-áx, -idus, -ulus, -vus (-uus, -ívus, -tívus)
-áx denotes a faulty or aggressive tendency; -tívus is oftener passive.
| púgn-áx, pugnacious; | púgnáre, to fight. |
| aud-áx, bold; | audére, to dare. |
| cup-idus, eager; | cupere, to desire. |
| bib-ulus, thirsty (as dry earth etc.); | bibere, to drink. |
| proter-vus, violent, wanton; | próterere, to trample. |
| noc-uus (noc-ívus), hurtful, injurious; | nocére, to do harm. |
| recid-ívus, restored; | recidere, to fall back. |
| cap-tívus, captive; M., a prisoner of war; | capere, to take. |
NOTE: Of these, -áx is a reduction of -ácus (stem-vowel á- -cus), become independent and used with verb-stems. Similar forms in -ex, -óx, -íx, and -úx are found or employed in derivatives: as, imbrex, M., a rain-tile (from imber); senex, old (from seni-s); feróx, fierce (from ferus); atróx, savage (from áter, black); celóx, F., a yacht (cf. celló); félíx, happy, originally fertile (cf. féló, suck); fídúcia, F., confidence (as from fídúx); cf. also victríx (from victor). So mandúcus, chewing (from mand=o).
-idus is no doubt denominative, as in herbidus, grassy (from herba, herb); tumidus, swollen (cf. tumu-lus, hill; tumul-tus, uproar); callidus, tough, cunning (cf. callum, tough flesh); múcidus, slimy (cf. múcus, slime); tábidus, wasting (cf. tábés, wasting disease). But later it was used to form adjectives directly from verb-stems.
-ulus is the same suffix as in diminutives, but attached to verb-stems. Cf. aemulus, rivalling (cf. imitor and imágó); sédulus, sitting by, attentive (cf. domi-seda, home-staying, and sédó, set, settle, hence calm); pendulus, hanging (cf. pondó, ablative, in weight; perpendiculum, a plummet; appendix, an addition); strágulus, covering (cf. strágés); legulus, a picker (cf. sacri-legus, a picker up of things sacred).
-vus seems originally primary (cf. § 234. II. 8), but -ívus and -tívus have become secondary and are used with nouns: as, aestívus, of summer (from aestus, heat); tempestívus, timely (from tempus); cf. domes-ticus (from domus).