§ 282. Defective Nouns.—These are far too numerous for a complete list to be given here. Many Nouns are restricted by their sense to the Sing.[1]: and Latin has many more Nouns than English which are used only in the Plur.
Many others are deficient in certain Cases; such as:
Indeclinables: fās n. right, nĕfās n. wrong, īnstar n. likeness, used only in N. Acc. sĕecus (Ace.) n. sex: the names of letters of the alphabet. So the Adj. nēquam wicked, frūgī honest, and the Numerals from quattŭŏr to centum, and millĕ in Sing.
Nouns used in One case only: pondō by weight, iūssū by order, iniūssū without orders: spontĕ [suā] of [his own] accord, and other words classed as Adverbs.
Partially Defective Nouns.—The Plural Nouns ambāgēs f. roundabout way, circumlocution, compĕdēs m. fetter, faucēs f. throat, precēs f. prayer, verbĕra n. scourge, flogging, have in the Sing, only Abl, ambāgĕ, compĕdĕ, faucĕ, prĕcĕe, verbĕrĕ.
sordēs f. Pl. squalor, Ace. sordem, rarely Abl. sorde.
dapēs f. Pl. feast, has no N. or D. Sing., and no G. PI.
dĭciōnem f. (Acc.) dominion, lacks N. only.
ŏpem f. (Acc.) aid, G. ŏpis, Abl. ŏpĕ (PI. § 283).
vicem f. (Ace.) change, Abl. vĭicĕ, rarely G. vĭcis: Pl.
N. A. vĭces, D. Abl. vĭcĭbŭs.
fors f. chance, only N., and Abl. fortĕ.
măre n. sea has in PL only N. V. A. măria.
nēmo nobody has no Plur., and nūllīus and nūllō are used for its G. and Abl. Sing.
Hence the rule:
From your memory dismiss
Nēminĕ and nēminis'.
§ 283. Nouns which Change their Meaning in the Plural.
| Sing. | Plur. |
| aedēs f. temple | aedēs house |
| auxĭlium n. aid | auxĭliă auxiliary troops |
| carcĕr m. prison | carcĕrēs starting place (in a race) |
| castrum n. fort | castră camp |
- ↑ Note that the three Neuters in -us of Second Decl, (pĕlăgus vīrus, vulgus) have no Plur.
