Just looked this up
The first thing a textbook will tell you about First Declension Nouns is that they all end in –a. The second thing is that they are nearly all Feminine. The exceptions usually given are the Masculine Nouns poeta poet agricola farmer and nauta sailor (hence the subject of this post). But there are many more than these. Just for fun, here are a few;
agripeta one who strives for the possession of land alipta master of a wresting school athleta athlete conviva a dinner guest coprea a low-class buffoon (I wonder what a high-class buffoon is called) faeniseca a resident of the countryside grammatista a teacher of grammar or languages hippotoxota an archer on horseback lanista owner or trainer in a gladiatorial school pirata a pirate umbraticola a lounger in the shade.
These words are all considered Masculine because in ancient Rome they were considered a man’s domain.
Glad to hear something more definitive than I got in high school. Back in the day my mother said “Take Latin. No matter where you go you can always talk to the parish priest.” Didn’t quite work out that way.
I don’t regret it. I learned grammar by taking Latin. It’s a shame that it is even disappearing as a college option much less high school.