proper noun · neutersecond declension
Altīnum
Altīnum n sg (genitive Altīnī)
Meaning
- a city of Venetia situated near the mouth of the river Silis, on a marshy area
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Altīnum | — |
| genitive | Altīnī | — |
| dative | Altīnō | — |
| accusative | Altīnum | — |
| ablative | Altīnō | — |
| vocative | Altīnum | — |
| locative | Altīnī | — |
Altīnum, i, n., = Ἄλτινον,
I. a town in the north of Italy, near Venice, at the mouth of the river Silis, upon the shore of the Adriatic Sea, distinguished for its fat sheep and magnificent villas; now Altino, Mart. 14, 155; Plin. 3, 16, 20, § 118; 3, 18, 22, § 126; cf. Mann. Ital. 1, 85, 86.—Hence, Altīnus, a, um, adj., pertaining to Altinum, Col. 6, 24.—Altīnas, ātis, the same, Col. 7, 2, 3. —Altīnātes, ium, m., its inhabitants, Plin. Ep. 3, 2.
Origins
Uncertain: * According to Alessio-De Giovanni, the name derives from a Mediterranean pre-IE substrate *alt (“swamp”) * Comparable with Altaenus in Apulia, from a dental extension *alt- of Proto-Italic *alō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi (“grow, nourish”), making it a doublet of altus (“tall, high”). This is supported by Pokorny and Frisk. * According to Duridanov, the extension *alt- is from Proto-Indo-European *ol-to (“flooded”), from *el- (“to flow”).