fourthdeclension
The fourth declension is a class of Latin nouns that forms its stems with a characteristic -u- element, and is usually composed of masculine or feminine nouns, with a smaller subset of neuter nouns. The defining feature is that the genitive singular ends in -ūs, from which the other forms are built. This declension includes a relatively small number of nouns compared with the first, second, and third declensions, but it covers a variety of semantic fields, including body parts, objects, and abstract ideas.
- Singular: the typical pattern presents a nominative ending -us or -u, a genitive -ūs, a dative commonly
- Plural: nominative and accusative usually end in -ūs, genitive in -uum, and the dative and ablative
- Neuter members of this class generally follow a slightly different pattern: the singular nominative and accusative
- The fourth declension includes masculine and feminine nouns, and a smaller number of neuter nouns. It
- Some nouns exhibit idiosyncratic forms in certain cases, which must be learned on a noun-by-noun basis.
- In Latin prose, the fourth declension appears in a range of registers, from classical to late
Examples commonly cited as belonging to the fourth declension include manus (hand), metus (fear), fructus (fruit),