← Latin for Biologists and Gardeners — Botanical Latin
Lesson 102 of a graded Botanical Latin reading course for botanists, biologists and gardeners.
What does pānis mean in Latin?
The noun pānis, pānis (masculine, third declension) means "bread," and in the plural, pānēs, "loaves." Bread is the point where botany meets the table: every loaf is made from the seeds of grasses, chiefly wheat (trīticum), and in the ancient world also barley (hordeum), spelt (far) and millet (milium). Roman writers on farming therefore talk about bread as part of the study of crops. Cato's handbook on farming gives a recipe for kneaded bread, panis depsticius, and Pliny the Elder, in Book 18 of his Nātūrālis Historia, the book on cereals, describes the leavens made from millet and from barley, the many kinds of bread, and the history of the baker's trade at Rome.
Lewis and Short derive pānis from the root pa-, "to feed," which also gives pāscō, "to feed, to pasture," and pābulum, "fodder." The family is large in the modern languages: Italian pane, Spanish pan, French pain. English "companion" comes from Late Latin compāniō, "one who shares bread" (com- "with" + pānis), and "pantry" from Old French paneterie, the bread store, built on the same word.
FAQ: What does pānis mean in Latin?
Pānis means "bread" or "a loaf." It is masculine, although it ends in -is like many feminine nouns, so its adjectives are masculine: pānis bonus, "good bread"; pānis silīgineus, "fine white bread." The ablative is pāne, as in the Vulgate's nōn in sōlō pāne vīvit homō, "man does not live by bread alone."
How will pānis be used in this lesson?
The fifteen main examples move from the baker and his loaf to the grains bread is made from, the kinds of bread the Romans ate, Pliny's account of Rome's first bakers, and the Gospel verse on bread alone. The genre section is a short informational text, From Seed to Loaf, which follows bread back to the plants it comes from.
Key Takeaways
- pānis, pānis (m.) is a third-declension noun: "bread, a loaf"; the ablative singular is pāne and the plural is pānēs, "loaves" - pānis is masculine, so its adjectives are masculine: pānis bonus, pānis hordeāceus - kinds of bread are named with adjectives: pānis silīgineus (fine wheat bread), pānis hordeāceus (barley bread), pānis secundus (second-grade, darker bread) - "bread is made from wheat" is pānis ē trīticō fit, with the verb fīō and ē / ex and the ablative of the material - the a of pānis is long in every form: PĀ-nis
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pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ — two syllables, stress on the long ā of the first; the final -is is short
pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ — the accusative singular, the form you use when someone bakes, eats or gives bread
pāne /ˈpaː.nɛ/ — the ablative singular; the final e is short and fully pronounced
pānēs /ˈpaː.neːs/ — nominative and accusative plural, "loaves"; both vowels long
pistor /ˈpɪs.tɔr/ — "baker" (originally "miller, one who pounds grain"); short i
In Ecclesiastical (Italianate) pronunciation pānis is said /ˈpa.nis/, with Italian vowels and no distinction of length. In traditional English botanical pronunciation it is often said "PAY-nis." The vowel quantity, not the stress, is what separates pānis from pannus, "cloth," with a short a and a double n.
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102.1a Pānis bread bonus good est is
102.1b Pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M bonus /ˈbɔ.nʊs/ good.NOM.SG.M est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES
102.2a Pistor baker pānem bread coquit bakes
102.2b Pistor /ˈpɪs.tɔr/ baker.NOM.SG.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M coquit /ˈkɔ.kʷɪt/ bake.3SG.PRES
102.3a Pānis bread ē from trīticō wheat fit is-made
102.3b Pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M ē /eː/ from trīticō /ˈtriː.tɪ.koː/ wheat.ABL.SG.N fit /fɪt/ become.3SG.PRES
102.4a Hortulānus gardener pānem bread edit eats
102.4b Hortulānus /hɔr.tʊˈlaː.nʊs/ gardener.NOM.SG.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M edit /ˈɛ.dɪt/ eat.3SG.PRES
102.5a Pānis bread hordeāceus barley nigrior darker est is
