All Questions

I wonder how to translate "continuum hypothesis" into Latin. Indeed, "continuum" is an adjective in Latin (so we would have "continuous hypothesis" if we were trying a literal translation) and I don't ...

I'm trying to translate a phrase. I'm trying to say "everything is (part of) revenge", as in "every action is an act of revenge against the ones that tried to break you". Sorry if it's not too clear ...

This may become an inscription written on a historical marker commemorating a mass grave. Which of the following is correct: Requiesce in Pace or Requiescant in Pace? The former was offered up by a ...

All etymological dictionaries includung Wiktionary and De Vaan’s Etymological Dictionary state the ultimate origin of the Latin adjective idoneus (‘suitable’; ‘sufficient’) is unknown. I was ...

According to Wiktionary and De Vaan’s Etymological Dictionary, the etymology of the Latin adjective inanis (‘empty’; ‘worthless’) is unknown. I was wondering if anybody had a theory on the origin of ...

Latin Wikipedia and many other modern (Classical?) Latin texts use "u" for the vowel /u/ and "v" for the consonant /w/, but "i" for both the vowel /i/ and the consonant /j/. This practice is more ...

How do i know when to put the latin word 'est' at the end of a sentence? For example: Scintilla fessa est, Scintilla est femina Why is 'est' in a different position in each of the above sentences.

Etymologists/Linguists posit that the prefix for gold in Proto-Indo-European was: *aus- Which gave way to *auzom in Proto-Italic languages and ausum in Classical Latin. At some point, ausum ...

As I get it, -ne is used to play the role of a question word when there's no question word, and of course, when it's a yes-no question. But is it good practice to omit it in such questions? Is it a ...

What are the superlative and comparative forms of "optimus"? Why is it also used as a simple adjective, meaning simply "excellent" and not a comparative? Isn't "optimus" a suppletive comparative for ...

Years ago an old colleague showed me a poem which had a miraculous feature: it was perfectly valid Latin and perfectly valid Italian. With clever choices of words one can make that happen, but it also ...

I was marveling today at the word hebdomadal, from the Greek ἑπτά for seven. But that had me wondering why words derived from seven sometimes use /bd/ and other times /pt/. I notice, for instance, ...

I am translating the short phrase "loyal animal", or "faithful animal" into classical Latin. In this case, "animal" is intentionally very broad - I don't want to limit it to just domesticated animals ...

As a follow-up of two previous questions on Latin grammar, I was wondering if examples like Memento moriendi (cf. Memento mori) and Me paenitet vivendi (cf. Me paenitet vivere) are also attested. ...

Excerpt From: Frank Herbert, Dune “The wisdom of seeding the known universe with a prophecy pattern for the protection of B.G. personnel has long been appreciated, but never have we seen a condition-...

Reference to other people's gender has become a delicate issue in today's world. I expect that the Romans had no controversy over it, but they must have encountered situations where they have to write ...

I'm trying to help my sister. She heard this phrase that she like to have tattooed but she wanted it to be in Latin. Now I haven't been practicing for a few years so I could use with some help. The ...

I translated "illuminate my heart/soul/mind" as "illuminas animus meus" in Latin. I know "animus" doesn't directly translates to heart but I want to express these 3 things in a word and it seems fit. ...

In Q: Memento Mori--Revisited I attempted to develop the idea of C. M. Weimer that "Memento Mori" could be translated indirectly, giving "Remember that you can die"; improving, hopefully, to "Remember ...

Jam inquiro nomen stellae Antares. Multa documenta quae "ab Antares" dicunt comperi. At non scio ablativi qui in "es" terminantur. Potestne nomen "Antares" indeclinabile esse? Quare? Exempla: "Lanx ...

I would like to say “you first” in Latin. With all the different ways to say you (tu/vos....I can’t remember it that well from school)....with the correct corresponding first.... Thanks so much!!!!

I was researching the etymology for the French licencier, and Wiktionary refers to Latin licentiare. I can't see it exhibited in Oxford Latin Dictionary (2012 2 ed) but Latdict does. Please see the ...

Was there a generic toast that Romans would say to each other when drinking, along the lines of Cheers, or Sláinte. It doesn't need to have the meaning of those so much as have the same cultural usage:...

The phrase is "apud milites questus fratrem sibi insidias comparare". I know all the words individually but for some reason, the sentence just is not coming together in my mind. To give some context, ...

