Suffixes latins

La liste ci-après reprend le texte de Stearn, suivi de compléments.

• Voir aussi Noms des plantes en latin.

aculum

-aculum (n. II) : indicates an instrument or means ; verb base ; e.g. retinaculum, hold fast, tether (from retinere, to hold back, retain).

ago

-ago (f. III) : indicates resemblance or connexion ; noun base ; e.g. plumbago, kind of lead (from plumbum, lead). According to Ernout (1941) the ending -go originally indicated a force doing something, as in vertigo, then a change of state or a state or tendency or malady, e.g. robigo (state of being red, tendency to become red, hence iron-rust), aerugo (rust of copper), and thus it became a word-forming element to indicate possession of a property, e.g. lactago (herb with milky juice), or resemblance, e.g. ferulago (inferior or lesser kind of ferula), cunilago (a kind of cunila).

• Erucago
• Ferulago
• Plantago
• Plumbago
• Selago
• Ventilago

aria

-aria. non cité par Stearn.

On remarque que la plupart des noms ne dérivent pas d'un autre nom.

arium

-arium (n. II) : indicates a place where something is done or a container ; e.g. herbarium, collection of dried plants (from herba, herb), ovarium, ovary (from ovum, egg).

aster

-aster (m. II), -astra (f. I), -astrum (n. II); indicates inferiority or incomplete resemblance, hence often applied to the wild equivalent of a cultivated plant ; noun base ; e.g. oleaster, the wild olive (from olea, olive) ; cf. Seck & Schnorr (1884).

• Attention à ne pas confondre avec les mots composés avec aster, "étoile", comme Geastrum, ou les dérivés du nom de genre botanique Aster, comme Afroaster, Almutaster, Iranoaster, Madagaster, Talamancaster.

L'hypothèse d'un emprunt au grec n'est pas avérée. En latin, on a des noms en -trum et en -strum. Le développement en -astrum pourrait venir d'une mécoupure. Le constat de Stearn d'une usage pour désigner des plantes sauvages apparentées aux plantes cultivées vaut pour le latin classique apiastrum, oleaster, pinaster ou mentastrum. Mais les botanistes ont ensuite abondamment utilisé -astrum au sens de "qui ressemble à", "qui est proche de". Si Cotonaster est pré-linnéen (Gesner), les autres sont pour la plupart linnéens ou post-linnéens.

noms mentionnés par Seck & Schnorr

• alicastrum (Col. II 6, 3)
• apiastellum (Apul. herb. 8, 66)
• apiaster (Prisc. II, 444)
• apiastrum (Sall. Hist. II 2)
• lotaster (Grat. Cyneg. 131)
• mentastrum (Cels. 5, 27, 7)
• nigellaster (Glos. Diefenbach)
• ocymastrum : herba ocymo similis (Gloss. De Vit.)
• oleastellus (Col. XII 51, 3)
• oleaster, oleastrum
• pinastellus, pinastellum (Apul. herb. 94)
• pinaster
• porcastrum (Apul. herb. 103)
• pyriaster (Gloss. De Vit.), pyraster
• salicastrum
• seliquastrum, siliquastrum (Plin. XIX 187)
• silvastrati (ital. selvastrella)

Noms botaniques

• Alicastrum P.Browne, synonyme de Brosimum Sw.
• Apiastrum, dérivé de Apium
• Chenopodiastrum, dérivé de Chenopodium
• Cotoneaster, dérivé de cotoneum, cognassier
• Erucastrum, dérivé de Eruca
• Haumaniastrum, dérivé de Haumania
• Humiriastrum, dérivé de Humiria
• Limoniastrum, dérivé de Limonium
• Loeseliastrum, dérivé de Loeselia
• Malvastrum, dérivé de Malva
• Marrubiastrum, dérivé de Marrubium
• menthastrum
• ocymastrum
• Piptadeniastrum, dérivé de Piptadenia
• Pyrus pyraster
• Rapistrum
• Raphanistrum
• Sorghastrum, dérivé de Sorghum
• Trigoniastrum
• Uvariastrum, dérivé de Uvaria
• Vernoniastrum, dérivé de Vernonia
• Veronicastrum, dérivé de Veronica

bulum

-bulum (n. II), -bula (f. I); indicates an instrument or means; verb base ; e.g. involucrum, wrapper, involucre (from in volvere, wrap up, envelop).

