Infans clamorem edit.

In this sentence, edit is a Latin verb, not the English word edit.

It is the 3rd person singular present active form of edo, edere, meaning to put forth, produce, utter. So clamorem edit literally means puts forth a cry/shout, which is a natural Latin way to say utters a cry or lets out a shout.

This is also a good reminder that some Latin words happen to look like English words but mean something completely different.

There is even another Latin verb edo meaning eat, but here the object clamorem makes it clear that this sentence means puts forth a cry, not eats a cry.

Infans is nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

We know it is the subject because:

• edit is a singular verb
• clamorem is in the accusative, which marks the direct object
• so infans is the word doing the action

So the structure is:

• infans = the infant, the subject
• clamorem = a cry/shout, the object
• edit = utters / puts forth

Because clamorem is the direct object, and direct objects usually go in the accusative case.

The dictionary form is clamor, meaning cry, shout, outcry, noise. That is the nominative singular form.

In this sentence, the infant is doing something to or producing the cry, so Latin uses the accusative:

• clamor = nominative singular
• clamorem = accusative singular

This is a very common third-declension pattern.

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

So:

• infans can mean the infant, an infant, or simply infant
• clamorem can mean the cry, a cry, and so on

Which English article you use depends on the context and on what sounds most natural in translation.

Yes. It is a normal Latin way of expressing the idea of crying out, raising a shout, or uttering a cry.

Literally, clamorem edit means puts forth a cry. English usually prefers a smoother translation such as:

• utters a cry
• lets out a cry
• raises a shout

So this is a good example of Latin using a verb like produce or put forth where English would often use a simpler verb.

Because not all Latin nouns belong to the first or second declension.

Infans is a third-declension noun, with dictionary form:

• infans, infantis

Many third-declension nouns have nominative singular forms that do not end in -us or -a. So infans is perfectly normal Latin.

Its stem shows up more clearly in other forms, such as infantis.

Yes.

Infans can refer to an infant or very young child of either sex. The same form can be used for a male or female child, and the context tells you which is meant.

So in isolation, infans is best understood simply as infant, baby, or young child.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the case endings show the grammatical roles.

So all of these could mean essentially the same thing:

• Infans clamorem edit
• Clamorem infans edit
• Edit infans clamorem

The original order is very natural. It places the subject first and the verb last, which is common in Latin.

Different word orders can change emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same because the endings still show who is doing what.

Edit is:

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

So it means:

• he/she/it utters
• the infant utters

Since the subject infans is singular, the singular verb form edit matches it.

A simple Classical-style pronunciation would be roughly:

IN-fans cla-MO-rem E-dit

A few useful points:

• c is always hard, like k, so clamorem begins like kla-
• infans has the stress on the first syllable
• clamorem has the stress on MO
• edit has the stress on the first syllable

So the whole sentence sounds approximately like:

IN-fans cla-MO-rem E-dit