meliorum

Meliorum is the genitive plural form of the Latin adjective melior, meaning “of better” or “belonging to better ones.” Melior is the standard comparative of bonus, used to express superiority or improved quality in relation to another noun. As a Latin adjective, melior declines across gender, number, and case, with meliorum serving as the genitive plural form that can modify a noun in genitive plural or appear in noun phrases where the comparison or qualification is expressed possessedly.

In practice, melior/meliorum appear in a variety of constructions. A common use is with a noun in the genitive plural, as in meliorum rerum, “of better things/things that are better.” The neuter plural form meliora is used when describing neuter nouns in the nominative or accusative plural, such as tempora meliora, “better times,” where the adjective agrees with the neuter plural noun in case and number.

Melior derives from the same Latin root as bonus and is part of the standard set of comparatives formed with -ior, with the corresponding superlative optimus. Its genitive plural meliorum is one of several forms by which the adjective relates to different noun phrases in Latin prose and poetry.

See also: bonus, melior, Latin grammar, comparative adjectives.