An example of deniers are The Mad Revisionists. They are conspiracy theorists who think the Moon doesn't exist. In other words, they are Moon deniers. How would you say "Moon denier" in Latin?
2 Answers
Lūnae negātor or Lūnae negātiōnista.
However -ista suffix is more Greek.
(An English synonym of denialism is negationism.)
-
Does "negator" have the same connotations as "denier" does in English? Commented Jun 22, 2023 at 20:24
-
5I think that it is rather modern political concept. Regardless of whether such connotations existed in antiquity, I think that you could add them in Neo-Latin usage...– ArfreverCommented Jun 22, 2023 at 21:42
-
1I'd use negationista, because that's the same as our Portuguese Negacionista Commented Jun 23, 2023 at 0:28
-
@Arfrever Seriously? It's a modern concept? There were no deniers in Ancient Rome? Commented Jun 23, 2023 at 17:08
-
1I'd not use negationista because it is a barbarism of the worst order. (Specifically a gallicism, I believe – négationniste – and that word usually refers to holocaust deniers.) Commented Jun 23, 2023 at 23:53
I would write something like: qui negat lunam esse.
I would avoid lunae negator for a number of reasons:
- negator is not classically attested. Nor was it really needed, when it was just as well possible to say negans or qui negat.
- Admittedly, negator is attested in Tertullian (2nd/3rd century), close enough. But he uses negare in the religious sense, to reject Christ or God, and this does not mean to deny the existence (e.g. Luc 12, 9: qui autem negaverit me coram hominibus, negabitur coram angelis Dei – this does not mean Jesus is an apostasy denier).
And that's really the rub: as far as I can see, you can negare a crimen, or otherwise all kinds of allegation, or you can negare a debt (renege on), or a person, but I posit that you cannot negare a thing, such as the moon. Therefore you cannot say qui lunam negat, and therefore also not simply lunae negator.
answered Jun 23, 2023 at 23:51
-
2This is generally in line with words like ἄθεος. I think "refuse" might even be a better translation, except that negare can mean "to deny [the fact that]", so I could see negator being a potential possibility. However, your formulation is much more in line with how the Romans actually spoke, so it gets my vote for best answer.– cmw ♦Commented Jun 24, 2023 at 0:13