First Declension Latin Nouns: Ultimate Guide for Students
The first declension is one of the earliest topics introduced to Latin students. And since language-learning is cumulative, it is crucial that you master this declension!
Luckily, first declension Latin nouns are some of the easiest to master (in my personal and professional opinion). Most case forms feature a distinctive a, which makes them easy to spot.
Around 18% of the most frequently used Latin nouns belong to the first declension. These include key words such as aqua (water), terra (earth), and Rōma (Rome).
As a Latin professor, I can assure you that you will NOT regret spending quality time with this declension!
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What is the Latin first declension?
The first declension is a group of nouns whose stem vowel is –ā-. These nouns share a set of case endings that feature the letter A strongly.
A is the first letter of the alphabet, which can help you to remember that it dominates in the first declension.
If you need a refresher, you can read my explanation of the concept of declension. Otherwise, let’s establish an important rule.
A Latin noun belongs to the first declension if its genitive singular ends in -ae.
When you encounter a new noun in your textbook or in a Latin dictionary, you will see two forms given. The second one is the genitive singular.
EXAMPLE: aura, aurae – breeze
The ending –ae on aurae informs us that this is a first declension Latin noun.
Almost 1 in every 5 common Latin nouns belongs to the first declension. Look at this cool pie chart that I made:
First Declension Latin Case Endings
The following chart shows the first declension case endings. These endings apply to all nouns in the first declension (except for some Greek loanwords, which are a more advanced topic that we will discuss below).
| Case | SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | a | ae |
| Genitive | ae | ārum |
| Dative | ae | īs |
| Accusative | am | ās |
| Ablative | ā | īs |
It’s helpful to see the case endings in isolation, but in Latin texts you will always encounter them attached to a noun. To decline a first declension noun, find its base/stem and then add the endings above.
The next chart shows the declension of terra, terrae “earth, land”.
| Case | SINGULAR | PLURAL |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | terra | terrae |
| Genitive | terrae | terrārum |
| Dative | terrae | terrīs |
| Accusative | terram | terrās |
| Ablative | terrā | terrīs |
The vocative case has the same endings as the nominative. As for the locative case, the singular is the same as the genitive, while the plural is the same as the ablative.
EXCEPTIONS: Two first declension nouns, fīlia “daughter” and dea “goddess”, have irregular dative and ablative plurals. Instead of fīliīs and deīs we usually see fīliābus and deābus.
Terra nōbīs multa dōna dat. = The earth gives us many gifts. [nominative singular]
Terram novam vidēbō. = I will see a new land. [accusative singular]
Terrā marīque fortiter pugnant. = They fight bravely on land and sea. [ablative singular]
Orbis terrārum multās regiōnēs habet. = The circle of lands (the world) has many regions. [genitive plural]
Sōl omnibus terrīs lūcem dat. = The sun gives light to all lands. [dative plural]
👉 Not sure what is happening here? Read my post on Latin cases for beginners!
If you are a beginning student, then focus on memorizing the standard endings in the charts above. But I also want to note the existence of some rarer forms.
ARCHAIC GENITIVE SINGULAR: There are two archaic genitive singular endings to watch out for. The first, –ās, only survives in the set phrases paterfamiliās (“father of the family”, i.e. head of the household) and māterfamiliās (“mother of the family”, i.e. the wife of the paterfamiliās).
The second archaic ending is –āī, which appears in early inscriptions and in authors such as Ennius, Plautus, Lucretius, and (occasionally) Vergil. The older form is used for an archaizing effect or sometimes for parody.
Ollī respondit rēx Albāī Longāī
To him responded the king of Alba Longa
Ennius, Annales Skutsch fr. 31
Ennius, writing in the early 2nd century B.C.E., was active in a transitional period where –āī was disappearing in favor of –ae.
The āī ending can also appear in the dative singular.
LATE LATIN -E: By the late Roman Empire, people were no longer treating –ae as a diphthong and instead were pronouncing it like a long E sound (ē). As a result, –ae began to be written as –e. So if you are reading later inscriptions or medieval manuscripts, expect to see terre for the genitive singular, dative singular, and nominative plural.
List of Common First Declension Nouns
Now you know what the first declension is and what its case endings look like, so it’s time to learn some of the most common nouns of this declension!
