Matrona

See also: matrona, matróna, Matroną, and matroną

Latin

View of the river

Etymology

From Gaulish Dea Matrona, from mātīr.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.tro.na/, [ˈmäːt̪rɔnä] or IPA^(key): /ˈma.tro.na/, [ˈmät̪rɔnä]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.tro.na/, [ˈmäːt̪ronä]
The vowel in the penultimate vowel is known to be short, but the length of the vowel in the first syllable seems to be not certainly known. Gaffiot marks it as long.

Proper noun

Mā̆trona f sg or m sg (genitive Mā̆tronae); first declension

The river Marne
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.1:
  Gallōs ab Aquītānī Garumna flūmen, ā Belgīs Mā̆trona et Sēquana dīvidit.
  The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitanians, the Marne and the Seine from the Belgians.
- c. 310 CE – c. 394 CE, Ausonius, Mosella 461–463:
  Nōn tibi sē Liger anteferet, non Axona praeceps,
  Mā̆trona nōn, Gallīs Belgīsque intersita fīnīs,
  Santonicō refluus non ipse Carantonus aestū.
  Not the Loire will have preference before you, not precipitous Aisne,
  not the Marne, put between the Gaulish and Belgian lands,
  not the Charente himself, driven back by the Santonic tide.

Usage notes

The gender is variously given as masculine[1], feminine[2], or variable[3] in dictionaries and grammars. Feminine follows the general gender assignment of first declension nouns; masculine follows a general rule that river names in Latin were masculine. Both rules have exceptions. It is feminine in Ausonius.

Declension

First-declension noun, singular only.

Case	Singular
Nominative	Mā̆trona
Genitive	Mā̆tronae
Dative	Mā̆tronae
Accusative	Mā̆tronam
Ablative	Mā̆tronā
Vocative	Mā̆trona

Descendants

French: Marne
→ Old English: Mæterne

References

“Matrona”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Matrona in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
“Matrona”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Kühner's Latin Grammar, translated by J.T. Champlin, 1853, page 13 §16
Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar, by Basil Gildersleeve and Gonzalez Lodge, 1905, page 7
Atkinson's Appendix to His Key to the Latin Language, by John Atkinson, 1822, page 3

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin Mātrōna.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /matˈrɔ.na/
Rhymes: -ɔna
Syllabification: Mat‧ro‧na
Homophone: matrona

Proper noun

Matrona f

a female given name from Latin

Declension

Declension of Matrona

	singular	plural
nominative	Matrona	Matrony
genitive	Matrony	Matron
dative	Matronie	Matronom
accusative	Matronę	Matrony
instrumental	Matroną	Matronami
locative	Matronie	Matronach
vocative	Matrono	Matrony

[1] Kühner's Latin Grammar, translated by J.T. Champlin, 1853, page 13 §16

[2] Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar, by Basil Gildersleeve and Gonzalez Lodge, 1905, page 7

[3] Atkinson's Appendix to His Key to the Latin Language, by John Atkinson, 1822, page 3