fragmentis

Fragmentis is a Latin term that functions primarily as a grammatical form rather than as a standalone concept. It appears as the dative or ablative plural of the neuter noun fragmentum, which means a fragment or piece. The base noun fragmentum derives from the verb frangere, “to break,” and the morpheme fragment- signals a broken piece. Consequently, fragmentis can be translated as “to fragments,” “for fragments,” or “by/with fragments,” depending on the syntactic role in the sentence.

In classical Latin texts, fragmentis occurs in constructions referring to fragmentary material or pieces of a larger object, such as inscriptions or manuscripts. It is commonly encountered in phrases where fragments are being described, cited as evidence, or contrasted with a complete whole. For example, a Latin phrase like ex fragmentis would convey “from the fragments,” illustrating how the form functions within a larger clause.

As a grammatical form, fragmentis is not a technical term in its own right; rather, it is the appropriate Latin ending used within sentences. In English-language scholarship, the related noun forms fragmentum or fragmenta are more often used to refer to fragments themselves, while fragmentis appears only as the Latin inflection within a sentence.

See also: fragmentum, fragmenta, fragments (English term).