Medica dicit tumorem mox minui posse, si puella domi maneat.

Medica is the feminine form of medicus, so it means female doctor. It is nominative singular here because it is the subject of dicit: the doctor says.

If the doctor were male, Latin would normally use medicus dicit.

This is one of the most common things learners ask about this kind of sentence.

After a verb like dicit (says), Latin often uses indirect statement:

• a subject in the accusative
• plus an infinitive

So in tumorem mox minui posse, tumorem is the subject of the infinitives, even though it is accusative.

A very literal analysis is:

• medica dicit = the doctor says
• tumorem ... posse = that the swelling is able...
• minui = to be reduced / to decrease

So tumorem is accusative not because it is a direct object of dicit, but because it is the subject of the infinitive construction.

It is an indirect statement (also called an accusative-and-infinitive construction).

Latin often reports what someone says, thinks, knows, hears, etc. by using:

• a main verb such as dicit
• then an accusative subject
• then one or more infinitives

So:

• medica dicit = the doctor says
• tumorem ... minui posse = that the swelling can soon be reduced / decrease soon

English usually uses that, but Latin often does not.

Minui is the present passive infinitive of minuere, meaning to lessen, to reduce, or to diminish.

So minui literally means to be reduced.

With tumorem, the phrase can mean:

• that the swelling can soon be reduced or, depending on context,
• that the swelling can soon decrease

The passive idea is important grammatically: minui is not an active infinitive like minuere.

Because posse means to be able, and it regularly takes another infinitive with it.

So:

• posse = to be able
• minui posse = to be able to be reduced / to be able to decrease

This is exactly like English can or be able to.

So the phrase means:

• that the swelling can soon be reduced or
• that the swelling can soon decrease

Mox is an adverb meaning soon.

It modifies the verbal idea in minui posse, so it tells you when the swelling can be reduced/decrease:

• tumorem mox minui posse = that the swelling can soon be reduced

Latin word order is flexible, so mox does not have to stand exactly where English soon would go.

That is a very natural question.

By itself, a condition with si often uses the indicative. But here the si-clause is part of the reported statement after dicit. In Latin, subordinate clauses inside indirect speech are very often put in the subjunctive.

So:

• medica dicit ... = the doctor says ...
• si puella domi maneat = if the girl stays at home

The subjunctive maneat does not necessarily mean the condition is unreal. Here it mainly shows that this clause is inside the doctor’s reported statement.

So the rough idea is:

• direct thought: If the girl stays at home, the swelling can soon be reduced
• reported in Latin: Medica dicit tumorem mox minui posse, si puella domi maneat

Because puella is the subject of its own finite verb, maneat, inside the si-clause.

So there are really two different structures here:

1. tumorem mox minui posse

   • indirect statement
   • subject of infinitive = tumorem in the accusative

2. si puella domi maneat

   • subordinate clause with a finite verb
   • subject of finite verb = puella in the nominative

So puella is not part of the accusative-and-infinitive construction in the same way tumorem is.

Domi means at home.

It is an example of the locative, an old case form that survives in a few words in Latin, especially for places like:

• domi = at home
• ruri = in the countryside
• Romae = at Rome

So:

• puella domi maneat = if the girl stays at home

Latin can also use prepositional phrases in many places, but domi is the normal idiomatic way to say at home.

Not as much as in English.

Latin word order is relatively flexible because the endings show the grammatical roles. This sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the basic meaning.

The given order is quite natural:

• Medica dicit first gives the main statement.
• tumorem mox minui posse gives what the doctor says.
• si puella domi maneat adds the condition.

So the order helps the sentence flow, but the case endings and verb forms are what really show how the parts fit together.

No. That is another easy mistake to make.

Since minui is passive, tumorem is not its object. Instead, tumorem is the subject of the passive infinitive, but in an indirect statement that subject appears in the accusative.

So grammatically:

• not object of minui
• but accusative subject of minui posse

That is why the phrase is best understood as:

• that the swelling can be reduced not
• that someone can reduce the swelling using tumorem as a direct object

Yes, depending on context, that is possible in translation.

Grammatically, minui is passive, so the most literal sense is to be reduced or to be diminished. But in English, with something like swelling, we often naturally say the swelling can go down or the swelling can decrease.

So a learner should know both levels:

• literal grammar: to be reduced
• natural English meaning: to decrease / go down

That is a translation choice, not a different Latin grammar.