suffix · neutersecond declension
-ētum
-ētum n (genitive -ētī)
Classical[ˈeː.tũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈɛː.tum]
Meaning
- morphemeused to form nouns from certain plant or tree names to denote a place where the species grows or is made to grow; grove, thicket, woods; orchard, plantation, -yard, garden
olea (“an olive”) + -ētum → olētum (“a olive-yard”)
rosa (“a rose”) + -ētum → rosētum (“a rose garden”)
- broadlymorphemeextended to other places
saxum (“a rock”) + -ētum → saxētum (“a rocky-place”)
bōs (“a cow or bull”) + -ētum → būcētum (“a cow-pasture”)
Origins
Rebracketing of -tum in nouns ending in -ē-tum; perhaps from veprētum (“a thicket of bramble”), from vepr-ē-s, or the early-attested olētum. The ease of attaching the vowel-initial suffix to any noun stem likely helped the suffix to supplant -tum. Compare other neuter suffixes that can form nouns representing locations, such as -ārium n, -īle n, -tōrium n (vs. masculine -ārius,-īlis, -tōrius).
Descendants
- Catalan-et
- Catalan-eda
- French-aie
- Italian-eto
- Italian-eta
- Portuguese-edo
- Romanian-et
- Spanish-edo
- Spanish-eda
- Galician-edo