The following chart contains the 25 most frequently used first declension nouns (taken from the DCC Latin Core Vocabulary List).
Notice that I have used an accepted shorthand here. Instead of writing out terra, terrae I have abbreviated the genitive singular to ae.
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| terra, ae | land, earth |
| vīta, ae | life |
| causa, ae | cause, reason; lawsuit |
| fortūna, ae | fortune |
| nātūra, ae | nature |
| cūra, ae | care, concern, attention |
| īra, ae | anger |
| via, ae | road, way, street |
| unda, ae | wave; water |
| poena, ae | punishment, penalty |
| puella, ae | girl |
| silva, ae | forest, wood |
| umbra, ae | shadow, shade; ghost |
| aqua, ae | water |
| fāma, ae | fame, reputation; rumor |
| flamma, ae | flame |
| turba, ae | crowd; uproar |
| cōpia, ae | supply, abundance; (pl. troops) |
| patria, ae | country, fatherland |
| lacrima, ae | tear |
| glōria, ae | glory |
| fuga, ae | flight |
| āra, ae | altar |
| grātia, ae | favor, kindness; charm; (pl.) thanks |
| iniūria, ae | injustice, wrong, injury |
All of these nouns are among the 400 most used words in the Latin language, so you will see them everywhere as you learn to read Latin.
You should also be aware of the following idioms involving first declension nouns.
- Poenās dare, literally “to give penalties”, is usually translated as “pay the penalty” or “receive punishment” for something.
- Grātiās agere, literally “to do/make thanks”, is best expressed in English as “to thank” or “to give thanks”. Read more in my post on saying thank you in Latin.
- Two of the nouns in this list, causa and grātia, are used so frequently in the ablative case that they almost act like prepositions. Causā means “because of” or “for the sake of”, while grātiā means “thanks to” or “for the sake of”. Both words are preceded by a noun in the genitive case; so, for example, omnia pecūniae causā facit (“s/he does all things for the sake of money“).
Add these key words and phrases to your Latin flashcards – you won’t regret it!
What gender are first declension Latin nouns?
First declension Latin nouns are by default feminine. It doesn’t matter if they refer to inanimate objects; they are still feminine.
The only exceptions are nouns that refer to male people or professions. The “natural gender” rule says that the grammatical gender of a noun must match the sex of the person referred to.
Textbooks often use the mnemonic PAIN to remind students of four relatively common masculine nouns of the first declension.
- P stands for poēta, ae “poet”
- A stands for agricola, ae “farmer”
- I stands for incola, ae “inhabitant”
- N stands for nauta, ae “sailor”
Obviously in the modern world – and even in the ancient world, let’s be honest – women could be poets, farmers, sailors, and certainly inhabitants. But these identities were gendered masculine in the Roman imagination, so the nouns were considered masculine, as well.
Another group of 1st declension masculine nouns consists of personal names. Here are a few examples:
- Agrippa, ae: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was Augustus Caesar’s trusted friend, general, and eventually son-in-law.
- Cinna, ae: Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a warlord of the 1st century B.C.E.
- Galba, ae: Servius Sulpicius Galba reigned as Roman emperor for an ill-fated 7 months in 68-69 C.E.
- Seneca, ae: Two Roman authors had the this name, Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder and Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger.
- Sulla, ae: Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a Roman dictator of the 1st century B.C.E.
Aside from these male professions and names, all first declension nouns are feminine.
And the best part of it? They all have the exact same case endings, regardless of gender!
If you are a beginning student, I would recommend that you skip the next section and jump down to my final tips. If you are more advanced, keep reading for a discussion of Greek loanwords in the Latin first declension!
Greek Nouns in the Latin First Declension
Romans admired Greece as the source of beautiful literature and art, so it is not surprising that the Greek language can sometimes influence Latin declension patterns.
When Roman authors include Greek first declension names in their writing, they often adopt Greek endings. But these Greek endings only appear in the singular.
Consider the following verses from Vergil’s Aeneid:
Turnus ut Aenēān cēdentem ex agmine vīdit
turbātōsque ducēs, subitā spē fervidus ardet.When Turnus saw Aeneas retreating from the battle line
Vergil, Aeneid 12.324-325
and the alarmed leaders, he burned, boiling with sudden hope.
