In confarreatione far et sacrificium adhibentur.

Confarreatione is ablative singular.

Here in means in / during / at in a non-motion sense, so it takes the ablative. Latin uses:

• in + ablative for location, situation, or context
• in + accusative for motion into something

So:

• in confarreatione = in/during the confarreatio ceremony
• not into confarreationem, because no movement is being described

Because the subject is actually two nouns joined by et:

• far
• sacrificium

Together they form a compound subject, so the verb is plural:

• far et sacrificium adhibentur = spelt and sacrifice are used

Even though each noun is singular by itself, A and B together require a plural verb.

They are nominative singular, and together they are the subject of the sentence.

This can be confusing because:

• far has the same form in nominative and accusative singular
• sacrificium also has the same form in nominative and accusative singular

So how do we know they are nominative here?

Because the verb is passive: adhibentur = are used / are employed. In a passive sentence, the thing being used becomes the subject, so it stands in the nominative.

Adhibentur is the 3rd person plural present passive of adhibeo, adhibere.

Its basic idea is to apply, employ, use, bring in, make use of.

So adhibentur means:

• are used
• are employed
• are brought into use

A very literal sense would be something like are applied or are employed for the purpose.

Because that is a very common Latin word order.

Latin often puts the verb at or near the end, especially in straightforward prose. So:

• In confarreatione far et sacrificium adhibentur

is completely normal Latin ordering.

English usually prefers:

• In confarreation, spelt and sacrifice are used

But Latin word order is much more flexible, because the endings show the grammatical roles.

Because classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So a noun like sacrificium can mean, depending on context:

• a sacrifice
• the sacrifice
• simply sacrifice

The same is true for far. English has to choose an article when translating, but Latin usually leaves that information to context.

Yes, it can feel a little unusual to English-speaking learners.

Far, farris is a neuter noun meaning spelt or a kind of grain. In this sentence, the form far is nominative singular.

It may look strange because the nominative singular is very short, and in this form it looks the same as the accusative singular. But it is a normal Latin noun with other forms such as farris.

So here:

• far = nominative singular
• it is one part of the compound subject

Latin often uses the singular where English might use either singular or a more general expression.

Here sacrificium is singular in form, but that does not necessarily make it feel narrowly individual in translation. Depending on context, it can mean something like:

• a sacrifice
• sacrifice
• the sacrificial rite

The sentence is stating what is used in the ceremony, not necessarily counting separate sacrifices one by one.

Yes. That is a useful thing to notice.

Confarreatio is the name of a Roman marriage rite, and the word is connected with far because spelt was an important part of the ceremony.

So the sentence is not just random vocabulary placed together: the appearance of far in the sentence fits the very name of the ritual.

Yes, absolutely.

With abstract events or ceremonies, in + ablative often means something like:

• in
• at
• during
• in the course of

So in confarreatione is naturally understood as:

• in the confarreatio ceremony
• during confarreatio
• as part of confarreatio

It does not have to suggest physical location in the English sense.