Caedes multos homines terret.

Because terret is a singular verb meaning frightens, and caedes is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.

So the basic structure is:

• caedes = the subject
• multos homines = the direct object
• terret = the verb

In other words, the slaughter/murder frightens many people, not many people frighten the slaughter.

In Latin, an ending like -es does not automatically mean plural.
Here, caedes is actually a singular noun.

Its dictionary form is:

• caedes, caedis = slaughter, killing, murder

It is a third-declension feminine noun. So even though it looks plural to an English speaker, it is singular here, and that is why the verb is singular: terret.

Because they are the direct object of terret.

The verb terreo, terrere means to frighten or to terrify, and the thing or person being frightened goes into the accusative.

So:

• caedes = frightens
• whom?
• multos homines = many people

That is why homines and its adjective multos are accusative plural.

Because multos is the adjective many, and homines is the noun people / human beings.

In Latin, adjectives usually agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• homines = accusative plural
• multos = accusative plural masculine to match homines

Together they mean many people.

Here it means people or human beings, not specifically adult males.

Latin homo, hominis means human being / person.
That is different from vir, which more specifically means man in the sense of an adult male.

So multos homines is best understood as many people.

Caedes can mean killing, slaughter, bloodshed, or murder, depending on context.

It is a somewhat strong and violent word. In this sentence, a natural English meaning would be something like:

• slaughter
• bloodshed
• murder

The exact translation depends on the context already given to the learner, but the main idea is violent killing.

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

So caedes can mean:

• slaughter
• a slaughter
• the slaughter

And multos homines can mean:

• many people

The context tells you which English wording is best.

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

For example, these could mean the same thing:

• Caedes multos homines terret
• Multos homines caedes terret
• Terret caedes multos homines

All still mean essentially the slaughter frightens many people, though the emphasis may change.

In the original sentence, placing caedes first gives it some prominence, while terret at the end is also very normal in Latin.

The basic dictionary form is:

• terreo, terrere, terrui, territus

Terret is the third person singular present active indicative, meaning:

• he/she/it frightens
• is frightening

Since the subject is caedes (it, grammatically feminine in Latin but often translated as the slaughter), terret means frightens.

A quick way is to identify each piece:

• caedes = nominative singular noun → probably the subject
• multos homines = accusative plural adjective + noun → probably the direct object
• terret = singular verb → frightens

So the pattern is:

Subject + Object + Verb

That gives:

Caedes → frightens → multos homines

or in normal English order:

The slaughter frightens many people.