, the forms lis, locus remained the only ones in use, though the transitional form slis occurs twice in very old inscriptions. Before a vowel or r, the original Indo-European t always retained its place and character. Between two vowels t and tt were freq. confounded, and in some words the double letter became established, although the original form had but one t; thus, quattuor, cottidie, littera, stand in the best MSS. and inscriptions; v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 174 sqq.—

The sibilant pronunciation of a medial t before i and a following vowel, is a peculiarity of a late period. Isidorus (at the commencement of the seventh century after Christ) is the first who expresses himself definitely on this point: cum justitia sonum z litterae exprimat, tamen quia Latinum est, per t scribendum est, sicut militia, malitia, nequitia et cetera similia (Orig. 1, 26, 28); but the commutation of ci and ti, which occurs not unfrequently in older inscriptions, shows the origin of this change in pronunciation to have been earlier. In the golden age of the language, however, it was certainly [p. 1831] unknown.—

The aspiration of t did not come into general use till the golden age; hence, CARTACINIENSIS, on the Columna Rostrata; whereas in Cicero we have Carthago, like Cethegus, etc.; v. Cic. Or. 48, 160; and cf. letter C.—

T is interchanged with d, c, and s; v. these letters.—

T is assimilated to s in passus from patior, quassus from quatio, fassus from fateor, missus from mitto, equestris from eques (equit-), etc. It is wholly suppressed before s in usus, from utor; in many nominatives of the third declension ending in s: civitas (root civitat, gen. civitatis), quies (quiet, quietis), lis (lit, litis), dos (dot, dotis), salus (salut, salutis), amans (amant, amantis), mens (ment, mentis), etc.; and likewise in flexi, flexus, from flecto, and before other letters, in remus, cf. ratis; Gr. eretmos; in penna; root pat-, to fly; Gr. petomai, etc. In late Lat. the vulgar language often dropped t before r and before vowels; hence such forms as mari, quaraginta, donaus, are found for matri, quatriginta (quad-), donatus, in inscriptions; cf. the French mère, quarante, donné.—

As an abbreviation, T. stands for Titus; Ti. Tiberius; TR. Tribunus; T. F. Testamenti formula; T. F. C. Titulum faciendum curavit; T. P. Tribunicia potestas, etc.

T, t. indecl. n. or (to agree with littera) f., the nineteenth letter of the Lat. alphabet ( i and j being counted as one), = Gr. T (tau). It is very freq. as a final letter, esp. in verbal endings of the third person.

As an initial, it is, in pure Lat. words, followed by no consonant except r: traho, tremo, tribuo, etc.; the combinations tl and tm are found only in words borrowed from the Greek: Tlepolemus, tmesis, Tmolus. Hence an initial t occurring in the ancient language before l (like an initial d before v, v. letter D) is rejected in classical Lat.: lātus (Part. of fero) for tlatus, from root tol- of tollo, tuli; cf. with TLAÔ, tlêtos; even when softened by a sibilant, the combination of t and l in stlata (genus navigii), stlembus (gravis, tardus), stlis, stlocus, was avoided, and, except in the formal lang. of law, which retained stlitibus judicandis, the forms lis, locus remained the only ones in use, though the transitional form slis occurs twice in very old inscriptions. Before a vowel or r, the original Indo-European t always retained its place and character. Between two vowels t and tt were freq. confounded, and in some words the double letter became established, although the original form had but one t; thus, quattuor, cottidie, littera, stand in the best MSS. and inscriptions; v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 174 sqq.—

The sibilant pronunciation of a medial t before i and a following vowel, is a peculiarity of a late period. Isidorus (at the commencement of the seventh century after Christ) is the first who expresses himself definitely on this point: cum justitia sonum z litterae exprimat, tamen quia Latinum est, per t scribendum est, sicut militia, malitia, nequitia et cetera similia (Orig. 1, 26, 28); but the commutation of ci and ti, which occurs not unfrequently in older inscriptions, shows the origin of this change in pronunciation to have been earlier. In the golden age of the language, however, it was certainly [p. 1831] unknown.—

The aspiration of t did not come into general use till the golden age; hence, CARTACINIENSIS, on the Columna Rostrata; whereas in Cicero we have Carthago, like Cethegus, etc.; v. Cic. Or. 48, 160; and cf. letter C.—

