# -men(tum) and -monium suffixes



## Scholiast

Greetings all

Can anyone please offer, or point me to, an explanation of the affix -_monium_ in words such as _caerimonium_, _matrimonium_, _testimonium_ &c.?

With other regular affixes there appears to be a consistent function (e.g. _-tudo_ regularly forms an abstract noun from an adjective, _-ric- _added to a supine stem makes a female agent), but I cannot yet see what links, say _alimonium_ with _sanctimonium_. Any offers?


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## Agró

(from wiki):
The modern English word "marriage" derives from Middle English _mariage_, which first appears in 1250–1300 C.E. This in turn is derived from Old French _marier_ (to marry) and ultimately Latin _marītāre_ meaning to provide with a husband or wife and _marītāri_ meaning to get married. (The adjective _marīt-us -a, -um_  meaning matrimonial or nuptial could also be used in the masculine form  as a noun for "husband" and in the feminine form for "wife."[11] The related English word "matrimony" derives from the Old French word _matremoine_ which appears around 1300 C.E. and ultimately derives from Latin _mātrimōnium_ which combines the two concepts _mater_ meaning "mother" *and the suffix -monium signifying "action, state, or condition*." "[12]


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## CapnPrep

The suffixes _-mōnia_ and _-mōnium_ are related to _-men_ (_flumen_, _nomen_, etc.) and its extended form _-mentum_, and also to Greek _-μα_.  See e.g. A&G §239, which confirms what you say about _-monium_ not consistently selecting a single class of root/stem. But this is true of many suffixes in Latin.


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## Scholiast

Many thanks to both Agro and CapnPrep. Of course I should have thought of consulting A&G.


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## Scholiast

Greetings all

I wonder whether someone more philologically expert than I can help?

What, if any, is the distinction in sense or flavour between the abstract noun formations in _-mentum_ (_documentum_, _ornamentum_, _testamentum_ &c.) and _-monium_ (_caerimonium_, _matrimonium_, _testimonium_ &c.)?

I have consulted Allen and Greenough (www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0001art=1:section=30&highlight=mentum, esp. §239) but am none the wiser.

This arises because I am increasingly convinced that in English, the word "testament" is being improperly used where "testimony" is intended and right, for example in a leader column in the _Times_ two days ago:

"------'s guilty plea to all 14 of the indecent charges made against him is _testament_ to the work of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service..."

And I am wondering whether, on the basis either of Latin etymology or of English usage, I am justified in my irritation.

Σ


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## radagasty

To appeal to Latin in adjudicating English usage would be to fall into the etymological fallacy. This notwithstanding, the difference in sense between _testamentum _and _testimonium _is clear: the former is used particularly of of wills (as in 'last will and testament) and the publication thereof (or in the sense of 'covenant' as in _vetus testamentum_) whereas the latter is used in a more general sense to refer to witness, testimony or evidence. However, I am not sure how much bearing the above has on English usage.

> "------'s guilty plea to all 14 of the indecent charges made against him is testament to the work of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service..."

With all due respect to your instinct as a native speaker, I would have said the opposite, that _testament_ is the correct word here. To me, _testament _is evidence or proof in a more general sense, whilst _testimony _refers specifically to the evidence given by a witness. In the sentence you cite, the guilty plea is not evidence given by the accused, but rather, the fact that he pleaded guilty to the charges is testament to the good work of the police.


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## relativamente

The abstract words ending in monium (from munus significat officium) reffer to the legal status of some person or action, like matrimonium, the rights and obligations of the mater familias, testimonium the ones of a witness  before a judge. This words derive all from a noun
The ending in -men is much more common, many belonging to the third declension. They are derived from a verb and are all neuter gender;  from rego regimen from ligo ligamen and many more
Testament I think must have derived from French testament. In French not much to do with temoignage.
But in modern English the word testament is synonime to testimony and has also as a second meaning "will".This according to  Oxford Advanced Learners's dictionary


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## Scholiast

Dear correpondents

Thanks to both radagasty and relativamente for their timeous responses.

