-etum

Latin

Alternative forms

• -tum

Etymology

Probably a form of -tus (adjective-forming suffix) used as a neuter substantive representing location. This may have originated from a reanalysis of ante-classical olētum (“olive yard”) from ole(a) (“olive tree”) + -tum to ol(ea) + -ē̆tum. Compare to other neuter suffixes that could form nouns representing locations, such as -ārium n, -īle n, -tōrium n (vs. masculine -ārius,-īlis, -tōrius).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈeː.tum/, [ˈeːt̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.tum/, [ˈɛːt̪um]

Suffix

-ētum n (genitive -ētī); second declension

(applied to noun stems)

1. place of
2. (of vegetation) A plantation or grove

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-ētum	-ēta
Genitive	-ētī	-ētōrum
Dative	-ētō	-ētīs
Accusative	-ētum	-ēta
Ablative	-ētō	-ētīs
Vocative	-ētum	-ēta

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -etum

Descendants

• Catalan: -et, -eda
• French: -aie
• Galician: -edo, -ido (place-names)
• Italian: -eto
• Portuguese: -edo
• Romanian: -et
• Sicilian: -itu, -ita (place-names)
• Spanish: -edo, -eda