# Quick Latin question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489 "2006-07-14T16:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/1 "2006-07-14T16:26:47Z")
In the phrase “in loco parentis”, what case is “parentis” in? ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/2 "2006-07-14T16:32:02Z")
genitive, I think. “In the place **of** the parents.” parens (nominative) parentis (genitive) parenti (dative) parentem (accusative) parente (ablative) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/3 "2006-07-14T16:33:39Z")
Yep. Genitive. “[of] the parents.” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/4 "2006-07-14T16:35:44Z")
genitive ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/5 "2006-07-14T16:38:13Z")
Alright, people. Don’t everybody just shout out the answer. If you know, put up your thumb and we can give everybody else a chance to think about the question. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/6 "2006-07-14T16:40:40Z")
Actually, that should be “in the place of the parent” (singular). Plural would be _in loco parentum._ ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/7 "2006-07-16T03:48:23Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Actually, that should be “in the place of the parent” (singular). Plural would be _in loco parentum._ [/QUOTE] I just checked back into this thread to correct myself on this – but you beat me to it. :mad: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/8 "2006-07-16T09:20:15Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Actually, that should be “in the place of the parent” (singular). Plural would be _in loco parentum._ [/QUOTE] _In loco parentorum_ surely? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/9 "2006-07-16T09:28:05Z")
Now I’m curious, having never heard the phrase, in what context is it used? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/10 "2006-07-16T09:33:06Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] _In loco parentorum_ surely? [/QUOTE] Oh, despite not knowing my American legal phrases, I had enough Latin to answer this one - **DtC** was right, _in loco parentum_. It’s 3rd declension. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/11 "2006-07-16T09:37:02Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] Now I’m curious, having never heard the phrase, in what context is it used? [/QUOTE] In the teaching profession. A teacher is regarded as being in charge of pupils’ safety etc. while the parents are absent, so they are acting “in place of the parents”. ---
**Author:** ![Hayser1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f475e1/32.png) [@Hayser1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hayser1982)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/12 "2006-07-16T09:39:23Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] _In loco parentorum_ surely? [/QUOTE] If I remember my secondary school latin, Parens is a third declension noun. This group forms the gentitive plural by adding -um to the stem of the genitive singular (Parent-). Most second and first declension nouns form genitive plural by adding -orum or -arum to the genitive singular stem. For example Dominus (lord or master) is conjugated thus: Singular Plural Nominative Dominus Domini Vocative Domine Domini Accusative Dominum Dominos Genitive Domini Dominorum Dative Domino Dominis Ablative Domino Dominis Wheras Parens goes like this: ``` Singular Plural ``` Nom Parens Parentes Voc Parens Parentes Acc Parentem Parentes Gen Parentis Parentum Dat Parentis Parentibus Abl Parente Parentibus Apologies for the wonky typesetting, I’m new to this game ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/13 "2006-07-16T09:43:27Z")
**Quartz** : No. Third declension; **Dio** would be right. Actually, the singular **is** correct, because there’s a nuance of meaning to the phrase not carried in the literal translation. _In loco parentis_ means “in the place of **a** parent,” i.e., acting with the authority and responsibility of a parent for his/her child. It’s not getting into who has authority as between a set of potentially disagreeing parents; it’s referencing that the person with _in loco parentis_ authority has the delegated authority proper to a natural parent vis-à-vis third parties with reference to the child in question. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/14 "2006-07-16T19:05:01Z")
**Hayser1982** , if you enclose a table in [co\*\*\*\*de] tags, the formatting will be preserved. And shame on you for leaving out the locative! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/15 "2006-07-16T20:06:57Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] And shame on you for leaving out the locative! 😉 [/QUOTE] As long as we’re “chattin’ Latin” here, let me ask: altthough it’s traditional to regard the “fossil locatives” as a separate case, are there any instances in which the actual word **form** differed from the ablative? My impression was that all instances of the locative were simply the use of the noun, in the same ending as it would have with _in_-plus-ablative, without any introductory preposition. In this it differs from the other “odd” case, the vocative, which had separate endings in one or more declension (I’m certain of the second, and have a vague memory that there was another instance as well). ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/16 "2006-07-16T22:40:24Z")
No, sometimes the locative is different in form. My Latin book has a few examples listed, one of which I’ve actually seen used - ‘Romae’ is the locative form of Rome, but is very very rare (instead of Roma, the ablative). Other examples are ‘domi’, actually used, and Athenis, Rhodi, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/17 "2006-07-17T05:46:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Other examples are ‘domi’, actually used You mean it’s not “Romani eunt domo”? Man, I’ll need to write over this… ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-latin-question/364489/18 "2006-07-17T13:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] You mean it’s not “Romani eunt domo”? Man, I’ll need to write over this… [/QUOTE] Heh. Fallen between two stool there, dude. Brian’s original stab was “Romanes eunt domus” and the centurion corrects it to “Romani, ite domum”.