laudatorem

Laudatorem is the accusative singular form of the Latin noun laudator, meaning "praiser" or "one who praises." The base verb is laudare, "to praise," and the agent-noun suffix -tor yields laudator, "praiser." Laudatorem therefore denotes the direct object in Latin clauses in which a praiser or the act of praising is described.

Morphology: Laudator is masculine noun of the third declension. Singular: nominative laudator, genitive laudatoris, dative laudatori, accusative laudatorem, ablative laudatore. Plural: nominative laudatores, genitive laudatorum, dative laudatoribus, accusative laudatores, ablative laudatoribus.

Usage: In classical and medieval Latin, laudatorem typically functions as the object of verbs such as laudare "to praise" or laudari "to be praised" when a praiser is the target of praise or of praise itself. The form occasionally appears in literary titles or descriptions to designate the person who extols or the person praised. The idiom laudator temporum ("the praiser of the times") is a conventional expression used to characterize a writer or speaker who extols the present era.

Related terms: laudatio (a praise, eulogy), laudabilis (praiseworthy). See also Latin grammar entries on third-declension masculine nouns ending in -or.