answersLogoWhite

0

Latin has three basic ways of dealing with foreign names.

  1. treat them as indeclinable (i.e., use the same form in all grammatical contexts)
  2. retain their native inflection (Greek names are sometimes handled this way)
  3. adapt them to one or more of the Latin declensions

In the case of Adam, from Hebrew, both (1) and (3) have been done depending on the author. The Vulgate Bible, a 5th-century translation by St. Jerome, uses Adam indeclinably. Other authors have inflected the name in either of two ways:

  1. First declension: nominative Adam, other cases as if declining Ada (e.g., genitive Adae).
  2. Second declension: nominative Adamus, genitive Adami, and so on
User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?