102.5b Pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M hordeāceus /hɔr.dɛˈaː.kɛ.ʊs/ of-barley.NOM.SG.M nigrior /ˈnɪ.ɡrɪ.ɔr/ darker.COMP.NOM.SG.M est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES
102.6a Farīna flour trīticī of-wheat optimum best pānem bread dat gives
102.6b Farīna /faˈriː.na/ flour.NOM.SG.F trīticī /ˈtriː.tɪ.kiː/ wheat.GEN.SG.N optimum /ˈɔp.tɪ.mʊm/ best.SUPERL.ACC.SG.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M dat /dat/ give.3SG.PRES
102.7a Agricola farmer pānem bread cum with oleō oil et and sale salt edit eats
102.7b Agricola /aˈɡrɪ.kɔ.la/ farmer.NOM.SG.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M cum /kʊm/ with oleō /ˈɔ.lɛ.oː/ oil.ABL.SG.N et /ɛt/ and sale /ˈsa.lɛ/ salt.ABL.SG.M edit /ˈɛ.dɪt/ eat.3SG.PRES
102.8a Sine without fermentō leaven pānis bread gravior heavier est is
102.8b Sine /ˈsɪ.nɛ/ without fermentō /fɛrˈmɛn.toː/ leaven.ABL.SG.N pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M gravior /ˈɡra.wɪ.ɔr/ heavier.COMP.NOM.SG.M est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES
102.9a Rōmānī Romans antīquī ancient pānem bread ipsī themselves domī at-home faciēbant used-to-make
102.9b Rōmānī /roːˈmaː.niː/ Roman.NOM.PL.M antīquī /anˈtiː.kʷiː/ ancient.NOM.PL.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M ipsī /ˈɪp.siː/ self.NOM.PL.M domī /ˈdɔ.miː/ home.LOC.SG.F faciēbant /fa.kɪˈeː.bant/ make.3PL.IMPERF
102.10a Mulierēs women pānem bread faciēbant used-to-make nam for pistōrēs bakers nōndum not-yet erant there-were
102.10b Mulierēs /mʊ.lɪˈeː.reːs/ woman.NOM.PL.F pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M faciēbant /fa.kɪˈeː.bant/ make.3PL.IMPERF nam /nam/ for pistōrēs /pɪsˈtoː.reːs/ baker.NOM.PL.M nōndum /ˈnoːn.dʊm/ not-yet erant /ˈɛ.rant/ be.3PL.IMPERF
102.11a Pānis bread silīgineus of-fine-wheat ē from farīnā flour tenuissimā finest fit is-made et and cārior dearer est is
102.11b Pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M silīgineus /sɪ.liːˈɡɪ.nɛ.ʊs/ of-fine-wheat.NOM.SG.M ē /eː/ from farīnā /faˈriː.naː/ flour.ABL.SG.F tenuissimā /tɛ.nʊˈɪs.sɪ.maː/ finest.SUPERL.ABL.SG.F fit /fɪt/ become.3SG.PRES et /ɛt/ and cārior /ˈkaː.rɪ.ɔr/ dearer.COMP.NOM.SG.M est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES
102.12a Pauperēs the-poor pānem bread secundum second-grade dīvitēs the-rich silīgineum of-fine-wheat edēbant used-to-eat
102.12b Pauperēs /ˈpau̯.pɛ.reːs/ poor.NOM.PL.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M secundum /sɛˈkʊn.dʊm/ second.ACC.SG.M dīvitēs /ˈdiː.wɪ.teːs/ rich.NOM.PL.M silīgineum /sɪ.liːˈɡɪ.nɛ.ʊm/ of-fine-wheat.ACC.SG.M edēbant /ɛˈdeː.bant/ eat.3PL.IMPERF
102.13a Plīnius Pliny trādit reports pistōrēs bakers Rōmae at-Rome ante before bellum war Persicum of-Perseus nōn not fuisse to-have-been
102.13b Plīnius /ˈpliː.nɪ.ʊs/ Pliny.NOM.SG.M trādit /ˈtraː.dɪt/ report.3SG.PRES pistōrēs /pɪsˈtoː.reːs/ baker.ACC.PL.M Rōmae /ˈroː.mae̯/ Rome.LOC.SG.F ante /ˈan.tɛ/ before bellum /ˈbɛl.lʊm/ war.ACC.SG.N Persicum /ˈpɛr.sɪ.kʊm/ of-Perseus.ACC.SG.N nōn /noːn/ not fuisse /fʊˈɪs.sɛ/ be.PERF.INF
102.14a Quī who trīticum wheat serit sows pānem bread post after messem harvest tantum only habēbit will-have
102.14b Quī /kʷiː/ who.NOM.SG.M trīticum /ˈtriː.tɪ.kʊm/ wheat.ACC.SG.N serit /ˈsɛ.rɪt/ sow.3SG.PRES pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M post /pɔst/ after messem /ˈmɛs.sɛm/ harvest.ACC.SG.F tantum /ˈtan.tʊm/ only habēbit /haˈbeː.bɪt/ have.3SG.FUT
102.15a Nōn not in by sōlō alone pāne bread vīvit lives homō man
102.15b Nōn /noːn/ not in /ɪn/ by sōlō /ˈsoː.loː/ alone.ABL.SG.M pāne /ˈpaː.nɛ/ bread.ABL.SG.M vīvit /ˈwiː.wɪt/ live.3SG.PRES homō /ˈhɔ.moː/ man.NOM.SG.M
Notes: - 102.9, 102.10 and 102.13 are adapted from Pliny, Nātūrālis Historia 18.107 (see Section F). - 102.11 and 102.12 use names of bread attested in Latin authors: pānis silīgineus (Seneca, Epistulae 119.3), pānis secundus (Horace, Epistulae 2.1.123). - 102.15 is authentic: Matthew 4:4 in the Clementine Vulgate, Nōn in sōlō pāne vīvit homō, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. - All other examples are pedagogical constructions from verified vocabulary and patterns, not quotations.
