§100. Nouns wanting in the Plural

Many of these nouns, however, are used in the plural in some other sense.

a. The plural of a proper name may be applied to two or more persons or places, or even things, and so become strictly common:—

• duodecim Caesarēs, the twelve Cæsars.
• Galliae, the two Gauls (Cis- and Transalpine).
• Castores, Castor and Pollux; Iovēs, images of Jupiter.

b. The plural of names of things reckoned in mass may denote particular objects: as, aera, bronze utensils, nivēs, snowflakes; or different kinds of a thing: as, āerēs, airs (good and bad).

c. The plural of abstract nouns denotes occasions or instances of the quality, or the like:—

• quaedam excellentiae, some cases of superiority; ōtia, periods of rest; calōrēs, frīgora, times of heat and cold.