Vol. 52 No. 2 (2014)
Articles

Il genitivo tematico latino in -ī: problemi comparativi e ricostruttivi

Giovanni Pairotti
Bio

Published 2015-01-20

Keywords

  • Latin,
  • thematic declension,
  • genitive.

Abstract

This paper deals with the Latin thematic genitive in Indo-European perspective. The origin of the ending has been disputed since the beginnings of Indo-European linguistics because it shows no trace of the thematic vowel. Firstly, the comparative data are presented since the ending is widespread through several Western Indo-European languages (Faliscan, Venetic and Celtic, except for Celtiberian); moreover, it has been recently detected in Tokharian. Following the scenario put forward by Pinault (forthcoming), it is then argued that the ending can be traced back to the neuter of relational adjectives in *-ih2, which stand by the thematic declension according to an archaic pattern.