cellus

-cellus (m. II), -cella (f. I), -cellum (n. II) ; -cillus (m. II), -cilla (f. I), -cillum (n. II) ; -culus (m. II), -cula (f. n, -culum (n. II) ; -ellus (m. II), -ella (f. I), -ellum (n. II) ; -illus (m. II), -illa (f. I), -illum (n. II) : diminutive ; e.g. cuticula, cuticle (from cutis, skin), lamella, small plate, gill (from lamina, plate, blade), pedicellus, pedicel (from pes, foot). The suffixes -ulus, etc., -ellus, etc., and -illus, etc., form compounds with nouns of the First Declension, -culus, etc., with those of the Third and Fourth Declensions, -cellus, etc., and -cillus, etc., with any declension.

-etum (n. II) : indicates collective place of growtb, bence plant association ; noun base; e.g. quercetum, oak-wood (from quercus, oak) ; cf. Mayer (1954).

-ies (f. V) : indicates a thing formed ; verb base; e.g. series, row (from serere, to put in a row).

-io (f. III): indicates the abstract or general result of an action; verb base; e.g. co!lectio, a collecting together (from col!igere, to gather together).

-itas (f. III), -itia (f. I), -itics (f. III), -itudo (f. III) : indicates a concept or quality: adjectival or participai base; e.g. affinitas, relationship (from affinis, bordering), duritia, hardness (from durus, hard), longitudo, length (from longus, long), crassities, thickness (from crassus, thick).

-orium (m. II) : indicates place of work or action ; verb base; e.g. laboratorium, laboratory (from laborare, to work, from labor, toil).

-ugo (f. III) : indicates a substance or property possessed ; noun or adjective base ; e.g. asperugo a prickly plant (from asper, rough), lanugo, down (from lana, wool) ; cf. -aga above, p. 305.

-ullus (m. II), -ula (f. I), -ulum (n. II) : diminutive ; noun base of First or Second declension nouns ; e.g. capsula, a small box, capsule (from capsa, box).

-ura (f. I) : indicates the result of an action ; verb base ; e.g. incisura, incision (from incidere, to eut into).

-abilis -is -e : see below under -bilis.

-aceus -a -um : indicates resemblance ; noun base ; e.g. coriaceus, leathery (from corium, leather), rosaceus, rose-like (from rosa, rose).

-alis -is -e: belonging or pertaining to ; noun base; e.g. dorsalis, dorsal (from dorsum, back), autumnalis, autumnal (from autumnus, autumn).

-aneus -a -um: indicates resemblance or material out of which something is made; noun base; e.g. cutaneus, relating to the skin (from cutis, skin).

-anus -a -um : indicates position, connexion or possession by; noun base; e.g. africanus, African (from A/rica), montanus, relating to mountains (from mons, mountain), c/usianus, belonging to Clusius (from Charles de l'Écluse).

-aris -is -e: a variant of -alis used after stems ending in 1; · e.g. ste/laris, starry (from stella, star), avicularis, relating to small birds (from avicu/a, diminutive of avis, bird).

-arius -a -um : indicates connexion or possession ; noun or numeral base ; e.g. arenarius, pertainjng to sand (from arena, sand), primarius, chief (from primus, the first).

-ascens : indicates process of becoming, bence incomplete manifestation ; noun or adjectival base; e.g. purpurascens, becoming purple, purplish (from purpureus, purple).

-aticus -a -um : indicates place of growth ; noun base ; e.g. sylvaticus, belonging to woods (from silva, wood).

-atilis -is -e : indicates place of growth ; noun base ; e.g. saxatilis, dwelling among rocks (from saxum, rock).

-atus -a -um: (l) indicates possession or likeness; noun base ; e.g. capilatus, with a head (from caput, head), ovatus, egg-shaped (from ovum, egg); (2) perfect participai ending of verbs of First Conjugation, indicating an action made or done; e.g. fucatus, coloured (from fucare, to colour).

