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Third declension

The third is a category of in and with broadly similar formation — diverse , but similar . also has a corresponding class (although not commonly termed as third), in which the so-called basic case endings are applied very regularly.

In contrast with the and second-declension endings, those of the third declension lack a vowel (a or o/u in the first and second declensions) and so are called .

One distinguishing feature of third-declension nouns is a singular ending of a short vowel and s: Latin rēg-is "of a king" Greek χειρ-ός ( cheir-ós) "of a hand", and Sanskrit bhagavat-as "of the blessed (one)". Another is a singular ending of i (short i in Greek, long ī in Latin): rēg-ī "for a king"; χειρ-ί ( cheir-í) "for, with the hand". This corresponds to an -e ending in Sanskrit, which might have been a contracted ai or lengthened i: bhagavat-e "for the blessed (one)"

Many third-declension nouns, unlike first- or second-declension nouns, show different stems depending on case and number — usually one stem for the singular, and another for the rest of the cases, though some Greek nouns have three stems. Greek stems are often formed by : Latin "person" and homin-ēs "people"; Greek ( patēr’) "father", πατρ-ός ( patr-ós) "of a father", and πατέρ-ες ( patér-es), "fathers". In Sanskrit the situation is similar to that in Greek, but the strongest stem is used somewhat more.

A subcategory within both the Latin and Greek third declension is nouns with stems. These, unlike all first- and second-declension nouns, end in a consonant. Often the consonant at the beginning of certain endings undergoes a sound change with the consonant of the stem: Latin rēx "king", from rēg-s (compare the earlier-mentioned rēgis); ( poús) "foot", and Attic dative plural ποσί ( posí) "on foot" from πόδ-ς ( pód-s) and ποδ-σί ( pod-sí). These changes are subject to in Sanskrit.


Greek third-declension nouns with vowel endings
Other Greek nouns whose stems in the earliest Greek (notably Mycenaean) ended in ι ( i) or υ ( u), and j (English consonantal y) or (digamma; English w) in e-grade, have in later Greek undergone sound changes that markedly distinguish them from run-of-the-mill third-declension nouns. In particular, the stems with j or ϝ lose this sound, and in some cases the preceding vowel is lengthened by compensatory lengthening. In , if there is a short vowel adjacent in the ending, the two vowels switch their lengths by quantitative metathesis. Illustrative of the process is the development of the genitive singular of ( basileús), "king", ( pólis), "city", and ( ástu), "town":

early Greek *βασιλῆϝ-ος → βασιλῆος → Attic βασιλέως
early Greek *πόλεj-oς → Homeric πόληος → Attic πόλεως
early Greek *ϝάστηϝ-ος → *ἄστηος → Attic ἄστεως
*basilēw-os → basilēos → basiléōs
*póley-os → pólēos → póleōs
*wástēw-os → *ástēos → ásteōs


See also
  • Latin declension
  • Ancient Greek nouns

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