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102.1 Pānis bonus est. → "The bread is good."
102.2 Pistor pānem coquit. → "The baker is baking bread."
102.3 Pānis ē trīticō fit. → "Bread is made from wheat."
102.4 Hortulānus pānem edit. → "The gardener is eating bread."
102.5 Pānis hordeāceus nigrior est. → "Barley bread is darker."
102.6 Farīna trīticī optimum pānem dat. → "Wheat flour makes the best bread."
102.7 Agricola pānem cum oleō et sale edit. → "The farmer eats bread with oil and salt."
102.8 Sine fermentō pānis gravior est. → "Without leaven, bread is heavier."
102.9 Rōmānī antīquī pānem ipsī domī faciēbant. → "The ancient Romans used to make bread themselves at home."
102.10 Mulierēs pānem faciēbant, nam pistōrēs nōndum erant. → "The women used to make the bread, for there were no bakers yet."
102.11 Pānis silīgineus ē farīnā tenuissimā fit et cārior est. → "Fine wheat bread is made from the finest flour and is dearer."
102.12 Pauperēs pānem secundum, dīvitēs silīgineum edēbant. → "The poor used to eat second-grade bread, the rich fine wheat bread."
102.13 Plīnius trādit pistōrēs Rōmae ante bellum Persicum nōn fuisse. → "Pliny reports that there were no bakers at Rome before the war with Perseus."
102.14 Quī trīticum serit, pānem post messem tantum habēbit. → "Whoever sows wheat will have bread only after the harvest."
102.15 Nōn in sōlō pāne vīvit homō. → "Man does not live by bread alone." (Matthew 4:4, Vulgate)
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102.1 Pānis bonus est.
102.2 Pistor pānem coquit.
102.3 Pānis ē trīticō fit.
102.4 Hortulānus pānem edit.
102.5 Pānis hordeāceus nigrior est.
102.6 Farīna trīticī optimum pānem dat.
102.7 Agricola pānem cum oleō et sale edit.
102.8 Sine fermentō pānis gravior est.
102.9 Rōmānī antīquī pānem ipsī domī faciēbant.
102.10 Mulierēs pānem faciēbant, nam pistōrēs nōndum erant.
102.11 Pānis silīgineus ē farīnā tenuissimā fit et cārior est.
102.12 Pauperēs pānem secundum, dīvitēs silīgineum edēbant.
102.13 Plīnius trādit pistōrēs Rōmae ante bellum Persicum nōn fuisse.
102.14 Quī trīticum serit, pānem post messem tantum habēbit.
102.15 Nōn in sōlō pāne vīvit homō.
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These are the grammar rules for pānis in Latin:
1. The Noun pānis, pānis (m.)
Pānis belongs to the third declension and has the same form in the nominative and genitive singular, like canis, "dog," or piscis, "fish."
Singular: nominative pānis, genitive pānis, dative pānī, accusative pānem, ablative pāne, vocative pānis.
Plural: nominative pānēs, genitive pānum (pānium is also reported by the ancient grammarians), dative pānibus, accusative pānēs, ablative pānibus, vocative pānēs.
The ablative singular ends in -e (pāne, 102.15), not -ī. The plural means "loaves": quīnque pānēs, "five loaves."
2. Gender: pānis Is Masculine
Many third-declension nouns in -is are feminine (avis, nāvis, vītis), but pānis is masculine, and its adjectives must be masculine: pānis bonus (102.1), pānis hordeāceus (102.5), pānis silīgineus (102.11), and in the accusative optimum pānem (102.6), pānem secundum (102.12). The comparatives nigrior, gravior and cārior (102.5, 102.8, 102.11) have the same form for masculine and feminine, so here the noun shows the gender.
