-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)

place of
(of vegetation) A plantation or grove

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	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