Abstract: An analysis of the use of derivational morphology and of so-called ’abstract nouns’ as a translation feature of the Old Latin Gospels. It is suggested that these are due in part to a desire for formal correspondence between Greek and Latin, in part to the general rise of such forms in late Latin and Romance, and in part to the tendency of translators to use high-level (superordinate) terms in their target-language.

Keywords: abstract nouns, derivational morphology, late Latin, Old Latin, superordinate terms,