FromMārs +-ius. As a noun,ellipsis ofMārtiusmēnsis m(“month of March”).
Mārtius (feminineMārtia,neuterMārtium);first/second-declension adjective
In Classical Latin, month names were regularly used as adjectives, generally modifying a case-form ofmēnsis m sg(“month”) or of one of the nouns used in theRoman calendar to refer to specific days of the month from which other days were counted:Calendae f pl(“calends”),Nōnae f pl(“nones”),Īdūs f pl(“ides”). However, the masculine nounmēnsis could be omitted byellipsis, so the masculine singular forms of month names eventually came to be used as proper nouns.[1]
The accusative plural adjective formsAprīlīs,Septembrīs,Octōbrīs,Novembrīs,Decembrīs[2] are ambiguous in writing, being spelled identically to the genitive singular forms of the nouns; nevertheless, the use of ablative singular forms in-ī and comparison with the usage of other month names as adjectives supports the interpretation of-is as an accusative plural adjective ending in Classical Latin phrases such as "kalendas Septembris".[3]
First/second-declension adjective.
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
| nominative | Mārtius | Mārtia | Mārtium | Mārtiī | Mārtiae | Mārtia | |
| genitive | Mārtiī | Mārtiae | Mārtiī | Mārtiōrum | Mārtiārum | Mārtiōrum | |
| dative | Mārtiō | Mārtiae | Mārtiō | Mārtiīs | |||
| accusative | Mārtium | Mārtiam | Mārtium | Mārtiōs | Mārtiās | Mārtia | |
| ablative | Mārtiō | Mārtiā | Mārtiō | Mārtiīs | |||
| vocative | Mārtie | Mārtia | Mārtium | Mārtiī | Mārtiae | Mārtia | |
Mārtius m (genitiveMārtiīorMārtī);second declension
Second-declension noun.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Mārtius | Mārtiī |
| genitive | Mārtiī Mārtī1 | Mārtiōrum |
| dative | Mārtiō | Mārtiīs |
| accusative | Mārtium | Mārtiōs |
| ablative | Mārtiō | Mārtiīs |
| vocative | Mārtī | Mārtiī |
1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).
Borrowings:
Unsorted borrowings:
Roman calendar on Wikipedia.WikipediaMartius m