The first declension is a category of mostly feminine nouns in Latin and Ancient Greek with the defining feature of a long ā (either analysed as a part of the stem or case-ending). In Greek grammar, it is also called the alpha declension, since its forms have the letter α, at least in the plural.
In Latin and Greek grammar, the first declension is analyzed as a thematic declension. But its lack of a Proto-Indo-European thematic vowel (o or e) and of any nominative singular ending (ordinarily -s or -os) doesn't neatly place it within either of the Proto-Indo-European nominal categories, thematic and athematic. Therefore, it is assumed to be a newer formation: a suffix based on the neuter plural ending *-(e)h₂, forming a collective noun.
Famous quotes containing the word declension:
“And from the first declension of the flesh
I learnt man’s tongue, to twist the shapes of thoughts
Into the stony idiom of the brain....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)