Would "Non Lapsus" be a good way of writing "Not Fallen" in Latin?
(Lapsus chosen because it refers to the Biblical Fall of Man)
2 Answers
Lapsus seems like a good translation for "fallen"; it just needs to be declined for the right gender and number (one man is lapsus, one woman is lapsa, and so on).
The obvious way to invert an participial adjective in Latin is the in- prefix; unfortunately, in this case, illapsus has its own meaning already. So your non lapsus is the best alternative I can think of.
answered Aug 17, 2019 at 4:17
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Oh God, Illapsus would've been amazing. Too bad I can't use it, and strange that it's meaning is itself falling and not 'not falling'. Thanks so much, Non Lapsus it is, or Numquam Lapsus– Johan88Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 5:38
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1My understanding is that in- could be used to negate a participial adjective, but a verbal participle would be negated with non (basically the same pattern as for un- vs. not in English). Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 6:04
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2@Johan88 It's a strange historical accident in Latin! The PIE negation prefix (which shows up as an- in Greek and un- in English) ended up looking exactly the same as the preposition for "in/into" (en in Greek and in in English), so you sometimes have to check a dictionary to know which one is meant.– Draconis ♦Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 16:08
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2@Draconis That accident led me to ask a follow-up question: Are the two prefixes in- ever found with the same word?– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Commented Aug 18, 2019 at 13:02
"The Fall of Man"? Well, if yourself is seeking doom-laden imagery, how about "(non) occasus"?
This masculine noun (gen. occasus), verb: occido, occidi, occasum [3], as well as "falling" incorporates the "setting-sun"--used by writers to project endings (good or bad); "end" in its own right; and, of course, "death"!
It also means "west". Given the state of the Western-World, at the moment (Brexit to the rise of fascism) there's plenty of (potential) "doom" in the air. But, guessing that contemporary politics is beyond the remit of your Q?
Remember Private Fraser in "Dad's Army"? "We're doomed!" Let's hope not.