3. Kinds of Bread: Adjectives of Material
Latin names a kind of bread with an adjective formed from the grain: hordeum, "barley" → pānis hordeāceus, "barley bread"; silīgō, "fine winter wheat" → pānis silīgineus, "fine white bread." The suffixes -āceus and -eus mean "made of, belonging to," and are the same suffixes botanical Latin uses in descriptive epithets (rosāceus, "rose-like"; ligneus, "woody"). Pānis secundus (102.12) is the "second" bread, made from coarser flour.
4. Material with ē / ex and fīō
"Bread is made from wheat" is pānis ē trīticō fit (102.3): ē (before a consonant) or ex (before a vowel or h) with the ablative gives the material, and fit is the third person singular of fīō, fierī, factus sum, "to become, to be made," which serves as the passive of faciō. Compare 102.11, ē farīnā tenuissimā fit.
5. Other Constructions in This Lesson
- Ablative with sine (102.8) and with cum (102.7): sine fermentō, "without leaven"; cum oleō et sale, "with oil and salt." - The locatives domī, "at home" (102.9), and Rōmae, "at Rome" (102.13), without a preposition. - The intensive pronoun ipsī (102.9), agreeing with Rōmānī: "the Romans themselves." - The imperfect of repeated or customary action (102.9, 102.10, 102.12): faciēbant, edēbant, "used to make, used to eat." - Indirect statement after trādit (102.13): pistōrēs ... nōn fuisse, accusative subject and perfect infinitive, "that there had not been bakers." - A relative clause without an antecedent (102.14): quī trīticum serit, "whoever sows wheat," with the future habēbit in the main clause. - In with the ablative of means (102.15): in sōlō pāne, "by bread alone," a biblical construction that follows the Greek and Hebrew; classical prose would use the plain ablative.
Common Mistakes English Speakers Make
- Treating pānis as feminine because of its ending: write pānis bonus, not *pānis bona. - Writing the ablative as *pānī: the ablative singular is pāne. - Confusing pānis, "bread," with pannus, "cloth," or with the god Pān. - Translating "made of wheat" with dē or a genitive: the usual construction is ē trīticō or the adjective (pānis trīticeus). - Dropping the macron: the a is long in every form, so the word is PĀ-nis, never pa-NIS.
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Bread in the Book of Cereals
Pliny's Book 18 is a treatise on field crops, and bread belongs in it. He explains that leaven was made in Italy chiefly from millet kneaded with grape must, which kept for a year (18.102), and that in his own day leaven was made from flour itself, boiled to a kind of porridge before the salt was added (18.104). He then lists kinds of bread, named after the food eaten with them (ostreariī, "oyster bread"), after their delicacy, after the speed of their making, or after the way they were baked, in an oven or in a clay pot, and a new "water bread" brought from Parthia (18.105). The best bread of all, he says, depends on the quality of the wheat and the fineness of the sieve: summa laus silīginis bonitāte et cribrī tenuitāte cōnstat.
The Baker's Trade
The word pistor first meant the man who pounded grain (from pīnsō, "to pound"). Pliny records that Rome had no professional bakers for more than 580 years after its foundation, until the war with Perseus of Macedon (171–168 BC); bread was made at home, mostly by women (Section F). Cato's handbook, written a little before that time, gives a household recipe for panis depsticius, "kneaded bread": wash your hands and the mortar, put in the flour, add water little by little and knead it well, then shape the loaf and bake it under an earthenware cover (Dē Agrī Cultūrā 74).
Bread and Social Rank
Roman bread was graded by its flour. Cicero speaks of pānis cibārius, coarse ration bread (Tusculānae Disputātiōnēs 5.97); Horace of pānis secundus, second-grade bread (Epistulae 2.1.123); Seneca contrasts pānis plēbēius, common bread, with silīgineus, fine white bread (Epistulae 119.3). The finer the sieve, the whiter, dearer and more prestigious the loaf.
Bread in Botanical Latin
The word itself is rare in formal diagnoses, which describe plants rather than what is made from them, but it appears in the descriptions of uses in the herbals and floras. The grains are named with Linnaean binomials: Trīticum aestīvum L. (bread wheat), Hordeum vulgāre L. (barley), Panicum mīliāceum L. (common millet). The genus name Panicum comes from Latin pānicum, a kind of millet in Pliny; its ancient connection with pānis is uncertain. In the Christian tradition, the Lord's Prayer, pānem nostrum cotīdiānum, and the Gospel verse in 102.15 have kept the word in daily use for two thousand years.
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Pliny the Elder, Nātūrālis Historia 18.107 — Rome's First Bakers
In Book 18 of his Nātūrālis Historia (published AD 77), Pliny the Elder moves from leavens and kinds of bread to the history of the baker's trade. The passage is short and plain, and it shows pānis in its commonest form, the accusative object of a verb of making. The text is that of LacusCurtius, checked against the Latin Wikisource text, with macrons added.