-ax : uncornmon ending with sense of 'inclining to and apt to' ; verb base ; e.g. tenax , gripping, tenacious, tough (from tenere, to hold) fugax, apt to flee, fleeting, withering or falling quickly (from fugere, to flee).

-bills -is -e: indicates capacity or ability; verb base; it becomes -abilis with verbs having the infinitive in -are and -ibilis with those in -ere and -ire; e.g. variabilis, able to change (from variare, to change); flexibilis, bendable (from flectere, to bend).

-bundus -a -um : indicates doing, like a present participle, or action accomplished ; verb base ; e.g. floribundus, flowering, full of flowers (from florere, to flower).

-cellus -a -um, -cillus -a -um, -culus -a -um, -ellus -a -um : diminutive ; adjectival base ; e.g. pilosiusculus, slightly pilose (from pilosus, pilose, from pilus, hair), rubellus, reddish (from ruber, red).

-cundus -a -um : indicates an aptitude or constant tendency; e.g. fecundus, fruitful, verecundus, bashful ; cf. Beneviste (1933).

-ensis -is -e : indicates country or place of growth or origin or else habitat; noun base ; e.g. bononiensis, relating to Bononia (now Bologna), pratensis, growing in meadows (from pratum, meadow).

-escens -is -e : indicates process of becoming, hence not fully achieved resemblance, often expressed in English by the termination '-ish' ; verb base, usually itself with a noun or adjectival base; e.g. senescens, becoming aged (from senescere, to grow old, from senex, old), rubescens, reddening, reddish (from rubescere, to grow red, from ruber, red).

-estris (-ester) -is -e : indicates place of growth; noun base ; e.g. rupestris, dwelling among rocks (from rupes, rock). After u the e is dropped, e.g. lacustris, dwelling in lakes (from lacus, lake).

-eus -a -um : indicates material or colour or resemblance in quality ; noun base; e.g. melleus, pertaining to honey (from mel, honey), purpureus, purple (from purpura, the mollusc yielding a purple dye ; cf. Chapter XVIII). This should not be confused with the Greek -ëus meaning 'belonging to' or 'noted for', e.g. giganteus, belonging to the giants, hence gigantic.

-ibilis -is -e : see above under -bilis.

-icans : indicates process of becoming or resemblance sometimes so close as to be almost identical ; participai suffix with verb base from noun base ; e.g. nigricans, blackish (from nigricare, to be blackish, from niger, black). -icius -a -um, -itius -a -um : indicates result of an action ; verb base ; adventicius, come from abroad, foreign, out of the ordinary (from advenire, to come, arrive); cf. Wölflin (1888).

-idus -a -um : indicates a state or an action in progress ; verb, noun or adjectival base; e.g. albidus, whitish (from albus, white), nitidus, shining, polished (from nitere, to shine).

-ilis -is -e: indicates capacity or ability, bence a property or quality; verb base; e.g.fragilis, easily broken (ultimately from frangere, to break).

-illus -a -um: diminutive, like -cellus; see above.

-ineus -a -um : indicates material or colour or close resemblance, like -eus above ; noun base.

-inus -a -um: indicates possession or resemblance; noun base; e.g. marinus, belonging to the sea (from mare, sea), ovinus, belonging to sheep (from ovis, sheep), ursinus, belonging to a bear, shaggy like a bear (from ursus, bear). This comes close to the Greek ινος, Latinized as inus, indicating material or colour, bence possession or resemblance, e.g. hyacinthinus, of or belonging to the hyacinth (from hyacinthus, hyacinth, Hyacinthos, pre-Greek name in Greek mythology).

-ius -a -um: means 'characteristic of', bence indicates connexion or resemblance; noun base ; e.g. regius, royal (from rex, king).

-ivus -a -um : indicates capacity, ability, possession by or property of; verb or noun base ; e.g. sensitivus, capable of feeling (from sentire, to feel).

-izans: means 'becoming like, resembling, forming' ; noun base ; e.g. graecizans, imitating the Greeks (from Graeci, the Greeks).

-oideus -a -um : indicates resemblance ; noun base ; see -oides below (p. 310).