T is interchanged with d, c, and s; v. these letters.—

T is assimilated to s in passus from patior, quassus from quatio, fassus from fateor, missus from mitto, equestris from eques (equit-), etc. It is wholly suppressed before s in usus, from utor; in many nominatives of the third declension ending in s: civitas (root civitat, gen. civitatis), quies (quiet, quietis), lis (lit, litis), dos (dot, dotis), salus (salut, salutis), amans (amant, amantis), mens (ment, mentis), etc.; and likewise in flexi, flexus, from flecto, and before other letters, in remus, cf. ratis; Gr. eretmos; in penna; root pat-, to fly; Gr. petomai, etc. In late Lat. the vulgar language often dropped t before r and before vowels; hence such forms as mari, quaraginta, donaus, are found for matri, quatriginta (quad-), donatus, in inscriptions; cf. the French mère, quarante, donné.—

As an abbreviation, T. stands for Titus; Ti. Tiberius; TR. Tribunus; T. F. Testamenti formula; T. F. C. Titulum faciendum curavit; T. P. Tribunicia potestas, etc.

D, d (n. indecl., sometimes f. sc. littera), the flat dental mute, corresponding in character and sound to the English d and the Greek D, was the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet, and was called de: Ter. Maur. p. 2385 P., Auson. Idyll. 12, de Litt. Monos. 14. But at the end of a syllable, or after another consonant, its sound was sharpened, so that the grammarians often discuss the question whether d or t should be written, especially in conjunctions and prepositions. Illa quoque servata est a multis differentia, ut ad cum esset praepositio, d litteram, cum autem conjunctio, t acciperet (Quint. 1, 7, 5; cf. id. 1, 4, 16). Hence we may infer that some disputed this distinction, and that the sounds of ad and at must at least have been very similar (cf. also Terent. Scaur. p. 2250, Vel. Long. p. 2230 sq., Cassiod. p. 2287, 2291). Thus also aput, it, quit, quot, aliut, set, haut are found for apud, id, quid, quod, aliud, sed, haud. It would appear from the remarks of these authors that the last two words in particular, having a proclitic character, while they distinctly retained the d sound before an initial vowel in the following word, were pronounced before a consonant almost as set, haut (Mar. Vict. p. 2462 P., Vel. Long. l. l. v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 191 sq.). The use of t for d in the middle of a word, as Alexenter for Alexander, atnato for adnato, is very rare (cf. Wordsworth, Fragm. p. 486 sq.). On the other hand, the use of d for t, which sometimes appears in MSS. and inscrr., as ed, capud, essed, inquid (all of which occur in the Cod. palimps. of Cic. Rep.), adque, quodannis, sicud, etc., fecid, reliquid, etc. (all in inscriptions after the Augustan period), is to be ascribed to a later phonetic softening (cf. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 191 sq.).