Part F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Pistōrēs bakers Rōmae at-Rome nōn not fuēre there-were ad until Persicum of-Perseus usque right-up-to bellum war
F.1b Pistōrēs /pɪsˈtoː.reːs/ baker.NOM.PL.M Rōmae /ˈroː.mae̯/ Rome.LOC.SG.F nōn /noːn/ not fuēre /fʊˈeː.rɛ/ be.3PL.PERF ad /ad/ until Persicum /ˈpɛr.sɪ.kʊm/ of-Perseus.ACC.SG.N usque /ˈʊs.kʷɛ/ right-up-to bellum /ˈbɛl.lʊm/ war.ACC.SG.N
F.2a annīs for-years ab from urbe city conditā founded super more-than DLXXX 580
F.2b annīs /ˈan.niːs/ year.ABL.PL.M ab /ab/ from urbe /ˈʊr.bɛ/ city.ABL.SG.F conditā /ˈkɔn.dɪ.taː/ found.PPP.ABL.SG.F super /ˈsʊ.pɛr/ more-than DLXXX /kʷiːŋˈɡɛn.tiːs ɔk.toːˈɡɪn.taː/ 580.ABL.PL.M
F.3a ipsī themselves pānem bread faciēbant used-to-make Quirītēs the-Roman-citizens
F.3b ipsī /ˈɪp.siː/ self.NOM.PL.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M faciēbant /fa.kɪˈeː.bant/ make.3PL.IMPERF Quirītēs /kʷɪˈriː.teːs/ citizen.NOM.PL.M
F.4a mulierumque and-of-women id that opus work maximē chiefly erat was
F.4b mulierumque /mʊ.lɪ.ɛˈrʊm.kʷɛ/ woman.GEN.PL.F-and id /ɪd/ that.NOM.SG.N opus /ˈɔ.pʊs/ work.NOM.SG.N maximē /ˈmak.sɪ.meː/ chiefly erat /ˈɛ.rat/ be.3SG.IMPERF
F.5a sīcut just-as etiam even nunc now in among plūrimīs most gentium of-the-peoples
F.5b sīcut /ˈsiː.kʊt/ just-as etiam /ˈɛ.tɪ.am/ even nunc /nʊŋk/ now in /ɪn/ among plūrimīs /ˈpluː.rɪ.miːs/ most.SUPERL.ABL.PL.F gentium /ˈɡɛn.tɪ.ʊm/ people.GEN.PL.F
Part F-B: Natural Text and Translation
Pistōrēs Rōmae nōn fuēre ad Persicum usque bellum annīs ab urbe conditā super DLXXX. Ipsī pānem faciēbant Quirītēs, mulierumque id opus maximē erat, sīcut etiam nunc in plūrimīs gentium.
"There were no bakers at Rome until the war with Perseus, for more than 580 years from the founding of the city. The citizens made their bread themselves, and that was chiefly the work of the women, as it still is among most peoples."
Part F-C: Latin Text Only
Pistōrēs Rōmae nōn fuēre ad Persicum usque bellum annīs ab urbe conditā super DLXXX. Ipsī pānem faciēbant Quirītēs, mulierumque id opus maximē erat, sīcut etiam nunc in plūrimīs gentium.
Part F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
Pānem is the accusative singular object of faciēbant, exactly as in 102.9 and 102.10. The imperfect faciēbant describes a long custom, "they used to make," set against the perfect fuēre, which states a plain fact about the past. Fuēre is the alternative form of fuērunt, "they were," common in Pliny and the historians.
Ad Persicum usque bellum shows Latin word order at work: the preposition ad and the adverb usque, "all the way to," frame the adjective, and the noun bellum comes last. Bellum Persicum here is the war against Perseus, the last king of Macedon (171–168 BC), not a war with Persia; the adjective comes from the king's name. Annīs ... super DLXXX, "for more than 580 years," uses the ablative for a stretch of time, a usage that becomes common in Pliny's Latin, with super as an adverb, "over, more than." Ab urbe conditā, "from the city founded," is the Roman way of saying "from the foundation of the city," with the participle carrying the idea of the action.
Quirītēs is the old formal name of the Roman citizens in their civil capacity. Ipsī, "they themselves," stands first for emphasis: before there were bakers, the citizens did the work. Mulierumque is mulierum with the enclitic -que, "and," attached to the first word of its clause; mulierum ... opus erat is a predicate genitive, "was the work of women." In plūrimīs gentium is a partitive genitive, "among the most of the peoples."
Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, AD 23/24–79) wrote the thirty-seven books of the Nātūrālis Historia, Books 12 to 27 of which deal with plants, their cultivation and their uses. He died near Vesuvius during the eruption of AD 79.
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A noun lesson calls for an informational text. This one is written as a short reading for a school garden or a botanical exhibit on cereals: it follows a loaf of bread back through the baker and the miller to the grasses it comes from. It uses the vocabulary of Pliny's Book 18 (farīna, fermentum, subigere, milium) and closes with the Linnaean name of bread wheat.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
102.16a Omnis every pānis bread ā from sēmine seed incipit begins
102.16b Omnis /ˈɔm.nɪs/ every.NOM.SG.M pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M ā /aː/ from sēmine /ˈseː.mɪ.nɛ/ seed.ABL.SG.N incipit /ˈɪŋ.kɪ.pɪt/ begin.3SG.PRES
102.17a Trīticum wheat est is herba plant annua annual ē from familiā family Poāceārum of-the-Poaceae
102.17b Trīticum /ˈtriː.tɪ.kʊm/ wheat.NOM.SG.N est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES herba /ˈhɛr.ba/ plant.NOM.SG.F annua /ˈan.nʊ.a/ annual.NOM.SG.F ē /eː/ from familiā /faˈmɪ.lɪ.aː/ family.ABL.SG.F Poāceārum /pɔ.aː.kɛˈaː.rʊm/ Poaceae.GEN.PL.F
102.18a Spīcae ears trīticī of-wheat multa many grāna grains continent contain
102.18b Spīcae /ˈspiː.kae̯/ ear.NOM.PL.F trīticī /ˈtriː.tɪ.kiː/ wheat.GEN.SG.N multa /ˈmʊl.ta/ many.ACC.PL.N grāna /ˈɡraː.na/ grain.ACC.PL.N continent /ˈkɔn.tɪ.nɛnt/ contain.3PL.PRES
102.19a Ex from grānīs grains molitīs ground farīna flour fit is-made
102.19b Ex /ɛks/ from grānīs /ˈɡraː.niːs/ grain.ABL.PL.N molitīs /ˈmɔ.lɪ.tiːs/ grind.PPP.ABL.PL.N farīna /faˈriː.na/ flour.NOM.SG.F fit /fɪt/ become.3SG.PRES
102.20a Hordeum barley quoque also pānem bread dat gives sed but pānis bread hordeāceus barley dūrior harder est is
102.20b Hordeum /ˈhɔr.dɛ.ʊm/ barley.NOM.SG.N quoque /ˈkʷɔ.kʷɛ/ also pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M dat /dat/ give.3SG.PRES sed /sɛd/ but pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M hordeāceus /hɔr.dɛˈaː.kɛ.ʊs/ of-barley.NOM.SG.M dūrior /ˈduː.rɪ.ɔr/ harder.COMP.NOM.SG.M est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES
102.21a Pauperēs the-poor saepe often pānem bread hordeāceum barley edēbant used-to-eat
102.21b Pauperēs /ˈpau̯.pɛ.reːs/ poor.NOM.PL.M saepe /ˈsae̯.pɛ/ often pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M hordeāceum /hɔr.dɛˈaː.kɛ.ʊm/ of-barley.ACC.SG.M edēbant /ɛˈdeː.bant/ eat.3PL.IMPERF
102.22a Milium millet ad for fermenta leavens praecipuē especially ūtile useful est is ut as Plīnius Pliny docet teaches
102.22b Milium /ˈmɪ.lɪ.ʊm/ millet.NOM.SG.N ad /ad/ for fermenta /fɛrˈmɛn.ta/ leaven.ACC.PL.N praecipuē /prae̯ˈkɪ.pʊ.eː/ especially ūtile /ˈuː.tɪ.lɛ/ useful.NOM.SG.N est /ɛst/ is.3SG.PRES ut /ʊt/ as Plīnius /ˈpliː.nɪ.ʊs/ Pliny.NOM.SG.M docet /ˈdɔ.kɛt/ teach.3SG.PRES
102.23a Fermentum leaven pānem bread leviōrem lighter facit makes
102.23b Fermentum /fɛrˈmɛn.tʊm/ leaven.NOM.SG.N pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M leviōrem /lɛ.wɪˈoː.rɛm/ lighter.COMP.ACC.SG.M facit /ˈfa.kɪt/ make.3SG.PRES
102.24a Pistor baker farīnam flour cum with aquā water et and sale salt subigit kneads
