Re: Okay, so...

"Iain" <iain_inkster@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:bbecfa93-11e0-458d-96c5-2fc18d527a55@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> ...-is, the ablative plural of the first declension is the same as the
> genitive singular of the third declension?
>
> Is that a sick joke? I mean, there's irregularity....and then there's
> linguistic fridge-nuking.
>
> When the Romans heard a new word, but only heard the ablative or
> genitive, how did they know which declension it was of?
>
> ~Iain

Not half as sick as God's jokes with the English language.
Have a look at "fair" for a start and tell me how the heck we cope.

Sense 1:
fair (vs. unfair), just
antimonopoly, antitrust
clean, s****ting, s****ty, s****tsmanlike
fair-minded
fair-and-square
Also See: impartial#1; just#1; reasonable#1, sensible#1


Sense 2:
fair, fairish, reasonable
moderate (vs. immoderate)

Sense 3:
bonny, bonnie, comely, fair, sightly
beautiful (vs. ugly)

Sense 4:
fair (vs. foul)
in-bounds

Sense 5:
average, fair, mediocre, middling
ordinary (vs. extraordinary)

Sense 6:
fair(prenominal)
feminine (vs. masculine)

Sense 7:
clean, fair
legible (vs. illegible)

Sense 8:
honest, fair
equitable (vs. inequitable), just

Sense 9:
fair
clear (vs. cloudy)

Sense 10:
fair, fairish
blond (vs. brunet), blonde, light-haired

Synonyms of adv fair

2 senses of fair

Sense 1:
fairly, fair, clean

Sense 2:
fairly, fair, evenhandedly



Ed