ludicer

Etymology
From. In terms of form, the neuter noun could be interpreted as ; however, the adjective is attested earlier than the noun. Sen 2015 views this as compelling evidence that the noun was a later, secondary formation (by nominalization of the adjective), which is the generally accepted view; however, Moretti 2022 considers the chronology insufficient to rule out the possibility that the noun was formed first and gave rise to the adjective by reanalysis. In any case, the ending is probably ultimately derived from, a variant of the zero-grade of the agent suffix. Compare i-stem, and ,.

Adjective

 * 1) sportive

Usage notes

 * The word is not attested in the masculine nominative singular until the 17th century, and it is unclear whether that form would have been or  in Roman times (both are attested in ). An alternative declension as a third-declension adjective is attested by Late Latin, but it is unclear how old this is: Ennius seems to use the form lūdĭcrĕ as an adverb ("pars ludicre saxa"), which looks like a third-declension neuter accusative singular form (compare ).