Fourth declension nouns
There are
- Usually masculine and end ‘-us’ in the nominative singular
- Sometimes feminine and end ‘-us’ in the nominative singular
- Occasionally neuter and end ‘-u’ in the nominative singular
- Always ‘-us’ in the genitive singular
- Characterised by ‘u’ in their endings
Both masculine and feminine nouns take these endings.
| Case |
Singular |
Plural |
| Nominative |
-us |
-us |
| Vocative |
-us |
-us |
| Accusative |
-um |
-us |
| Genitive |
-us |
-uum |
| Dative |
-ui |
-ibus |
| Ablative |
-u |
-ibus |
Look at our example of redditus, -us (m.) rent
| Case |
Singular |
Plural |
| Nominative |
redditus |
redditus |
| Vocative |
redditus |
redditus |
| Accusative |
redditum |
redditus |
| Genitive |
redditus |
reddituum |
| Dative |
redditui |
redditibus |
| Ablative |
redditu |
redditibus |
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Examples of fourth declension nouns:
| adventus , -us (m.) |
appearance in court, arrival, Advent |
| comitatus , -us (m.) |
county, earldom, county court |
| exitus, -us (m.) |
profits, exit, revenue |
| ingressus, -us (m.) |
entry, right of entry |
| manus, -us (f.) |
hand |
| obitus, -us (m.) |
death, anniversary of a death |
| visus , -us (m.) |
view |
 |
Tip |
 In English, a manuscript is a document ‘written by hand’. This comes from Latin
- ‘manu’ is the ablative form of manus meaning ‘by hand’
- ‘script’ comes from scriptum meaning ‘writing’ scriptum, -i (n.) writing
|
Common phrases involving fourth declension nouns:
| per manum |
by hand |
| in manu regis |
in the king’s hand |
| in manibus domini |
in the hands of the lord (compare with the phrase above) |
| in comitatu |
in the county |
| visus franciplegii |
view of frankpledge franciplegius, -ii (m.) frankpledge |
| curia visus franciplegii |
court of view of frankpledge |
| de redditu terre |
of the rent of the land |
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| domina Christina tria molendina aquatica tenet pro redditu de tribus solidis |
Lady Christina holds three water mills for a rent of three shillings. |
Christina, -e (f.) Christina
aquaticus, -a, -um worked by water |
| abbas et monachi ius ingressus et exitus porcis eis habent |
The abbot and monks have the right of entry and exit for their pigs. |
porcus, -i (m.) pig |
| conquestus, -us (m.) |
the Norman conquest of England in 1066 |
| a conquestu |
since the Conquest |
| post conquestum |
since the Conquest |
These are both used to describe reigns since the Norman Conquest, for example
| anno regni regis Edwardi quarti post conquestum primo |
in the first year of the reign of King Edward the fourth since the Conquest |
Roll your mouse over any of the five boxes of Latin words to reveal the English translation underneath. Take particular note of where the corresponding English word or phrase is placed within the sentence to observe the format.
Do you see that primo ‘the first’ goes with anno? primus, -a, -um first
Now you can tackle the many versions of this phrase that you will find.
domus, -us (f.) house is different from redditus in the
- Ablative singular - domo
- Accusative plural – can be domos or domus
- Genitive plural – can be domuum or domorum
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| redditus huius domus tres solidi est |
The rent of this house is three shillings |
|
| apud domum regis |
At the king’s house |
|
| Idem abbas dixit quod comes Simo dedit ecclesiam domui sue monachorum |
The same abbot said that earl Simon gave the church to his house of monks |
|
| ego Ricardus has duas domus in magna via lego meis filiabus |
I, Richard, leave these two houses in the main street to my daughters. |
Ricardus , -i (m.) Richard |
Neuter nouns are rare. There is an example
in the table of grammar.
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Introduction 
Tutorial
Lesson 1
Word list 
