fabulam

Fabulam is the Latin accusative singular form of the noun fabula, which means a story, tale, or fable. The term appears in classical and later Latin and is used as the direct object in sentences. In many contexts, fabula can refer to any narrative, including fables, folk tales, or the plot of a drama.

Grammar and forms: Fabula is a feminine noun of the first declension. Declension forms include: singular—nominative fabula, genitive fabulae, dative fabulae, accusative fabulam, ablative fabula; plural—nominative fabulae, genitive fabularum, dative fabulis, accusative fabulas, ablative fabulis. The form fabulam specifically marks the accusative singular, as in “fabulam narravit” (he told a tale).

Usage and nuances: In Latin prose and poetry, fabula can denote a narrative as a whole or, in literary contexts, the plot of a play or story being told. The verb combinations commonly used with fabula include narrare (to tell a tale), conficere fabulam (to finish a tale), or componere fabulam (to compose a tale). Semantic range overlaps with other terms for story or tale, but fabula often emphasizes a conveyed narrative rather than merely an abstract idea of storytelling.

Relation to modern scholarship: In narratology and literary theory, fabula is sometimes contrasted with the plot as arranged in a text, a distinction that helps analyze narrative structure. While contemporary usages extend beyond Latin, the form fabulam remains a standard example of the accusative singular of fabula in Latin grammars.

See also: fabula, narratology, Latin grammar.