As an initial, the letter d, in pure Latin words, suffers only a vowel after it; the single consonantal compound dr being found only in borrowed words, such as drama, Drusus, Druidae, etc., and in the two onomatopees drenso and drindio. Accordingly, the d of the initial dv, from du, was rejected, and the remaining v either retained unaltered (as in v iginti for du iginti; cf. triginta) or changed into b (as in b ellum, b is, b onus, for du ellum, du is, du onus; v. those words and the letter B). So too in and after the 4th century A.D., di before vowels was pronounced like j (cf. J ovis for Dj ovis, and J anus for Di anus); and hence, as the Greek di ( di) passed into dz, i. e. z (as in z a for d ia, and z eta for di aeta), we sometimes find the same name written in two or three ways, as Diabolenus, Jabolenus, Zabolenus; Jadera, Diadora, Zara. In many Greek words, however, which originally began with a y sound, d was prefixed by an instinctive effort to avoid a disagreeable utterance, just as in English the initial j has regularly assumed the sound of dj: thus Gr. zugon, i. e. diugon = L. jugum; and in such cases the d sound has been prefixed in Greek, not lost in Latin and other languages (v. Curt. Griech. Etym. p. 608 sq.).b. As a medial, d before most consonants undergoes assimilation; v. ad, no. II.; assum, init., and cf. iccirco, quippiam, quicquam, for idcirco, quidpiam, quidquam; and in contractions like cette from cedite, pelluviae from pediluviae, sella from sedela. In contractions, however, the d is sometimes dropped and a compensation effected by lengthening the preceding vowel, as scāla for scand-la. D before endings which begin with s was suppressed, as pes from ped-s, lapis from lapid-s, frons from frond-s, rasi from radsi, risi from rid-si, lusi from lud-si, clausi from claud-si; but in the second and third roots of cedo, and in the third roots of some other verbs, d is assimilated, as cessi, cessum, fossum, etc. D is also omitted before s in composition when another consonant follows the s, as ascendo, aspicio, asto, astringo, and so also before the nasal gn in agnatus, agnitus, and agnosco, from gnatus, etc.: but in other combinations it is assimilated, as assentio, acclamo, accresco; affligo, affrico; agglomero, aggrego; applico, approbo, etc. In tentum, from tendo, d is dropped to avoid the combination ndt or ntt, since euphony forbids a consonant to be doubled after another.g. Final d stood only in ad, apud, sed, and in the neuter pronouns quid, quod, illud, istud, and aliud, anciently alid. Otherwise, the ending d was considered barbarous, Prisc. p. 686 P.

The letter d represents regularly an original Indo-Germanic d, in Greek d, but which in German becomes z, in Gothic t, and in Anglo-Saxon t: cf. Gr. hêdomai, Sanscr. svad, Germ. süss, Angl.-Sax. svēte (sweet), with Lat. suadeo; domare with Gr. damaô, Germ. zähmen, Eng. tame; domus with demô, timber, O. H. Germ. zimber; duo with duô, zwei, two. But it is also interchanged with other sounds, and thus sometimes represents—

An original t: mendax from mentior; quadraginta, quadra, etc., from quatuor.—

An original r: ar and ad; apur or apor and apud; meridies and medidies, audio and auris; cf. arbiter, from ad-beto; arcesso for ad-cesso.—

An original l: adeps, Gr. aleipha; dacrima and lacrima, dingua and lingua; cf. on the contrary, olere for odere, consilium and considere, Ulixes from Odusseus (v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 223).—

An original s: Claudius, from the Sabine Clausus, medius and misos; and, on the contrary, rosa and rhodon. —

A Greek th: fides, pistis; gaudere, gêtheô; vad-i-monium (from va-d-s, vadis), aethlon.

In the oldest period of the language d was the ending of the ablat. sing. and of the adverbs which were originally ablatives (cf. Ritschl, Neue Plaut. Excur. I.; Brix ad Plaut. Trin. Prol. 10): pu CNANDO, MARID, DICTATORED, IN ALTOD MARID, NAVALED PRAEDAD on the Col. Rostr.; DE SENATVOS SENTENTIAD (thrice) IN OQVOLTOD, IN POPLICOD, IN PREIVATOD, IN COVENTIONID, and the adverbs SVPRAD SCRIPTVM EST (thrice), EXSTRAD QVAM SEI, and even EXSTRAD VRBEM, in S. C. de Bacch. So intra-d, ultra-d, citra-d, contra-d, infra-d, supra-d; contro-d, intro-d, etc.; and probably interea-d, postea-d. Here too belongs, no doubt, the adverb FACILVMED, found in the last-mentioned inscription. But this use of the d became antiquated during the 3d century B.C., and is not found at all in any inscription after 186 B. C. Plautus seems to have used or omitted it at will (Ritschl, Neue Plaut. Excurs. p. 18: Corss. Ausspr. 1, 197; 2, 1008).

D final was also anciently found—

In the accus. sing. of the personal pronouns med, ted, sed: INTER SED CONIOVRASE and INTER SED DEDISE, for inter se conjuravisse and inter se dedisse, in the S. C. de Bacch. This usage was retained, at least as a license of verse, when the next word began with a vowel, even in the time of Plautus. But in the classic period this d no longer appears. —

In the imperative mood;

as estod,

Fest. p. 230. The Oscan language retained this ending (v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 206).—

In the preposition se-, originally identical with the conjunction sed (it is retained in the compound seditio); also in red-, prod-, antid-, postid-, etc. ( redire, prodire, etc.); and in these words, too, it is a remnant of the ancient characteristic of the ablative (v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 200 sq.; Roby, Lat. Gr. 1, 49).

