Bartholomew the Englishman

On the Chameleon


Latin Grammar: Adjectives

Chameleon est bestiola parva, diversa varietate colorum conspersa, cuius corpusculum ad varios colores, quos videtur facillima conversione variatur, non invenitur aliquid aliud animal, cuius corpusculum ita recipiat colorum oppositorum immutationem, ut ibidem dicit Isidore.

1. Diminutives: When the suffix -ulus (-a, -um), -olus, -culus, ellius, or -illus is added to a noun, the result is to create a meaning of "small" or "little" in the definition of the word.  For example, "filia" (daughter) becomes "filiola" or "little daughter."

Using the text above, find two nouns in the diminutive form (one appears twice), and give their meaning.

Noun Meaning

Bonus Question: Which adjective, used in this passage, reinforces the idea of the "smallness" of the chameleon?

2. Noun- Adjective Agreement

Match the following nouns with their corresponding adjectives, based upon the text above.

  Noun   Adjective
1.
bestiola
 a.
facillima
2.
colores
b.
diversa
3.
conversione
c.
varios
4.
colorum
d.
parva
5.
varietate
 e.
oppositorum

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