Genitive of the Whole

Latin Learning Latin
1

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I have a query about the Genitive of the Whole and its use with “milia” that’s been puzzling me slightly. As you probably all know, and of which Wheelock has just informed me, if one wants to write “10,000 men” in Latin, the GOW is used and the phrase is written “milia vivorum”. My question is , how does one say “10,000 of the men”? I presume the same form is used and one figures it out through context but I want to be sure, and Wheelock doesn’t mention it. Thanks in advance,

Einhard.

2

I’m going off intuition, but I think you would want to use a preposition, like “decem milia ex eis [viris].”
Solùm coniecto, sed arbitror tibi praepositionem utendam esse, exempli gratiâ “decem milia ex eis [viris].”

Ah! Here’s some proof from Lewis and Short. It says that “ex” is used generally “where a going out or forth, a coming or springing out of any thing is conceivable.”
Heia! Ecce indicium ex libro Lewis et Short! Dicunt praepositionem “e” usui esse cum motus huc vel illuc significetur, vel generatim cum aliquid inire exireque intellegi possit.

3

Thanks for that thesaurus. You’re correct. Now I can move on and try to figure out some other of the many thousands of Latin constructions that hurt my brain when I think about them!

4

You’re correct when you say the same form can be used. It’s called the partitive genitive. Thesaurus is also right about using a preposition, of course. Both are pretty common.