patribus

Patribus is a Latin noun form derived from pater, meaning father. It is the dative plural and the ablative plural form of pater in the third declension. In Latin, these cases are used for indirect objects (to/for the fathers) and for various functions governed by the ablative, such as means, manner, or accompaniment, depending on the sentence context. The form patribus therefore appears in texts whenever the referent is plural fathers and the syntactic role requires a dative or ablative plural.

In practical use, patribus can appear in phrases such as donum patribus, meaning a gift to the fathers, or cum patribus, meaning with the fathers. Ab patribus means by the fathers. Because Latin frequently relies on case endings to convey grammatical relationships, patribus carries different shades of meaning based on the surrounding verbs and prepositions.

Etymology and related forms: Patribus comes from the Latin root pater, “father,” which is common to many Romance languages and has given rise to numerous English derivatives such as paternal, patriarchy, patrimony, and patriot. The word patr- functions as a core semantic element in these terms, even though patribus itself is strictly a case form rather than a standalone lexical item.

See also: pater, patria, paternal, patrimony, patriot. Notes: Patribus is a grammatical inflection rather than a separate word, and its exact meaning depends on context provided by verbs and prepositions in Latin sentences.