A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

-ma, gen.sg. –matis (s.n.III), Latinized third declension Greek nouns ending in:

THIRD DECLENSION NEUTER nouns: nouns ending in –ma in the nom.sg., -matis in the gen.sg., i.e. -ma,-matis (s.n.III), abl.sg. –mate.

Note: these nouns are of Greek origin. They end in –mu + alpha in the nom.sg. (not –mu + -eta = (s.f. I).

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).

NOTE: for first declension feminine nouns ending in -ma, gen.sg. –mae; see ma, gen.sg.-mae; see First Declension.

Note, as is typical of indoeuropean languages, the nominative word forms in both singular and plural are the same as the word form of the respective singular and plural accusatives.

   singular  plural           singular     plural
Nom. –ma    -mata       Nom.  rhizoma    rhizomata
Gen. –matis –matum      Gen.  rhizomatis rhizomatum
Dat. –mati  -matibus    Dat.  rhizomati  rhizomatibus
Acc. –ma    -mata       Acc.  rhizomata  rhizomata
Abl. –mate  -matibus    Abl.  rhizomate  rhizomatibus

NOTE: the stem of the word occurs in every case but the nominative singular, e.g. nema, nom.sg., nematis, gen.sg. The noun stem is not nem-, but nemat- It is to the stem that a derivative word, such as a family name or adjective, is formulated, e.g. not Alismaceae but Alismataceae; not protonem-icus but protonemat-icus; not protonem-oideus, but protonema-toideus.

Some examples of Greek words or names ending in –ma,-matis (s.n.III) include:

-enchyma,-atis (s.n.III): q.v.,‘tissue:’ chlorenchyma,-atis (s.n.III), abl.sg. chlorenchymate; chlorencyma; parenchyma.

derma,-atis (s.n.III), abl. sg. -dermate: skin.

lemma,-atis (s.n.III): ‘peel, bark, husk.’

nema: nEma,-atos (s.n.III), “that which is spun, thread, yarn; thread;” protonema,-atis (s.n.III).

plasma,-atis (s.n.III): anything formed or molded, an image; see plasm-, plasmo-.

rhizOma,-atos (s.n.III) ‘the mass of roots (of a tree) Liddell & Scott

) NOTE: not Gk. rhiza,-Es (s.f.I), a root.

sperma,-atis (s.n.III), q.v., abl. sg. spermate -sperma, seed; e.g. Thelesperma gracile, T. trifidum.

stigma,-atis (s.n.III), q.v., a mark or spot, stigma.

stOma,-atis (s.n.III), q.v., mouth.

systema,-atis (s.n.III), q.v., abl.sg. systemate: system, an orderly arrangement.

trichOma,-atis (s.n.III), a growth of hair, shock of hair; hair; see trichome.

- generic names are declined like ‘rhizoma:’ Acanthostigma,-atis (s.n.III), Aethionema,-atis (s.n.III), Aglaeonema,-atis (s.n.III), Alisma, Anemopaegma, Arthroderma, Callostemma, Ceratostigma, Chorizema, Dictyonema, Herponema, Histoplasma, Metastelma, Microloma, Monostroma, Pachyphragma, Phyteuma, Saccoloma, Streblonema.

- Anaschismati lilliputano [=dat.sg.] similis, similar to Anaschisma lilliputanum.

NOTE: FAMILY NAMES and other names derived from these generic names use the stem: e.g. not Alismaceae but Alismataceae.

NOTE: compounds or adjectives or other derived words also in English use the stem in -at: e.g. not alismaceous, but alismataceous; not alismic, but alismatic.