# praepes
## Latin
### Etymology

From prae- (“in front of; highly”) +‎ pet- (“make for, move towards”) +‎ -s (suffix marking the nominative singular of third-declension nouns and adjectives). The third sense is related to the noun.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈprae̯.pes/, [ˈpräe̯pɛs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈpre.pes/, [ˈprɛːpes]

### Adjective

praepes (genitive praepetis); third-declension one-termination adjective (non-i-stem)
* swift (of flight), rapid
** c. 45 CE – 96 CE, Statius, Thebaid 6.298:dic inclyta, Phoebe, regentum nomina, dic ipsos ; neque enim generosior umquam alipedum conlata acies, ceu praepete cursu confligant densae volucres aut litore in uno Aeolus insanis statuat certamina ventis.Tell, O Phoebus, the drivers' famous names, tell of the steeds themselves ; for never did nobler array of wing-footed coursers meet in conflict : even as serried ranks of birds compete in swift course or on a single shore Aeolus appoints a contest for the wild winds.
** c. 54 CE, Seneca the Younger, Phaedra 1061:ut cepit animos seque praetemptans satis prolusit irae, praepeti cursu evolat, summam citato vix gradu tangens humum, et torva currus ante trepidantis stetit.When he has gained his spirit, and with full trial rehearsed his wrath, he darts forth, running swiftly, scarce touching the surface of the ground with flying feet, and stands, in grim menace, before the trembling steeds.
** Decimus Magnus Ausonius, Ephemeris 7:Puer, notarum praepetum sollers minister, advola.Hi boy! My secretary, skilled in dashing shorthand, make haste and come!
* winged
* prosperous, fortunate, lucky
    Synonym: fēlīx
** 239 BCE – 169 BCE, Ennius, Annales 1.89:Simul aureus exoritur sol / edunt de caelo ter quattuor corpora sancta / avium, praepetibus sese pulcrisque locis dant.2018 translation by Sander M. Goldberg, Gesine ManuwaldJust as the golden sun arises, there comes descending from the sky a dozen blessed bodies of birds, settling themselves on fine and favorable seats.

#### Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective (non-i-stem).
* Displays a mix of consonant-stem and i-stem forms. The ablative singular can end in -ī or -e. The consonant-stem genitive singular praepetum is found in Gellius and Servius (although in the case of the latter praepetium is a variant manuscript reading). The neuter plural nominative/accusative/vocative form is not attested at all in Classical Latin. (The i-stem form praepetia can be found in some New Latin texts.)

### Noun

praepes f (genitive praepetis); third declension
* a bird
* (especially) a prophetic bird from whose flight omens were predicted
** 19 BC, Virgil, Aeneid, volumes 3.360-361:[...], qui sidera sentis, et volucrum linguas et praepetis omina pennae, [...][...], you who know what stars portend, and devise omens in a bird's winged flight and the other's tunes (oscen), [...]

#### Declension

Third-declension noun.

#### Coordinate terms

* oscen

### References

* ↑ Francis, E. D. (2009) [1973] “Particularum quarundam varietas: 'Prae' and 'pro'”, in Studies in Latin Language and Literature, Cambridge University Press, page 24
* ↑ Statius with an English translation by J. H. Mozley, vol. II of two volumes, 1928, p. 82f.
* ↑ Seneca's Tragedies with an English translation by Frank Justus Miller, vol. I of two, 1917, p. 404f.
* ↑ Ausonius with an English translation by Hugh G. Evelyn White, vol. I of two, 1919, p. 24f.
* ↑ Kaster, Robert A. (2018) Charles E. Murgia, editor, Serviani in Vergili Aeneidos libros IX-XII commentarii, Oxford University Press, page 512

### Further reading

* “praepes”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “praepes”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* praepes in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1223.
* Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for schools and colleges founded on comparative grammar, edited by J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, A. A. Howard and Benj. L. D'Ooge, 1903, p. 54: "The following [adjectives] have regularly [Ablative Singular] -ī: [...] praepes [...]." and "Always [Genitive Plural -um] in [...] praepes [...]."