Triumvir monetalis nummum adulterinum videt.

Because triumvir is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a finite verb in Latin.

Here, videt means sees, so we look for the noun in the nominative that is doing the seeing. That is triumvir.

A learner may also notice that triumvir does not have a very obvious nominative ending like -us, but it is still nominative singular. Its dictionary form is triumvir, triumviri.

Monetalis is an adjective modifying triumvir. It agrees with it in case, number, and gender:

• triumvir = nominative singular masculine
• monetalis = nominative singular masculine

So together they mean something like a monetary triumvir or, more naturally, a mint official.

In Roman usage, triumvir monetalis is basically a title: one of the officials connected with coin production.

Because it is the direct object of videt.

The verb videt means sees, and the thing seen goes into the accusative case in Latin. So:

• nummus = coin
• nummum = coin as direct object

And the adjective matches it:

• adulterinus = counterfeit / adulterated
• adulterinum = accusative singular masculine, agreeing with nummum

So nummum adulterinum means a counterfeit coin as the object of sees.

Because adjectives in Latin must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• case
• number
• gender

Here:

• nummum is accusative singular masculine
• adulterinum is also accusative singular masculine

They do not have to belong to the same declension, but they must match grammatically.

Videt is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from the verb video, videre, meaning to see.

So videt means he sees, she sees, or it sees. In this sentence, the subject is triumvir monetalis, so the sense is the mint official sees.

Because the subject is singular.

The whole subject is triumvir monetalis, and the head noun triumvir is singular. Since there is only one official doing the action, the verb must also be singular: videt, not vident.

Latin normally does not use articles.

So a noun like triumvir can mean:

• a triumvir
• the triumvir

and nummum adulterinum can mean:

• a counterfeit coin
• the counterfeit coin

The context tells you which is more natural in translation.

This is one of the biggest differences from English.

Yes. Latin word order is much more flexible than English because the case endings show each word’s role.

So all of these could express basically the same idea:

• Triumvir monetalis nummum adulterinum videt.
• Nummum adulterinum triumvir monetalis videt.
• Triumvir monetalis videt nummum adulterinum.

However, word order can affect emphasis. In the given sentence, placing videt at the end is very normal Latin style, and keeping nummum adulterinum together makes the object easy to understand.

It is grammatically two words, but in sense it works almost like a title.

• triumvir literally refers to one of three men
• monetalis means connected with money / minting

Together, they refer to a specific Roman office: a moneyer or mint magistrate.

So a learner should understand the grammar normally, but also recognize that the phrase has a special historical meaning.

Yes, in this context that is the right meaning.

The adjective adulterinus can mean something like:

• spurious
• false
• counterfeit
• not genuine

With nummus it naturally means a counterfeit coin or forged coin.

So even if the core idea of the adjective is broader, the coin context makes counterfeit the best translation.

Here is a quick breakdown:

• triumvir, triumviri: 2nd declension masculine
• monetalis, monetale: 3rd declension adjective
• nummus, nummi: 2nd declension masculine
• adulterinus, adulterina, adulterinum: 1st/2nd declension adjective
• video, videre: 2nd conjugation verb

This sentence is useful because it shows that agreement does not depend on matching declensions. For example, triumvir is 2nd declension, but monetalis is a 3rd declension adjective, and they still agree perfectly.

Because monetalis is a 3rd declension adjective, not a 1st/2nd declension adjective.

Some adjectives have masculine and feminine nominative singular forms in -is, and neuter in -e. So:

• masculine/feminine: monetalis
• neuter: monetale

Since triumvir is masculine singular nominative, the correct form is monetalis.

A learner coming from forms like bonus, bona, bonum may expect every masculine adjective to end in -us, but that is not how 3rd declension adjectives work.

In a restored classical pronunciation, approximately:

TREE-oom-weer moh-neh-TAH-lis NOOM-moom ah-dool-teh-REE-noom WEE-det

A few helpful points:

• v is pronounced like English w
• c is always hard, though there is no c here
• u is pronounced like oo
• ae would sound like ai, though there is no ae here either

This is only an approximation, but it helps an English-speaking learner read the sentence aloud.

No. Latin verbs show person and number, but not grammatical gender in this form.

So videt by itself can mean:

• he sees
• she sees
• it sees

The noun triumvir is masculine, so in this sentence the subject is understood as he. But that information comes from the noun, not from the verb ending itself.