Dictionary formensis, ensis(masculine)

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Translation

sword, blade

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Grammar

Gendermasculine

Cases

Casesingularplural
Nominativethe subjectensisenses
Vocativecalling someone: O ...ensisenses
Accusativethe direct object; after ad, in (into), perensemenses
Genitiveofensisensium
Dativeto, forensiensibus
Ablativeby, with, from; after a, ab, cum, de, e, ex, in (in), sineenseensibus

Examples

.

The sword was in the king's hand.

.

He defeated the enemy with the sword.

strinxit .

He drew his sword and went into battle.

lucebant.

The soldiers' swords were gleaming in the sun.

.

No one came into the camp without a sword.

Ensis, ensis is third declension masculine and an i-stem, so genitive plural ensium. The nominative in -is tempts people into treating it as feminine; it is not. Beyond that the declension is unremarkable.

What matters about ensis is register. It is the poets' sword. Prose writes gladius; Virgil, Ovid and Lucan write ensis, partly because ense and ensem scan where gladio and gladium do not. So finding ensis in a text tells you something about the writer's ambitions before it tells you anything about the weapon. Later Latin verse and hymnody keep the habit. It left almost nothing to the Romance languages, which took their swords from spatha instead - French epee, Spanish espada, Italian spada.

Where this fits

Used in

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ensis: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "ensis" (sword, blade): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is taught in chapter 7, lesson 12: ensis, rectus, brevis and 11 more words.