-men
Etymology
From Proto-Italic *-men, from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-men n (genitive -minis); third declension
- forms neuter nouns of the third declension, generally with senses along the lines of 'a means of doing something'
Usage notes
Nouns ending in the suffix -men are often derived from verbs. Derivatives of first-conjugation verbs end in -āmen, such as lībrāmen from lībrō (“I balance, poise”) (active present infinitive lībrāre, present stem lībrā-). Derivatives of fourth-conjugation verbs end in -īmen. Derivatives of second- and third-conjugation verbs show various patterns depending on the stem involved. Derivatives of nouns or adjectives also show some variation: some end in -āmen (such as linteāmen, oleāmen, pinguāmen from linteum, oleum, pinguis) while others end in -ūmen (such as albūmen, caldūmen from albus, caldus).
Compare also the formation and use of nouns ending in -mentum; for some nouns ending in -men, there is a corresponding noun ending in -mentum with a similar meaning, such as vēlāmen (“covering”) and vēlāmentum (“covering”).
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -men | -mina |
| Genitive | -minis | -minum |
| Dative | -minī | -minibus |
| Accusative | -men | -mina |
| Ablative | -mine | -minibus |
| Vocative | -men | -mina |