As an abbreviation, D usually stands for the praenomen Decimus; also for Deus, Divus, Dominus, Decurio, etc.; over epitaphs, D. M. = Diis Manibus; over temple inscriptions, D. O. M. = Deo Optimo Maxumo; in the titles of the later emperors, D. N. = Dominus Noster, and DD. NN. = Domini Nostri. Before dates of letters, D signified dabam, and also dies; hence, a. d. = ante diem; in offerings to the gods, D. D. = dono or donum dedit; D. D. D. = dat, dicat, dedicat, etc. Cf. Orell. Inscr. II. p. 457 sq.

D, d (n. indecl., sometimes f. sc. littera), the flat dental mute, corresponding in character and sound to the English d and the Greek D, was the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet, and was called de: Ter. Maur. p. 2385 P., Auson. Idyll. 12, de Litt. Monos. 14. But at the end of a syllable, or after another consonant, its sound was sharpened, so that the grammarians often discuss the question whether d or t should be written, especially in conjunctions and prepositions. Illa quoque servata est a multis differentia, ut ad cum esset praepositio, d litteram, cum autem conjunctio, t acciperet (Quint. 1, 7, 5; cf. id. 1, 4, 16). Hence we may infer that some disputed this distinction, and that the sounds of ad and at must at least have been very similar (cf. also Terent. Scaur. p. 2250, Vel. Long. p. 2230 sq., Cassiod. p. 2287, 2291). Thus also aput, it, quit, quot, aliut, set, haut are found for apud, id, quid, quod, aliud, sed, haud. It would appear from the remarks of these authors that the last two words in particular, having a proclitic character, while they distinctly retained the d sound before an initial vowel in the following word, were pronounced before a consonant almost as set, haut (Mar. Vict. p. 2462 P., Vel. Long. l. l. v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 191 sq.). The use of t for d in the middle of a word, as Alexenter for Alexander, atnato for adnato, is very rare (cf. Wordsworth, Fragm. p. 486 sq.). On the other hand, the use of d for t, which sometimes appears in MSS. and inscrr., as ed, capud, essed, inquid (all of which occur in the Cod. palimps. of Cic. Rep.), adque, quodannis, sicud, etc., fecid, reliquid, etc. (all in inscriptions after the Augustan period), is to be ascribed to a later phonetic softening (cf. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 191 sq.).

As an initial, the letter d, in pure Latin words, suffers only a vowel after it; the single consonantal compound dr being found only in borrowed words, such as drama, Drusus, Druidae, etc., and in the two onomatopees drenso and drindio. Accordingly, the d of the initial dv, from du, was rejected, and the remaining v either retained unaltered (as in v iginti for du iginti; cf. triginta) or changed into b (as in b ellum, b is, b onus, for du ellum, du is, du onus; v. those words and the letter B). So too in and after the 4th century A.D., di before vowels was pronounced like j (cf. J ovis for Dj ovis, and J anus for Di anus); and hence, as the Greek di ( di) passed into dz, i. e. z (as in z a for d ia, and z eta for di aeta), we sometimes find the same name written in two or three ways, as Diabolenus, Jabolenus, Zabolenus; Jadera, Diadora, Zara. In many Greek words, however, which originally began with a y sound, d was prefixed by an instinctive effort to avoid a disagreeable utterance, just as in English the initial j has regularly assumed the sound of dj: thus Gr. zugon, i. e. diugon = L. jugum; and in such cases the d sound has been prefixed in Greek, not lost in Latin and other languages (v. Curt. Griech. Etym. p. 608 sq.).b. As a medial, d before most consonants undergoes assimilation; v. ad, no. II.; assum, init., and cf. iccirco, quippiam, quicquam, for idcirco, quidpiam, quidquam; and in contractions like cette from cedite, pelluviae from pediluviae, sella from sedela. In contractions, however, the d is sometimes dropped and a compensation effected by lengthening the preceding vowel, as scāla for scand-la. D before endings which begin with s was suppressed, as pes from ped-s, lapis from lapid-s, frons from frond-s, rasi from radsi, risi from rid-si, lusi from lud-si, clausi from claud-si; but in the second and third roots of cedo, and in the third roots of some other verbs, d is assimilated, as cessi, cessum, fossum, etc. D is also omitted before s in composition when another consonant follows the s, as ascendo, aspicio, asto, astringo, and so also before the nasal gn in agnatus, agnitus, and agnosco, from gnatus, etc.: but in other combinations it is assimilated, as assentio, acclamo, accresco; affligo, affrico; agglomero, aggrego; applico, approbo, etc. In tentum, from tendo, d is dropped to avoid the combination ndt or ntt, since euphony forbids a consonant to be doubled after another.g. Final d stood only in ad, apud, sed, and in the neuter pronouns quid, quod, illud, istud, and aliud, anciently alid. Otherwise, the ending d was considered barbarous, Prisc. p. 686 P.

