A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

-ma, gen.sg.-mae (s.f.I), Latin first declension nouns ending in:

FIRST DECLENSION (mostly) FEMININE Latin nouns ending in –ma in nom.sg., -mae in the gen.sg., i.e. –ma,-mae (s.f.I), abl.sg. -ma:

NOTE: for third declension neuter nouns ending in -ma, gen.sg. –matis; see ma, gen.sg.-matis; see First Declension.

NOTE: “the great majority of nouns ending in –ma are Greek third declension neuters: “derma,-atis;” “lemma, gen.sg. lemmatis; nema, gen.sg. nematis, etc., [e.g.] rhizoma, sperma, systema, trichoma” (Stearn).

singular    plural           singular     plural
Nom. –ma     -mae        Nom.  gluma      glumae
Gen. –mae    –marum      Gen.  glumae     glumarum
Dat. –mae    -mis        Dat.  glumae     glumis
Acc. –mam    -mas        Acc.  glumam     glumas
Abl. –ma     -mis        Abl.  gluma      glumis

NOTE: the noun stem is the same in all cases, ‘glum-.’ It is to the stem that a derivative word, such as a family name or adjective, is formulated, e.g. from Ros-a,-ae (s.f.I) comes Ros-aceae; from Betul-a comes Betul-aceae.

a). Some examples of Latin first declension nouns ending in –ma,-mae (s.f.I) derived from Latin:

flamma,-ae (s.f.I)(flame)

forma,-ae (s.f.I): (form): Reniforma,-ae

gemma,-ae (s.f.I): (bud)

lacrima,-ae (s.f.I) (tear)

lima,-ae (s.f.I)(file)

luma,-ae (s.f.I): (thorn); Luma,-ae.

palma,-ae (s.f.I): (palma) Radiopalma,-ae.

rima,-ae (s.f.I): (cleft, fissure): Stellarima,-ae.

squama,-ae (s.f.I): (scale)

struma,-ae (s.f.I): (a kind of tumor)

trama,-ae (s.f.I): (warp; weft)

b. Latin first declension nouns derived from Greek; see First Declension:

Coma,-ae (s.f.I), for example, is also a Greek word ending in an eta, and generic names derived from this noun use modifiers from the Greek landuage: Callicoma,-ae; Macrocoma,-ae.

NOTE: such Greek first declension nouns never end in –ma,-matis in Greek.

For the following see: “Gender of Generic Names, Particularly Those Ending in -ma, in the 'Names in Current Use' List” Dan H. Nicolson February 1994 Taxon 43(1):97.

b). Greek first declension nouns ending in a mu + eta (-mE) but which are Latinized with a terminal –ma, gen.sg. –mae (s.f.I).

NOTE: Greek first declension nouns that retain the –mE (= mu + eta) ending have a peculiar Latin paradigm: -e in nom.sg., -es in gen.sg. etc.; see First Declension.

-coma, ‘terminal tuft:’ Callicoma,-ae; Macrocoma,-ae.

-erema (without, alone) Greek ereme - two etas [erEmE]: Lepiderema,-ae (s.f.I): Lepis,-idis + erema, the second eta changed to –a - 'single scale';

but not Aphaerema,-atos (s.n.III) from Gr. aphairema, 'choice part to be taken away.'

-cnema: see –knema.

-desma 'package:’ Pentadesma,-ae (s.f.I), derived by the author from desma,-atos in Gk. = a neuter third declension noun meaning 'band', as in 'headband').

-didyma,-ae 'twin' (Gk. didyme): Basididyma,-ae.

-droma (course or race (Gr. drome): Dictyodroma,-ae. -knema, (leg, part between two joints), Eriocnema,-ae; Oktoknema,-ae.

-oma f. fragrance (variant of Gk. osme (eta): Hedeoma,-ae; "related but malformed" Stachydeoma,-ae (Nicolson 1994).

-osma, from Gk. osmE, smell: Agathosma,-ae (s.f.I); Meliosma,-ae (s.f.I); Onosma,-ae; Meliosma,-ae.

-parma, 'light shield (Gk. parme): Ophioparma,-ae.

-toma, 'cut' (Gk. tomE): Isotoma,-ae; Diatoma,-ae.

-zyma,-ae 'yeast from Gk. zymE: Pseudozyma,-ae; Myxozyma,-ae.

c) some generic names ending in -ma are derived from a Greek word with a stem that does not end in –mat but some other declension, such as Phyllonoma,-ae (s.f.I), the ending derived from the second declension masculine noun nomos, custom. This is a first declension feminine noun.

Another example is Aphanisma,-ae (s.f.I), 'destruction,' from Gk. masculine second declension noun aphanismos.

Masculine second declension nouns may also serve as feminine First declensions in generic names in Latin as well: the ending -rama in Corticirama,-ae (s.f.I), is a femininized form of the masculine ramus,-i (s.m.II)(branch, twig).

Also cf. Glechoma,-ae (s.f.I) "pennyroyal (var. of Gr. glechon or blechon" (Nicolson 1994), with omega, nu endings.