-olentus -a -um : see -ulentus below.

-orius -a -um: indicates capability, action, or function; verb base; e.g. tinctorius, belonging to dyeing (from tingere, to soak in colour).

-osus -a -um: indicates abundance or full or marked development; noun base; e.g. venosus, full of veins (from vena, vein); cf. Ernout (1949).

-ulentus -a -um, -olentus -a -um : indicates abundance or full or marked development ; noun base; e.g. succulentus, full of juice, succulent (from succus or sucus, juice) ; vinolentus, full of wine, drunk (from vinum, wine) ; cf. Ernout (1949), Szemerényi (1954).

-ulus -a -um: (1) diminutive ; adjectival base; e.g. hispidulus, minutely hispid (from hispidus, bristly) ; (2) indicates a tendency or action ; verb base; e.g. pendulus, hanging down (from pendere, to suspend).

-utus -a -um: indicates possession ; noun base; e.g. cornutus, horned (from cornu, horn).

-uus -a -um : indicates possibility or result of action; verb base, rarely noun base ; e.g. deciduus, falling off (from decidere, to fall down).

• Benveniste, E., 1933. Les adjectifs latins en -cundus. Bull. Soc. Linguist. Paris, 34 : 186-190.
• Buck, C. D. & Petersen, W., 1945. A reverse Index of Greek Nouns and Adjectives. Chicago.
• Ernout, A., 1941. Les noms en -āgō, -īgō, -ūgō du latin. Revue de Philologie, III. 15 : 85-111.
• Ernout, A., 1949. Les Adjectifs latins en -ōsus et en -ulentus. Paris.
• Funck, A., 1893. Die lateinischen Adverbia auf -im, ihre Bildung und ihre Geschichte. Arch. Latein. Lexikogr., 8 : 77-114.
• Leumann, M., 1944. Gruppierung und Funktioner der Wortbildungssuffixe des Lateins. Museum Helveticum, 1 : 129-151.
• Mayer, A., 1954. Die lat. Ortsbezeichnungen auf -etum. Glotta, 33 : 227-238.
• Nybakken, O. E., 1959. Greek and Latin in scientific Terminology. Ames, Iowa.
• Osthoff, H., 1887. Die lateinische Adverbia auf -iter. Arch. Latein. Lexikogr., 4 : 455-466.
• Schnorr von Carolsfeld, H., 1884. Das lateinische Suffix -anus. Arch. Latein. Lexikogr., 1 : 177-194.
• Schönwerth, O., & Weymer, C., 1888. Über die lateinischen Adjectiva auf -osus. Arch. Latein. Lexikogr., 5 : 192-222.
• Seck, F. & Schnorr von Carolsfeld, H., 1884. Das lateinische Suffix aster, astra, astrum. Arch. Latein. Lexicogr., 1 : 390-407. GoogleBooks
• Stearn, Willam T., 1983. Botanical latin. History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary. 3rd ed. revised. Newton Abbot, David & Charles. 566 p. Ce livre est une merveille de précision et d'érudition. Il inclut de nombreuses planches illustrant les systèmes terminologiques utilisés pour décrire les plantes, et ce dans une perspective historique. Il contient plusieurs glossaires latins et anglais. Bref, c'est l'outil indispensable à ceux qui veulent comprendre comment les noms latins sont construits et quelle est leur signification, sans parler de ceux qui ont à rédiger des diagnoses.
• Swanson, D. C., 1958. Latin -ensis in verse texts. Glotta, 37 : 130-149.
• Szemerényi, O., 1954. The Latin adjectives in -ulentus. Glotta, 33 : 266-282.
• Werner, C. F., 1956. Wortelemente lateinisch-griechischer Fachausdrücke in der Biologie. Leipzig.
• Wikén, E., 1951. Latin för Botanister och Zoologer. Malmö.
• Wölfflin, E. von, 1888. Die Adjektiva auf -icius. Arch. Latein. Lexikogr., 5 : 415-437.
• Wölfflin, E. von, 1902. Analogiebildungen auf -ellus, -ella-, -ellum. Arch. Latein. Lexikogr., 12 : 301-308.