The letter d represents regularly an original Indo-Germanic d, in Greek d, but which in German becomes z, in Gothic t, and in Anglo-Saxon t: cf. Gr. hêdomai, Sanscr. svad, Germ. süss, Angl.-Sax. svēte (sweet), with Lat. suadeo; domare with Gr. damaô, Germ. zähmen, Eng. tame; domus with demô, timber, O. H. Germ. zimber; duo with duô, zwei, two. But it is also interchanged with other sounds, and thus sometimes represents—

An original t: mendax from mentior; quadraginta, quadra, etc., from quatuor.—

An original r: ar and ad; apur or apor and apud; meridies and medidies, audio and auris; cf. arbiter, from ad-beto; arcesso for ad-cesso.—

An original l: adeps, Gr. aleipha; dacrima and lacrima, dingua and lingua; cf. on the contrary, olere for odere, consilium and considere, Ulixes from Odusseus (v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 223).—

An original s: Claudius, from the Sabine Clausus, medius and misos; and, on the contrary, rosa and rhodon. —

A Greek th: fides, pistis; gaudere, gêtheô; vad-i-monium (from va-d-s, vadis), aethlon.

In the oldest period of the language d was the ending of the ablat. sing. and of the adverbs which were originally ablatives (cf. Ritschl, Neue Plaut. Excur. I.; Brix ad Plaut. Trin. Prol. 10): pu CNANDO, MARID, DICTATORED, IN ALTOD MARID, NAVALED PRAEDAD on the Col. Rostr.; DE SENATVOS SENTENTIAD (thrice) IN OQVOLTOD, IN POPLICOD, IN PREIVATOD, IN COVENTIONID, and the adverbs SVPRAD SCRIPTVM EST (thrice), EXSTRAD QVAM SEI, and even EXSTRAD VRBEM, in S. C. de Bacch. So intra-d, ultra-d, citra-d, contra-d, infra-d, supra-d; contro-d, intro-d, etc.; and probably interea-d, postea-d. Here too belongs, no doubt, the adverb FACILVMED, found in the last-mentioned inscription. But this use of the d became antiquated during the 3d century B.C., and is not found at all in any inscription after 186 B. C. Plautus seems to have used or omitted it at will (Ritschl, Neue Plaut. Excurs. p. 18: Corss. Ausspr. 1, 197; 2, 1008).

D final was also anciently found—

In the accus. sing. of the personal pronouns med, ted, sed: INTER SED CONIOVRASE and INTER SED DEDISE, for inter se conjuravisse and inter se dedisse, in the S. C. de Bacch. This usage was retained, at least as a license of verse, when the next word began with a vowel, even in the time of Plautus. But in the classic period this d no longer appears. —

In the imperative mood;

as estod,

Fest. p. 230. The Oscan language retained this ending (v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 206).—

In the preposition se-, originally identical with the conjunction sed (it is retained in the compound seditio); also in red-, prod-, antid-, postid-, etc. ( redire, prodire, etc.); and in these words, too, it is a remnant of the ancient characteristic of the ablative (v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 200 sq.; Roby, Lat. Gr. 1, 49).