Also Picrasma,-ae (s.f.I) 'bitterness' feminine of Gk. pikrasmos; Herpysma,-ae (s.f.I), 'creeping,' feminine of Gk. herpysmos.

d) Onosma, a noun or name neuter in classical Greek, is of feminine gender when used for botanical purposes, as well as all names ending in -osma (Nicolson 1994) (not -zosma,-atos); see Stearn 1993 [cf. ancient Greek onosma,-atos (s.n.III): Stone Bugloss, Onosma echinoides, used by Dioscorides and Pliny (Liddell & Scott)]; see “-osma,-ae (s.f.I), abl.sg. -osma: in Gk. comp.”

e) Gramma may be both neuter (gen.sg. in Gk. –grammatos), gen.sg. in Latin –grammatis (3d declension), or feminine (gen.sg. Gk. -grammes, gen.sg. Latin -grammae (1st declension); see First Declension.

Nicolson (1994) found some consistency in usage as follows:

Feminine first: Fern names: Paragramma,-ae; Syngramma,-ae.

Flowering plants: Adenogramma,-ae; Omphalogramma,- ae).

Neuter third: Algae: Gomphogramma,-atis; Plagiogramma,-atis.

Fungi: Melogramma,-atis; Pleomelogramma,-atis.

Nicolson also found the feminine Greek noun ends in an eta (e) and indicates 'line:’ Lomagramma,-ae (s.f.I); Syngramma,-ae (s.f.I).

f) Broma (food, rage) is also broma,-atos (s.n.III) or broma,-ae (s.f.I): Nicolson made the following recommendations:

feminine first: Ammobroma,-ae (s.f.I); Hippobroma,-ae (s.f.I); Theobroma,-ae (s.f.I)

neuter third: Ambroma,-atis (s.n.III)

g) The following generic names are to be treated as feminine nouns of the first declension according to Nicolson (1994). Many of these assignings as first declension epithets follow the general principle mentioned by Zabinkova (1965) that "Generic names ending -ma with no relation to any Greek word [be] treated as first declension feminines, as Kirengeshoma,-ae (s.f.I) (from Japanese);" and "generic names of obscure or artificial origin ..." such as Phryma, and various anagrams.

Abarema,-ae; Aldama,-ae; Badarisama,-ae; Bersama,-ae; Curcuma,-ae; Gluema,-ae; Nama,-ae; Guazuma,-ae; Montezuma,-ae; Perama,-ae; Plococama,-ae; Rama,-ae; Retama,-ae; Sehima,-ae; Tucma,-ae; Wigwamma,-ae.

ii. nouns ending in -pama ('like, resembling’ (Sanskrit upama): Drumopama,-ae;

iii. nouns ending in -rama,-ae, ‘twigged’ (feminine of Latin ramus): Corticirama,-ae.

iv. anagrams: Chalema,-ae (anagram of Chamela); Jacaima,-ae (anagram of Jamaica); Nidema,-ae: anagram of Dinema; Nostolachma,-ae (anagram of Lachnostoma); Saruma (anagram of Asarum?); Tellima,- ae (anagram of Mitella).

v. nouns ending in -anthema,-ae (‘flowered’ (fem. of Gr. anthemon): Dendranthema,-ae; Trianthema,-ae.

vi. -rema,-ae (origin unknown): Calicorema,-ae; Sericorema,-ae; apparently similar Ellurema,-ae.

vii. origin unknown or unverifiable: Amphisbetema,-ae; Antimima,- ae; Artorima,-ae; Aspilaima,-ae; Atroxima,-ae; Centema,-ae; Chloranima,-ae; Dirachma,-ae; Galbulimima,-ae; Neocentema,- ae; Phlyctema,-ae; Phryma,-ae; Picralima,-ae; Schima,-ae.

viii. people's or vernacular names: Azima,-ae (vernac.); Caralluma,- ae (from car-allum (Telinga); Couma,-ae (Guianese name); Criciuma,-ae (Braxilian name); Hyeronima,-ae (for Jeronima Serpa); Kirengoshoma,-ae (Japanese vernac.); Lagerheima,-ae (named after Lagerheim); -lucuma,-ae (vernac. of Spanish name: Chromolucuma,-ae); -luma,-ae, "by Baillon, apparently truncated from Lucuma: Elaeoluma,-ae; Nesoluma,-ae." (Nicolson 1994); Pourouma,-ae (vernac.); Talauma,-ae (vernac.); Zosima,-ae (Zosima brothers of Moscow).

ix. Greek adjectives: the feminine form: -nima 'good or used for' (from Greek adjectival compounding form -nemos, der. fr. oninemi,I use): Byrsonima,-ae; Myonima,-ae.

x. neologism: from possible corruption of Gk. stigma: Paxistima,- ae; Pleurostima,-ae.

xi. -loma,-ae: hair (Sanskrit loma): Dewayaloma,-ae; Koorchaloma,- ae (NOTE: not -loma,-atos (s.n.III), from the Greek loma, 'hem or fringe').

xii: concatenations, such as Pecluma,-ae from Latin pectinatum and plumula.

xiii: Greek words, such as dikymos, 'twin-bearing' that are Latinized and feminine: Dicyma,-ae.