Canis in limine sedet et hospitem quiete exspectat.

Yes. canis can be either:

• nominative singular: dog
• genitive singular: of the dog

In this sentence, it is nominative singular because it is the thing doing the actions sedet and exspectat. A genitive form would normally depend on another noun, but there is no noun here for of the dog to go with.

So context and syntax show that canis is the subject.

Because hospitem is the accusative singular form, and it is the direct object of exspectat.

The noun is:

• nominative singular: hospes
• accusative singular: hospitem

Since the dog is waiting for / expecting the guest, the guest is the object of the verb, so Latin uses the accusative.

Latin often expresses ideas differently from English. The verb exspectare can take a direct object in the accusative, so Latin simply says hospitem exspectat.

English needs for in wait for, but Latin does not here. A very literal way to think of it is awaits the guest.

This is a common difference between Latin and English: a verb may be transitive in Latin even when English uses a preposition.

Because in with the ablative usually means location: in, on, or at a place.

The noun is limen, liminis meaning threshold or doorway, and its ablative singular is limine. So:

• in limine = on/at the threshold

If there were motion into a place, Latin would often use in with the accusative instead.

It can be understood as at the threshold or on the threshold. Latin in with the ablative has a wider range than English in.

So although the Latin literally uses in, the best English wording depends on what sounds natural. In this sentence, at the threshold or on the threshold is probably the most natural sense.

Quiete is an adverb meaning quietly, calmly, or peacefully.

It tells us how the dog is waiting. So it modifies exspectat, not a noun.

This is a useful thing to notice: Latin often forms adverbs from adjectives, and many adverbs of this type end in -e.

Both are:

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

So they mean he/she/it sits and he/she/it waits for / expects.

Because the subject is canis, both verbs refer to the dog: the dog sits and waits.

Because it does not need to. Once canis has been given as the subject, Latin can use two verbs with the same subject:

• sedet
• et exspectat

English does the same thing: The dog sits and waits. Latin simply links the two verbs with et.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because case endings show what each word is doing.

So the sentence could be rearranged in several ways, for example:

• Canis in limine sedet et hospitem quiete exspectat
• In limine canis sedet et hospitem quiete exspectat
• Canis hospitem quiete exspectat et in limine sedet

These all keep basically the same core meaning, though the emphasis may change. The given order is natural and straightforward.

Classical Latin has no articles. It does not have separate words exactly equivalent to English the or a/an.

So:

• canis can mean a dog or the dog
• hospitem can mean a guest or the guest

The context tells you which is meant. That is very normal in Latin.

The noun hospes, hospitis has a broader range than the English word guest. Depending on context, it can mean:

• guest
• host
• visitor
• stranger

In this sentence, the intended meaning is clearly something like guest or visitor. That is the most natural sense with a dog waiting at the threshold.

Yes, it is related. Latin exspectare is the source behind English expect, though the meanings are not always exactly the same.

In Latin, exspectare often means to wait for, to look for, or to expect. In this sentence, the sense is waits for.

You may also see the spelling expectare in some texts, but exspectare is a common classical spelling.