102.24b Pistor /ˈpɪs.tɔr/ baker.NOM.SG.M farīnam /faˈriː.nam/ flour.ACC.SG.F cum /kʊm/ with aquā /ˈa.kʷaː/ water.ABL.SG.F et /ɛt/ and sale /ˈsa.lɛ/ salt.ABL.SG.M subigit /ˈsʊ.bɪ.ɡɪt/ knead.3SG.PRES
102.25a Deinde then pānem bread in in furnō oven coquit he-bakes
102.25b Deinde /ˈdɛi̯n.dɛ/ then pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M in /ɪn/ in furnō /ˈfʊr.noː/ oven.ABL.SG.M coquit /ˈkɔ.kʷɪt/ bake.3SG.PRES
102.26a Pānis bread bene well coctus baked crustam crust fuscam brown habet has
102.26b Pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M bene /ˈbɛ.nɛ/ well coctus /ˈkɔk.tʊs/ bake.PPP.NOM.SG.M crustam /ˈkrʊs.tam/ crust.ACC.SG.F fuscam /ˈfʊs.kam/ brown.ACC.SG.F habet /ˈha.bɛt/ have.3SG.PRES
102.27a Pānis bread ē from multīs many generibus kinds frūmentī of-grain fit is-made ē from trīticō wheat ē from farre spelt ex from hordeō barley
102.27b Pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M ē /eː/ from multīs /ˈmʊl.tiːs/ many.ABL.PL.N generibus /ɡɛˈnɛ.rɪ.bʊs/ kind.ABL.PL.N frūmentī /fruːˈmɛn.tiː/ grain.GEN.SG.N fit /fɪt/ become.3SG.PRES ē /eː/ from trīticō /ˈtriː.tɪ.koː/ wheat.ABL.SG.N ē /eː/ from farre /ˈfar.rɛ/ spelt.ABL.SG.N ex /ɛks/ from hordeō /ˈhɔr.dɛ.oː/ barley.ABL.SG.N
102.28a Botanicī botanists trīticum wheat Trīticum Triticum aestīvum aestivum appellant call
102.28b Botanicī /bɔˈta.nɪ.kiː/ botanist.NOM.PL.M trīticum /ˈtriː.tɪ.kʊm/ wheat.ACC.SG.N Trīticum /ˈtriː.tɪ.kʊm/ Triticum.ACC.SG.N aestīvum /ae̯sˈtiː.wʊm/ summer.ACC.SG.N appellant /apˈpɛl.lant/ call.3PL.PRES
102.29a Sine without plantīs plants nūllus no pānis bread esset there-would-be
102.29b Sine /ˈsɪ.nɛ/ without plantīs /ˈplan.tiːs/ plant.ABL.PL.F nūllus /ˈnuːl.lʊs/ no.NOM.SG.M pānis /ˈpaː.nɪs/ bread.NOM.SG.M esset /ˈɛs.sɛt/ be.3SG.IMPERF.SUBJ
102.30a Itaque therefore quī who pānem bread edit eats herbās grasses edit eats
102.30b Itaque /ˈɪ.ta.kʷɛ/ therefore quī /kʷiː/ who.NOM.SG.M pānem /ˈpaː.nɛm/ bread.ACC.SG.M edit /ˈɛ.dɪt/ eat.3SG.PRES herbās /ˈhɛr.baːs/ grass.ACC.PL.F edit /ˈɛ.dɪt/ eat.3SG.PRES
Part B: Natural Sentences
102.16 Omnis pānis ā sēmine incipit. → "All bread begins with a seed."
102.17 Trīticum est herba annua ē familiā Poāceārum. → "Wheat is an annual plant of the grass family, the Poaceae."
102.18 Spīcae trīticī multa grāna continent. → "The ears of wheat contain many grains."
102.19 Ex grānīs molitīs farīna fit. → "Flour is made from the ground grains."
102.20 Hordeum quoque pānem dat, sed pānis hordeāceus dūrior est. → "Barley also makes bread, but barley bread is harder."
102.21 Pauperēs saepe pānem hordeāceum edēbant. → "The poor often used to eat barley bread."
102.22 Milium ad fermenta praecipuē ūtile est, ut Plīnius docet. → "Millet is especially useful for leavens, as Pliny teaches."
102.23 Fermentum pānem leviōrem facit. → "Leaven makes bread lighter."
102.24 Pistor farīnam cum aquā et sale subigit. → "The baker kneads the flour with water and salt."
102.25 Deinde pānem in furnō coquit. → "Then he bakes the bread in the oven."
102.26 Pānis bene coctus crustam fuscam habet. → "Well-baked bread has a brown crust."
102.27 Pānis ē multīs generibus frūmentī fit: ē trīticō, ē farre, ex hordeō. → "Bread is made from many kinds of grain: from wheat, from spelt, from barley."
