A. NOUNS.

12.  A Noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or quality; as, Caesar, Caesar; Roma, Rome; penna, feather; virtus, courage.

1.  Nouns are either Proper or Common.  Proper nouns are permanent names of persons or places; as, Caesar, Roma.  Other nouns are Common:  as, penna, virtus.

2.  Nouns are also distinguished as Concrete or Abstract.

  a) Concrete nouns are those which designate individual objects; as, mons,
  mountain; pes, foot; dies, day; mens, mind.

  Under concrete nouns are included, also, collective nouns; as, legio,
  legion; comitatus, retinue.

  b) Abstract nouns designate qualities; as, constantia, steadfastness;
  paupertas, poverty.

GENDER OF NOUNS.

13.  There are three Genders,—­Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter.  Gender in Latin is either natural or grammatical.

Natural Gender.

14.  The gender of nouns is natural when it is based upon sex.  Natural gender is confined entirely to names of persons; and these are—­

1.  Masculine, if they denote males; as,—­

  nauta, sailor; agricola, farmer.

2.  Feminine, if they denote females; as,—­

  mater, mother; regina, queen.

Grammatical Gender.

15.  Grammatical gender is determined not by sex, but by the general signification of the word, or the ending of its Nominative Singular.  By grammatical gender, nouns denoting things or qualities are often Masculine or Feminine, simply by virtue of their signification or the ending of the Nominative Singular.  The following are the general principles for determining grammatical gender:—­

A.  Gender determined by Signification.

1.  Names of Rivers, Winds, and Months are Masculine; as,—­

  Sequana, Seine; Eurus, east wind; Aprilis, April.

2.  Names of Trees, and such names of Towns and Islands as end in -us, are Feminine; as,—­

  quercus, oak; Corinthus, Corinth; Rhodus, Rhodes.

Other names of towns and islands follow the gender of their endings (see B, below); as,—­

  Delphi, n.; Leuctra, n.; Tibur, n.; Carthago, f.

3.  Indeclinable nouns, also infinitives and phrases, are Neuter; as,—­

  nihil, nothing; nefas, wrong; amare, to love.

NOTE.—­Exceptions to the above principles sometimes occur; as, Allia (the river), f.

B.  Gender determined by Ending of Nominative Singular.

The gender of other nouns is determined by the ending of the Nominative
Singular.[11]

NOTE 1.—­Common Gender. Certain nouns are sometimes Masculine, sometimes Feminine.  Thus, sacerdos may mean either priest or priestess, and is Masculine or Feminine accordingly.  So also civis, citizen; parens, parent; etc.  The gender of such nouns is said to be common.