Fundamentals Subject Latin Accidence Ak Si Dens Noun Branch Grammar

accidence /AK-si-dens/

noun

1. The fundamentals of any subject.

2. The branch of grammar dealing with inflections of words.

3. A book of fundamentals of a subject.

[From Latin accidentia (from Latin accidens), from accidere (to happen), from ad- (toward) + cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kad- (to fall), which is also the source of cadence, cascade, casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay, recidivism, perchance, casuistry. Earliest documented use: 1434.]

“He flicked through the accidence, and closed it with a smile of accomplishment.” - Geraldine Brooks; Caleb’s Crossing; Viking; 2011.