The Tune Wavers are working on Hans Leo the Hassler's Cantate Domino. One of the lines is "Et benedicite nomini ejus." One of the singers (Lamar W.) asked why it's "nomini" with an "i" instead of "nomine" with an "e." He states that it seems to be a plural form in the present instance ("and bless his {God's} names"). We know that it really translates as, "and bless his name." I assured him that it likely has to do with how the word is being used in the phrase, but I am not up on my Latin enough to be specific. Anyone else have a precise definitive answer?
Boy did I get what I asked for! Thanks to colleagues in America, Canada, Italy, New Zealand and Finland! I have gotten permission to add the more detailed replies (and the most humorous) in the combox. You really need to read through the comments. Thanks everyone for writing! And thanks, Lamar W., for asking!
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Cartoon: Reflections on the Lectionary
9 comments:
From a colleague via Chorlist-L:
"Nomini" is not actually a plural (that would be "nomina"); it's the dative case of the third-declension neuter noun "nomen." (We're more used to seeing the ablative case, "nomine," in phrases like "in nomine.") The verb "benedicire" takes an object in either the dative or accusative case (the equivalents of our indirect and direct objects). Thus it's proper to say either "benedicite nomini" or "benedicite nomen"---literally translated as "bless to the name" or "bless the name," but both amounting to the latter. "Benedicite nomine" would actually be grammatically incorrect.
Thanks, Eliza Rubenstein.
I also had this reply. Enjoy!
Michael,
It really means "and bless her name[s]".
I dare you...
Thanks to Cynthia Powell!
Another reply from a helpful colleague:
HI,
It's genitive (possessive) case of the noun "nomine." The i ending indicates this. "Blessed HIS name be" thus this possessive ending on the stem: "nomini". Latin doesn't usually use possessive pronouns, rather these suffixes to indicate the case of the noun.
At least I think that's why...no scholar I.
Paul (Meers)
You are right. Latin, like many Indo-European languages, shows changes in the meaning of a noun by a system of 6 cases. So you have "nomen" which means a name. If it is the subject of a sentence, it stays in that form (called the nominative). "O name" (vocative) is the same. If name is the object of a sentence "The boy said the name", the accusative "nomen" is used. (Nouns in Latin also have a (usually arbitrary) gender as well. Neuter nouns have the same nominative, vocative and accusative. A masculine or feminine noun usually changes in the accusative eg. rex (nom) becomes regem (acc)). "Of a name" (genitive) would be "nominis" (genitive case). "Nomini" is the dative case. This is generally used to mean "to/for a name" but it is also used (as in your example) as the object with certain verbs "benedicere" (to bless) being the most common in Church Latin. It may interest you to know that German and Russian both have equivalents where the dative case is used in situations where you would usually use the accusative. For the sake of completeness, the last case is the ablative "nomine" which is used with most preopositions (eg. sine nomine - without a name).
Hope this helps
God bless
Justin Glyn
Michael,
"nomini" is dative singular (plural declination is nomina, nominum, nominibus, nomina, nomina, nominibus), so for sure there's no plural here.
If the meaning were "bless his name", it should be written like "benedicite nomen eius".
According to Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, "A Latin Dictionary", the verb "Benedico" + dative is rarely found but not incorrect (see Vulg. Psalm 102, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Psalm+102.1)
So I guess there's nothing wrong with "nomini",
Best regards,
Pierfranco Bini
Bologna, Italy
bini@aliamusica.it
Hi:
In Latin, the verb "to bless" takes an indirect object, rather than a direct object as in English. The Latin verb "benedicere" means literally "to speak good". So "bless his name" in Latin is actually "speak good OF his name".
"Nomini" is the indirect object form of the word "nomen" ("name").
Michael Hartney
Ottawa (Canada)
The 'nomini' is also the spelling of the possessive form of the word. The spelling has to do with not only the singular and plural but also with the "cases" of the words. Some of the case endings look like the plural but are not. I believe that is the reason for the "i" ending, not because it is plural. There is a "declarative" case also, which I think has the same ending.
All best,
Linda
Gregory J. Keosaian
Linda Lanier-Keosaian
316 Prospect Avenue, Apt. 5-A
Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
lanierkeosaian@optonline.net
“Wisdom can never learn enough. Ignorance is sufficient unto itself.”
-Mechtild of Magdeburg-
Hello, Michael.
Latin often thinks differently than we do in English, with words which are direct objects in English translation taking other cases in Latin but being translated simply as our own accusative case.
Uti/utor (to use) for example, takes the ablative case for its object. Benedicite (benedico/benedicere) takes the dative case in this reading.
Here's a little example I found on the concept. As the writer chronicles, there's no special logic or rule.
Several very common verbs take the dative case instead of the accusative case, as we might expect simply by examining their English translations. There is no connection between the kinds of actions represented in these verbs and the fact that they take the dative case. There is no rule we can concoct in advance that will tip you off whether a certain verb in Latin will take the dative case. You simply must memorize, as you've been doing before, the case the verb takes when you learn the verb itself. The only helpful advice is that you memorize the verbs with a definition which will make the dative case object obvious. Here's the list:
credo(3)credidi creditus
"to believe in,"
not "to trust")
ignosco(3)ignovi ignotus
"to grant pardon to"
(not "to forgive")
impero(1)-avi -atus
"to give order to"
(not "to order")
noceo(2)nocui nocitus
"to do harm to"
not "to harm"
parco(3)peperci parsurus
"to be lenient to
(not "to spare")
pareo(2)parui -------
"to be obedient to
(not "to obey"
persuadeo(2) -suasi -suasus
"to be persuasive to
(not "to persuade")
placeo(2)placui placitus
"to be pleasing to
(not "to please")
servio(4) -ivi -itus
"to be a slave to
(not "to serve")
studeo(2)studui -------
"to be eager for"
(not "to study")
All the best,
Leo Nestor, D.M.A.
Justine Bayard Ward Professor
Director of Choral Activities
Director, Institute of Sacred Music
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Benjamin T. Rome School of Music
I've read the seven replies posted thus far on the blog. Cynthia Powell's is a hoot.
Here is my comment:
Thanks for the erudite and accurate comments of Eliza Rubenstein and Justin Glyn. I am enlightened and edified. Lamar W.
Can you post this for me? I tried but failed because it seems that I already have a Google account but have forgotten my Google ID and password.
Thanks for the fun!
Lamar
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