Latin
The accusative absolute is sometimes found in place of the ablative absolute in the Latin of Late Antiquity as, for example, in the writings of Gregory of Tours and Jordanes. This likely arose when the pronunciation of the ablative and accusative singulars merged, since the final -m of the accusative singular was no longer pronounced, even in the Classical era. But the accusative absolute is also found with plural nouns where the ablative and accusative are not similar in pronunciation.
Read more about this topic: Accusative Absolute
Famous quotes containing the word latin:
“I am not of the opinion generally entertained in this country [England], that man lives by Greek and Latin alone; that is, by knowing a great many words of two dead languages, which nobody living knows perfectly, and which are of no use in the common intercourse of life. Useful knowledge, in my opinion, consists of modern languages, history, and geography; some Latin may be thrown into the bargain, in compliance with custom, and for closet amusement.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“There is no doubt that Greek and Latin are great and handsome ornaments, but we buy them too dear.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
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