Without wishing to sound condescending, I know already the philological points that these distinguished folk have made; and (radagasty) I am also acutely aware that no sound inferences may be necessarily drawn from Latin etymology about current English usage, or the propriety thereof.

With all respect to both, neither has actually answered my original question: I am not asking about the lexical sense of _testamentum_ (which in classical Latin is confined anyway to the sense of "last will and testament", at least according to L&S), and _testimonium_. I am asking for an explanation (if it exists) for the general pattern of sense in -_mentum_ abstracts as opposed to those which end in _-monium.

_Σ


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## relativamente

Scholiast said:


> Dear correpondents
> 
> Thanks to both radagasty and relativamente for their timeous responses.
> 
> Without wishing to sound condescending, I know already the philological points that these distinguished folk have made; and (radagasty) I am also acutely aware that no sound inferences may be necessarily drawn from Latin etymology about current English usage, or the propriety thereof.
> 
> With all respect to both, neither has actually answered my original question: I am not asking about the lexical sense of _testamentum_ (which in classical Latin is confined anyway to the sense of "last will and testament", at least according to L&S), and _testimonium_. I am asking for an explanation (if it exists) for the general pattern of sense in -_mentum_ abstracts as opposed to those which end in _-monium.
> 
> _Σ



I do not know the explanation. But it is certain that the ending mentum was used very frequently in Latin and even is still alive in romance languages (ment in French, miento in Spanish, even ment in English through French) still new words being formed. Whereas monium is restricted to just a few words. I don't thing they have much in common


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## onoda

Scholiast said:


> What is the distinction in sense between the noun formations in _-mentum_ (_documentum_, _ornamentum_, _testamentum_ &c.) and _-monium_ (_caerimonium_, _matrimonium_, _testimonium_ &c.)?



The noun formations _using -mentum_ is called Nomina Instrumenti.Nomina Instrumenti means "it indicates the medium or the instrument through which it performs the action".

the indecent charges made against him is "the instrument through which is testified" the work of the police

The noun formations _using __-monium_ is called Nomina Rei Actae.Nomina Rei Actae means "it indicates the result of an action".

I hope i translated correctly.


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## radagasty

Scholiast said:


> With all respect to both, neither has actually answered my original question.



LOL... I suppose I was more intent on addressing the point that your question was not fit for the purpose you wanted it's answer for. At any rate, this is not the forum to discuss questions of English usage _in extenso_, but, IMHO, your irritation (cf. Post #1) is not justified.

Addressing to the question more immediately at hand, -_mentum_, as onoda points out, forms the 'nomina instrumenti', by and large indicating means, medium or instrument. Note, though, that it can also indicate result, e.g., _fragmentum_, although this is relatively rarer. This derivational suffix is very productive through the historical span of the Latin language, taking over from the pre-classical and classical -_men _in later periods.

On the other hand, -_monium _is relatively unproductive as a derivational suffix, and I can really only think of a few common words, like _matrimonium, alimonium, mercimonium, vadimonium, patrimonium_, which, like _testimonium_, have something of a legal flavour. I am not convinced that 'nomina res actae', which onoma suggested, is a good characterisation of these words, though.

Of these words, _alimonium _is the only one (I think) that has a (common) parallel in -_mentum_, viz. _alimentum_, the latter being more common in classical Latin and the former in the mediaeval language. Here, I am not sure that I can identify a clear distinction in meaning between the two: they can both refer generally to food (concrete) or nourishment (abstract), or more particularly, to recompense for the cost that parents incur in raising a child. My feeling is that the form in -_monium _is particularly used in the sense of 'support', whence English _alimony_.

Returning to English usage, then, the etymological fallacy notwithstanding, if we accept (broadly speaking) onoma's characterisation of the -_mentum _vs. -_monium _pair as derivational suffixes indicating instrument and result respectively, then testament would indeed be the correct word in the sentence you quote, since it refers to the instrument which testifies to the good work of the police and the prosecutors.


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