Aeneas is a first declension noun: Aenēās, Aenēae. But the form that Vergil uses, Aenēān, does not appear among our standard Latin first declension endings.
This is because it is the Greek first declension accusative singular form. Aenēās is a Latinization of the Greek nominative Αἰνείας (Aineiās), and Aenēān is a Latinization of the Greek accusative Αἰνείαν (Aineiān).
The Greek first declension features both feminine and masculine nouns. Feminine nouns end in alpha (-α) or eta (-η) in the nominative singular, while masculine nouns end in alpha sigma (-ας) or eta sigma (-ης).
In Latin, we can thus find Greek nouns ending in –ā, –a, or –ē in the feminine nominative singular and in –ās or –ēs in the masculine nominative singular.
If you hope to read Roman texts dealing with mythology or history, be prepared to run into lots of Greek names! So it’s time for some paradigms.
Nouns ending in –a or –ās
First let’s compare nouns featuring an A (originally alpha). The bolded forms differ from the normal Latin first declension endings.
Notice that I have included the vocative case in this chart, right under the nominative. This is because the masculine vocatives differ from the nominative.
| Case | Feminine | Masculine |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Andromed·ā | Aenē·ās |
| Vocative | Andromed·ā | Aenē·ā |
| Genitive | Andromed·ae | Aenē·ae |
| Dative | Andromed·ae | Aenē·ae |
| Accusative | Andromed·ān (·am) | Aenē·ān (·am) |
| Ablative | Andromed·ā | Aenē·ā |
Most noteworthy is the accusative singular, which is –ān for both masculine and feminine. But the fully Latinized –am does occur, as well, and for feminine names it is often more common.
In general, feminine Greek loanwords tend to assimilate more fully into the native Latin paradigms. So we never find, say, *Creusan as the accusative of Aeneas’ wife’s name; it is always Creusam.
NOTE: Those interested in scanning Latin poetry should also observe that the final As of the feminine nominative and vocative singular are long, whereas in native Latin first declension nouns they would be short. The length of this final vowel depends on the specific Greek noun in question; Andromedā has a long A, but other Greek loanwords may not.
Nouns ending in –ē or –ēs
Greek loanwords ending in –ē or –ēs stand out more; they look less “Latin” and their endings are less Latinized.
| Case | Feminine | Masculine |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Melpomen·ē | Atrīd·ēs |
| Vocative | Melpomen·ē | Atrīd·ē (·ā) |
| Genitive | Melpomen·ēs | Atrīd·ae |
| Dative | Melpomen·ae | Atrīd·ae |
| Accusative | Melpomen·ēn | Atrīd·ēn (·am) |
| Ablative | Melpomen·ē | Atrīd·ē (·ā) |
As you can see, these endings look quite a bit different than our regular first declension Latin ones, although the masculine nouns have alternative, more Latinized endings.
Sometimes the Greek loanwords, especially the feminine ones, do have fully Latinized variants. So Helen of Troy has two different names: Helena, ae (fully Latinized) and Helenē, ēs (still very Greek).
Roman authors can talk about fōrma Helenae or fōrma Helenēs (both meaning “Helen’s beauty”) as they choose.
A NOTE ON PATRONYMICS: Atrīdēs, “son of Atreus,” is an excellent example of how male patronymics are assimilated into Latin as first declension masculine nouns. Another example is Aeneadēs, “descendant of Aeneas,” which pops up frequently in Roman literature.
When such loanwords are in the plural, they have normal first declension endings. So if we are talking about the sons of Atreus (aka Agamemnon and Menelaus), we say Atrīdae, Atrīdārum, Atrīdīs, Atrīdās, Atrīdīs.
Final Thoughts on the First Declension
What do you think of the first declension? My advice would be to spend a few days writing out the declensions of the 25 common nouns listed above. By the time you get done, you will have mastered first declension endings!
Don’t forget that I have a noun ending cheat sheet and declension worksheets that are free for my subscribers. You can get them here and use them to help you practice.
In general, the Latin first declension is quite straightforward. The quirkiest part is the inclusion of Greek loanwords, which can be confusing if you don’t know Ancient Greek. But even here, you will do well if you remember one basic principle: –ān and –ēn are accusative singular endings.
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