As an abbreviation, D usually stands for the praenomen Decimus; also for Deus, Divus, Dominus, Decurio, etc.; over epitaphs, D. M. = Diis Manibus; over temple inscriptions, D. O. M. = Deo Optimo Maxumo; in the titles of the later emperors, D. N. = Dominus Noster, and DD. NN. = Domini Nostri. Before dates of letters, D signified dabam, and also dies; hence, a. d. = ante diem; in offerings to the gods, D. D. = dono or donum dedit; D. D. D. = dat, dicat, dedicat, etc. Cf. Orell. Inscr. II. p. 457 sq.

G, g, indecl. n. or (on account of littera) f., had originally no place in the Latin alphabet: both the sharp and the flat guttural mutes, our k and g sounds, being represented by C; hence on the Columna Rostrata LECIONES, MACISTRATOS, EXFOCIONT, (pu)CNANDOD, PVCN(ad), CARTACINIENSIS, for legiones, etc.; hence, too, the archaic form ACETARE for agitare (v. Paul. ex Fest. p. 23 Müll. N. cr.), and the still common abbreviation of the names Gaius and Gneus in C and Cn.—At a later period (acc. to Plut. Qu. Rom. p. 277 D and 278 E, by means of a freedman of Spurius Carvilius Ruga, about the beginning of the second Punic war) a slight graphic alteration was made in the C, which introduced into the Roman orthography the letter G (on the old monuments C); thus we have in the S. C. de Bacchanal.: MAGISTER, MAGISTRATVM, FIGIER, GNOSCIER, AGRO; on the other hand, the orthography GNAIVOD PATRE PROGNATVS on the first Epitaph of the Scipios, which dates before that time, indicates either incorrectness in the copying or a later erection of the monument. When Greek words are written in Latin letters and vice versa, G always corresponds to G. Its sound was always hard, like Engl. g in gate, at least until the sixth century A. D.As an initial, g, in pure Latin words, enters into consonantal combination only with l and r; and therefore in words which, from their etymology, had the combination gn, the g was rejected in the classical period, and thus arose the class. forms nascor, natus, nosco, novi, notus, narus, navus, from the original gnascor, gnatus, gnosco, etc. (cf. the English gnaw, gnat, gnarr, etc., where the g has become silent); whereas in compounds the g again is often retained: cognatus, cognosco, ignarus, ignavus.—An initial g is dropped in lac (kindred to GALACT, gala), likewise in anser (kindred to Germ. Gans; Sanscr. hansa; Greek chên).As a medial, g combines with l, m, n, r, although it is sometimes elided before m in the course of formation; so in examen for exagmen from agmen; in contamino for contagmino (from con-TAG, tango). Before s the soft sound of g passes into the hard sound of c, and becomes blended with the s into x (v. the letter X); though sometimes the g (or c) is elided altogether, as in mulsi from mulgeo, indulsi from indulgeo; cf.: sparsus, mersus, tersus, etc. So too before t, as indultum from indulgeo. The medial g is often dropped between two vowels, and compensated for by lengthening the preced. vowel: māior from măgior, pulēium from pulēgium, āio from ăgio (root AG, Sanscr. ah, to say; cf. nego). Likewise the medial g is dropped in lēvis for legvis, Sanscr. laghn, fava for fagva, fruor for frugvor, flamma for flagma, stimulus for stigmulus, examen for exagmen; jumentum, from root jug-: sumen from sug-; cf.: umor, flamen, etc.As a final, g was only paragogic, acc. to Quint. 1, 7, 13, in the obsolete VESPERVG (for vesperu, analogous with noctu; v. Spald. ad loc.). Etymologically, g corresponds to an original Indo - European g or gh, or is weakened from c, k. Thus it stands where in Greek we have:

g, as ago, agô; ager, agros; argentum, arguros; genus, genos; fulgeo, phlegô, and so very commonly;

ch (usually before r, or in the middle of a word): ango, anchô; rigo, brechô; gratus, chairô, etc.;

k: viginti, eikosi; gubernator, kubernêtês; gummi, kommi, etc.—By assimilation, g was produced from b and d in oggero, suggero, aggero, etc., from obgero, sub-gero, ad-gero, etc.As an abbreviation, G denotes Galliarum, Gallica, gemina, Germania, genius, etc.; and sometimes Gaius (instead of the usual C); v. Inscr. Orell. 467; 1660; 4680:

G.P.R.F. genio populi Romani feliciter,

Inscr. Orell. 4957; v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 76 sqq.; Roby, Lat. Gr. 1, 38 sqq.