One meaning of the word lustrum is a sacrifice for purification done every five years; another is a house of ill repute. I'd always figured that the two were complete homophones. However, someone ...

"tum vero exoritur clamor ripaeque lacusque" When you do the meter for this line, if you do the elision it does not work out, having 6 feet and all. So, to make it work what I had to do was not do ...

How would you translate: "He asked if the the city had been captured?" Quaerit num civitatem captum esse? Here I am using an accusative (captum) plus infinitive (esse). Am I right? Thank you!

We took our son to college and this was written over one of the doors on campus. I cannot figure out what it means! Can anyone here help? I assume it is Latin, but...

I am studying Latin and one of the definitions in my textbook is kind of confusing. A syllable can be long in one of two ways: Length by nature. If the syllable contains a long vowel or ...

I saw this text carved at the foot of a statue in Klagenfurt, Austria: I guess it's in Latin and Google translate gave me a sketchy translation. But I don't get why some letters are capitalized? ...

What is the pronunciation of Formulæ in Latin ? Is there any difference (in pronunciation) between classical and vulgar Latin ? The answer can be in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) format.

In a project of mine I have an event which was named "everything burns", or potentially "Everything burned" (I am open to both tenses). What would this be in classical Latin? I tentatively have this ...

So, I have heard an interesting claim about Latin, and I wonder how true it is. The claim is, given that Latin has declensions, you can shuffle words around and keep the sentence's meaning. Is that ...

In Q:What does memento mori actually mean? there does not appear to be a natural conclusion. Apposite contributions appeared as comments but were not developed. Perhaps it was believed that the Q. had ...

In T. Pratchett's Discworld series, Death's motto is "Non Timetis Messor", meant to be a translation of "Don't Fear the Reaper". But in other books he uses "Timetere", and I am unsure of which would ...

The word banana and variants thereof appear in a number of languages. The origin appears to be the word banaana in Wolof, if Wikipedia is to be trusted. This word is straightforward to adopt into ...

I am translating "iconoclast" into classical Latin. It was translated into Ecclesiastical Latin as Iconoclasta, but I would rather translate it from the original Byzantine Greek meaning of image-...

As I understand it, "a posteriori" means "from the latter," and "a priori" means "from the former." Suppose there was something predating the former in the context above. How would that be expressed ...

Two sources that I've come across indicate a long vowel /aː/ in the first syllable of the word vallum 'palisade wall' (that is, vāllum). This form is given in The Latin Language, by Charles E. ...

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary says "opere citato" American Heritage Dictionary, Collins and Oxford (at Lexico.com) say "opere citato" Merriam Webster Dictionary has an entry ...

When can I use "venire ad", or "venire in". (excepting the few locative cases) What kind of buildings, place, etc, can accept the one or the other? Is "venire ad" insists more on the move than "in"? ...

What would be the differences in uses of "senilis" and "senex". I know "senilis" is constructed with senex+illis, it should help me, but I don't get it. Thank you.

Nam id facinus inprimis ego memorabile existimo sceleris atque periculi novitate. Sallust vom Catilina. This is an epigram to Friedrich Schiller's "die Verschvörung des Fiesco zu Genua" (in Gutenberg ...

Nowadays, in languages which make a distinction between velar and uvular stops, it's common to use K for the first and Q for the second. This is best-known nowadays from transcriptions of Arabic names,...

Naomi Baron. Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World (1 edn 2015). Top of p. 21. I'm assuming that even in one's L1, “spaced words make it easier to decode in your head”. Why ...

I am trying to understand better the etymon of the first part of the word haruspex. The Wiktionary entry and other sources mention «haru- (“intestines”)», but there seems to be no Latin word *haru or ...

Inspired by the answers to this question, I want to ask about the different present participles of esse over time and their fate. I am aware that esse is a defective verb that classically does not ...

Qs have been asked about expressions-of-time, of the type: "in the second year" = "secondo anno"; "within three days" = "tribus diebus"; "for two years" = "(per) duos annos" ("per" is optional) which ...

I wanted eliminate all acronyms from my digital copy of the Clementine Vulgate, when I came across this acronym: S.R.E, which I'm pretty sure it means Sancta Romana Ecclesia (Holy Church of Rome). Now,...

I vaguely remember that once the following happened in the European Parliament: One member of the parliament delivered a speech in Latin, and afterwards another member stood up and answered the speech ...