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Questions tagged [adjective]

For questions about adjectives.

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Is this use of elliptical neuter superlatives un-Ciceronian?

This may be an oddly specific question, but I've run across comments online that suggest the following usages found in Pliny the Elder's Natural History would not be valid in the Latin of Cicero: Ad ...
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6 votes
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How did "glutaeus/gluteus" come from Greek "gloutos"? Would "glutiaeus" be more correct?

In anatomy, the muscles of the buttocks are referred to collectively as the "glut(a)eal muscles" in English, and are individually given the following Latin names: glut(a)eus maximus, glut(a)eus medius ...
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5 votes
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Etymology of "ingeniōsus" and "ingenuus"

Can someone please explain how these two words, ingenuus ingeniōsus both deriving from gignō, come to mean what they respectively do? BACKGROUND According to Wiktionary, ingenuus is made of in- +‎ ...
Catomic's user avatar
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3 votes
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How do you assign ambiguous adjectives?

In many cases I encounter situations where an adjective could be modifying different words in the same sentence. For example, in the famous play Miles Gloriosus there is the line: Mala mulier mers est....
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What are the differences between "demens" and "insanus"? Are there any single Latin words (nouns) for "insane person"?

First, I'm struggling with understanding the difference between demens and insanum. My understanding is that demens is an adjective (insane). I've also seen insanum in a few online dictionaries (here'...
mig81's user avatar
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Verbal Adjective of Necessity vs. Possibility

Greek distinguishes between verbal adjectives ending in -τέος and verbal adjectives ending in -τός. The latter (according to Smyth) express either possibility or the perfect passive participle (e.g. '...
Michael's user avatar
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Is it possible for adverbs, such as utique, to be used as adjectives?

Reading Ambrose Dē bonō mortis 4.14, I came across this passage: Sed ipsa hīc vīta bona sī est, quibus rēbus bona est? Virtūte utique, et bonīs mōribus. But if this life here is a Good, by which ...
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Are the positive and comparative versions of an adjective different adjectives or different forms of the same adjective?

I am trying to figure out the difference between a word and a form of a word. Which is the comparative version of an adjective in the positive degree: an adjective different from the adjective, or a ...
Tim's user avatar
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Can I label an admission as an "ex post facto mea culpa" in this case?

I would like to perform a mea culpa and "admit" that I'd given advice that in hindsight might have been suboptimal as it didn't sufficiently address all possible future outcomes. So calling ...
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