Declension of Domus

by Steve
(San Francisco)

Dear Latin Teacher,

What is the declension of domus? Is it second declension feminine (which I don't think exists) or is it fourth declension?

This noun seems to have strange endings.

Thank you, Steve


Dear Steve,

The Latin noun domus, meaning home, follows both the second and fourth declensions. It is always feminine.

Yes, there are some second declension feminine nouns! (Especially the names of trees.)

While the word declines fully in both declensions, here is a breakdown of the most common forms found (with less common forms in parentheses).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	domus	domus
Genitive	domus (domi)	domorum or domuum
Dative	domui (domo)	domibus
Accusative	domum	domus or domos
ablative	domo (domu)	domibus

Although this seems confusing, the word very rarely causes trouble in the context of a Latin sentence.

A more important rule to remember for domus while reading is that it has a special form for the locative (domi), and does not require prepositions to express to home (domum) and from home (domo).

Hope this helps, and thanks for asking a Latin teacher.

Sincerely,

John

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