Introduction
First Declension
Characterized by the stem ending "-a".
Includes nouns and adjectives that are usually feminine. For example:
"vena" - vein
"acuta" - acute
The stem letter of the nouns is "a".
The nominative singular form ends in "-a", and the genitive singular form ends in "-ae".
Masculine Nouns in the First Declension
Some masculine nouns, generally referring to occupations, belong to the first declension.
Example:
"collega, ae m" - colleague
Greek Loanwords in the First Declension
There are two groups of Greek loanwords in the first declension:
1. Feminine
Noun Singular: "-a"
Genitive Singular: "-es"
All other endings are the same as in Latin.
Examples include:
"acne, es f"
"Aloë, es f"
"diastole, es f"
"dyspnoea, is f"
"phlegmone, es f"
"systole, es f"
2. Masculine
Noun Singular: "-es"
All other endings are the same as in Latin.
There are only two words (diagnoses) that end in this way:
"ascites, ae m"
"diabetes, ae m"
Adjectives
Adjectives in the feminine gender that end in "-a" in the Nominative Singular belong to the first declension.
They agree with nouns in gender, number, and case.
In a term composed of a noun and adjective(s), if all the words belong to the first declension, they all change simultaneously and in the same way.
Understanding the Meaning of Words
The ways of indicating the meanings of words are conventions.
Determining meaning in a term or diagnosis is generally based on substituting simple formulas.
Sometimes there can be slight differences or exceptions to these formulas.
Importance of Practice
The purpose of studying these tables is to help you automatically and effortlessly distinguish different inflected forms.
You should practice exercises until you can recognize the meaning without having to recall the declension table.
Expressions
"cum in menopausa" - during the menopause
"haemorrhagia" - with hemorrhage
"sine epilepsia" - without epilepsy