102.28 Botanicī trīticum Trīticum aestīvum appellant. → "Botanists call bread wheat Triticum aestivum."
102.29 Sine plantīs nūllus pānis esset. → "Without plants there would be no bread."
102.30 Itaque quī pānem edit, herbās edit. → "And so whoever eats bread eats grasses."
Part C: Latin Text Only
102.16 Omnis pānis ā sēmine incipit.
102.17 Trīticum est herba annua ē familiā Poāceārum.
102.18 Spīcae trīticī multa grāna continent.
102.19 Ex grānīs molitīs farīna fit.
102.20 Hordeum quoque pānem dat, sed pānis hordeāceus dūrior est.
102.21 Pauperēs saepe pānem hordeāceum edēbant.
102.22 Milium ad fermenta praecipuē ūtile est, ut Plīnius docet.
102.23 Fermentum pānem leviōrem facit.
102.24 Pistor farīnam cum aquā et sale subigit.
102.25 Deinde pānem in furnō coquit.
102.26 Pānis bene coctus crustam fuscam habet.
102.27 Pānis ē multīs generibus frūmentī fit: ē trīticō, ē farre, ex hordeō.
102.28 Botanicī trīticum Trīticum aestīvum appellant.
102.29 Sine plantīs nūllus pānis esset.
102.30 Itaque quī pānem edit, herbās edit.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The text shows pānis in the nominative (102.16, 102.20, 102.26, 102.27, 102.29) and the accusative (102.20, 102.21, 102.23, 102.25, 102.30), the two forms a reader meets most often. Every adjective with it is masculine: omnis pānis, pānis hordeāceus, pānem hordeāceum, pānem leviōrem, pānis bene coctus, nūllus pānis.
Ā sēmine incipit (102.16): incipiō with ā / ab and the ablative gives the starting point, "begins from a seed." Sēmen, sēminis is a neuter of the third declension; its ablative is sēmine.
The material construction ē / ex with the ablative and fit recurs (102.19, 102.27). Note ē before a consonant (ē trīticō, ē farre) and ex before a vowel or h (ex grānīs, ex hordeō). Far, farris (n.), "spelt," is the old Roman grain that gave its name to farīna, "flour." Frūmentī (102.27) is a genitive of material after genera, "kinds of grain."
Molitīs (102.19) is the perfect passive participle of molō, molere, moluī, molitum, "to grind," with a short i; the mill is mola. Subigit (102.24) is from subigō, the verb both Cato and Pliny use for kneading dough (subigitō, subigitur).
Leviōrem facit (102.23) is a predicate accusative: the adjective describes the result, "makes the bread lighter." In 102.28 appellant takes two accusatives, the thing named and the name: trīticum Trīticum aestīvum appellant. Trīticum aestīvum, "summer wheat," is the Linnaean binomial of bread wheat (Species Plantārum, 1753).
102.29 is the conclusion of an unreal condition with the imperfect subjunctive esset, "there would be," with sine plantīs taking the place of an if-clause ("if there were no plants"). 102.30, with its relative quī and no antecedent, repeats the pattern of 102.14.
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The a of pānis is long in every form, and in the two-syllable forms (pānis, pānem, pāne, pānēs, pānum) the stress always falls on it. In the dative and ablative plural pānibus /ˈpaː.nɪ.bʊs/ the stress stays on the first syllable, because the penultimate syllable -ni- is short.
Distinguish pānis, "bread," from pannus, "cloth" (short a, double n), and from Pān, Pānos, the Greek god of flocks.
Farīna has a long ī (fa-RĪ-na); its source far, farris has a short a. Trīticum has a long ī in the first syllable and is stressed on it: TRĪ-ti-cum. Hordeum has a short e, so the stress falls on the first syllable: HOR-de-um; in hordeāceus the long ā of the suffix takes the stress: hor-de-Ā-ce-us.
Silīgineus comes from silīgō, silīginis, "fine winter wheat," and keeps its long ī (Lewis and Short), but the stress falls on the short syllable -gi- before two short vowels: si-lī-GI-ne-us.
The botanical family name Poāceae is formed from the genus Poa (short o) with the family suffix -āceae (long ā), so Poāceae is stressed po-Ā-ce-ae.
In Classical pronunciation c is always hard (pistōrēs, coctus, fuscam), v is /w/ (vīvit /ˈwiː.wɪt/, aestīvum /ae̯sˈtiː.wʊm/), qu is /kʷ/ (coquit /ˈkɔ.kʷɪt/), and g is always hard (generibus /ɡɛˈnɛ.rɪ.bʊs/).
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