Dictionary formmerces, mercedis(feminine)
Translation
pay, wages; reward, price
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Grammar
Cases
| Case | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativethe subject | merces | mercedes |
| Vocativecalling someone: O ... | merces | mercedes |
| Accusativethe direct object; after ad, in (into), per | mercedem | mercedes |
| Genitiveof | mercedis | mercedum |
| Dativeto, for | mercedi | mercedibus |
| Ablativeby, with, from; after a, ab, cum, de, e, ex, in (in), sine | mercede | mercedibus |
Examples
.
His reward is great in heaven.
.
He paid his servants their wages.
.
He did the work without pay.
.
They asked for a fair wage.
.
The wage of sin is death.
Merces, mercedis, f., third declension. It is the pay for work or for a service - wages, rent, a fee - and never the goods themselves. Those are merx, mercis, a different noun from the same commercial root, and confusing the two turns a wage packet into a cargo.
The Vulgate gives it a second life. Merces there is the return God makes for what a person has done, so merces vestra copiosa est in caelis reads like a payslip in Latin and does not in English, and translators have to decide between "wage" and "reward" line by line. The man who works for one is a mercenarius. English mercenary comes straight from that, and merchant, market and commerce come from merx alongside it.
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merces: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "merces" (pay, wages; reward, price): 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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Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 9, lesson 4: merces, albus, negotium and 6 more words.