G, g, indecl. n. or (on account of littera) f., had originally no place in the Latin alphabet: both the sharp and the flat guttural mutes, our k and g sounds, being represented by C; hence on the Columna Rostrata LECIONES, MACISTRATOS, EXFOCIONT, (pu)CNANDOD, PVCN(ad), CARTACINIENSIS, for legiones, etc.; hence, too, the archaic form ACETARE for agitare (v. Paul. ex Fest. p. 23 Müll. N. cr.), and the still common abbreviation of the names Gaius and Gneus in C and Cn.—At a later period (acc. to Plut. Qu. Rom. p. 277 D and 278 E, by means of a freedman of Spurius Carvilius Ruga, about the beginning of the second Punic war) a slight graphic alteration was made in the C, which introduced into the Roman orthography the letter G (on the old monuments C); thus we have in the S. C. de Bacchanal.: MAGISTER, MAGISTRATVM, FIGIER, GNOSCIER, AGRO; on the other hand, the orthography GNAIVOD PATRE PROGNATVS on the first Epitaph of the Scipios, which dates before that time, indicates either incorrectness in the copying or a later erection of the monument. When Greek words are written in Latin letters and vice versa, G always corresponds to G. Its sound was always hard, like Engl. g in gate, at least until the sixth century A. D.As an initial, g, in pure Latin words, enters into consonantal combination only with l and r; and therefore in words which, from their etymology, had the combination gn, the g was rejected in the classical period, and thus arose the class. forms nascor, natus, nosco, novi, notus, narus, navus, from the original gnascor, gnatus, gnosco, etc. (cf. the English gnaw, gnat, gnarr, etc., where the g has become silent); whereas in compounds the g again is often retained: cognatus, cognosco, ignarus, ignavus.—An initial g is dropped in lac (kindred to GALACT, gala), likewise in anser (kindred to Germ. Gans; Sanscr. hansa; Greek chên).As a medial, g combines with l, m, n, r, although it is sometimes elided before m in the course of formation; so in examen for exagmen from agmen; in contamino for contagmino (from con-TAG, tango). Before s the soft sound of g passes into the hard sound of c, and becomes blended with the s into x (v. the letter X); though sometimes the g (or c) is elided altogether, as in mulsi from mulgeo, indulsi from indulgeo; cf.: sparsus, mersus, tersus, etc. So too before t, as indultum from indulgeo. The medial g is often dropped between two vowels, and compensated for by lengthening the preced. vowel: māior from măgior, pulēium from pulēgium, āio from ăgio (root AG, Sanscr. ah, to say; cf. nego). Likewise the medial g is dropped in lēvis for legvis, Sanscr. laghn, fava for fagva, fruor for frugvor, flamma for flagma, stimulus for stigmulus, examen for exagmen; jumentum, from root jug-: sumen from sug-; cf.: umor, flamen, etc.As a final, g was only paragogic, acc. to Quint. 1, 7, 13, in the obsolete VESPERVG (for vesperu, analogous with noctu; v. Spald. ad loc.). Etymologically, g corresponds to an original Indo - European g or gh, or is weakened from c, k. Thus it stands where in Greek we have:

g, as ago, agô; ager, agros; argentum, arguros; genus, genos; fulgeo, phlegô, and so very commonly;

ch (usually before r, or in the middle of a word): ango, anchô; rigo, brechô; gratus, chairô, etc.;

k: viginti, eikosi; gubernator, kubernêtês; gummi, kommi, etc.—By assimilation, g was produced from b and d in oggero, suggero, aggero, etc., from obgero, sub-gero, ad-gero, etc.As an abbreviation, G denotes Galliarum, Gallica, gemina, Germania, genius, etc.; and sometimes Gaius (instead of the usual C); v. Inscr. Orell. 467; 1660; 4680:

G.P.R.F. genio populi Romani feliciter,

Inscr. Orell. 4957; v. Corss. Ausspr. 1, 76 sqq.; Roby, Lat. Gr. 1, 38 sqq.