98. Nouns whose stem was different in the nominative and the accusative
singular, reconstructed the nominative to correspond to the accusative,
the new form being similar to the original genitive: _papĭlio_
_papiliōnem_ ＞ _papiliōnis_ _papiliōnem_, _pēs_ _pĕdem_ ＞ _pĕdis_
_pĕdem_. The change began in the Vulgar Latin period. Exceptions to
the rule are names of persons, unless they ended in _-ans_ or _-ens_:
_nĕpos_ _nepōtem_ ＞ nęps nebọt; but _amans_ _amantem_ ＞ ✱_amantis_
_amantem_ ＞ amáns amán.
1. _Carnis_ for _caro_ is used by classic writers. _Grūis_ for
_grūs_ occurs in the _Appendix Probi_ III, belonging perhaps
to the 3d century. _Papiliōnis_, _pĕdis_, _travis_ = _trabs_,
and some others are found in the 8th century _Glossary of
Reichenau_.
99. Masculine nouns of the third declension, early in the Provençal
period, made their nominative plural conform to the second declension
type, thus distinguishing it from the objective plural: _pater_
_patrem_ _patres_ _patres_ ＞ paire paire paire paires (cf. Old French
and Italian). Feminines, on the other hand, kept the nominative plural
in -s: _mater_ _matrem_ _matres_ _matres_ ＞ maire maire maires maires.
100. A few neuter nouns, becoming masculine in Vulgar Latin, developed
distinctively masculine forms in the singular: _gĕnus_ _gĕnus_ ＞
✱_gĕneris_ ✱_gĕnĕrem_ ＞ genres genre; so _fŭlgur_ (＞ _fŭlger_) ＞
✱_fŭlgĕrem_ ＞ fọuzer. Most neuters, however, kept in the singular
their original stem: _sēmen_ ＞ sẹm, _tĕmpus_ ＞ tems. But those
in _-men_ regularly, and those in _-r_ sometimes, took an -s in
the nominative singular: _flūmen_ _flūmen_ ＞ flüms flüm, _marmor_
_marmor_ ＞ marme-s marme; cǫr, in the literary language, usually has
no nominative -s. In the plural most neuters brought their forms
into harmony with the masculine type, but those in _-us_ kept the -s
throughout: (_caput_ >) _capus_ ✱_capum_ _capĭta_ _capĭta_ ＞ caps cap
cap caps, _cŏr_ _cŏr_ _cŏrda_ _cŏrda_ ＞ cǫr cǫr cǫr cǫrs, _nōmen_
_nōmen_ _nōmĭna_ _nōmĭna_ ＞ nọms nọm nọm nọms; but _cŏrpus_
_cŏrpus_ _cŏrpŏra_ _cŏrpŏra_ ＞ cǫrs cǫrs cǫrs cǫrs. _Mare_, becoming
feminine, was declined thus: mars mar mars mars.