Questions tagged [example-request]
For questions that ask for an example of usage of a particular word or construction, either artificial or from literature.
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questions
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1answer
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Does Latin have any neuter words for humans?
In Ancient Greek, diminutives are almost always neuter, regardless of the original noun's gender. This leads to words like paidíon, "small child" (from país "child"), which are neuter even though they ...
4
votes
0answers
57 views
Do we have evidence of clipped words in Latin?
In English, it's common for words to be clipped down to their first couple syllables: "brother" becomes "bro", "university" becomes "uni", "doctor" becomes "doc", "veteran" becomes "vet", and so on. ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
Did the Romans make bilingual puns?
I know that the Romans appreciated wordplay. But there's a rare and specific type of pun that I'm curious about now: a pun based on words sounding similar between languages.
For example:
Have you ...
6
votes
2answers
222 views
Can 'non' with gerundive mean both lack of obligation and negative obligation?
If a gerundive is used with non, can it mean both lack of obligation and negative obligation?
For example, can non loquendum est mean both "it is not necessary to speak" and "it is necessary not to ...
16
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3answers
3k views
Can “ee” appear in Latin?
There are a few instances in Latin where words are spelled with two vowels next to each other, in hiatus: filii "sons", metuunt "they fear".
Now, the last words of the Emperor Julian II are normally ...
5
votes
1answer
84 views
Do we know how Greek dialects sounded?
To some extent, we know how sounds varied between ancient Greek dialects: the Aeolians lost rough breathings but preserved digamma, for example, while the Attics changed many of their long alphas into ...
4
votes
1answer
160 views
Are there any words in Latin that are “light”?
In Latin, every syllable is either "light" or "heavy". A "heavy" syllable is one that has a long vowel and/or a coda consonant, and a "light" syllable is anything else. This distinction is important ...
5
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0answers
46 views
Is *rīcus attested?
The word for "rich" in most Romance languages looks something like, well, "rich". It declines like a first/second declension adjective, and seems to go back to Germanic *rīkijaz (possibly through ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
Can “libella maris” be “sea level”?
I came across the expression libella maris in a scientific text from 19th century.
There are many ways to parse it in the context, and one option that occurred to me is that maybe it stands for "sea ...
7
votes
1answer
896 views
“There is” in Latin
In English you use the phrasal verb there+[to be] to mean something different than just an object being placed somewhere visible or known to the speaker and/or listener (i.e., there).
According to ...
5
votes
2answers
84 views
Are the pronoun-looking forms of quire attested?
The verb quire is conjugated like ire, and there are some forms that look like an interrogative or relative pronoun.
Those forms are quīs and quī.
Are these attested in classical ...
8
votes
1answer
97 views
Is the nominative gerund attested?
I'd always heard that the gerund had no nominative, with the present active infinitive taking the place of the missing form: volāre difficile est, rather than *volāndum.
However, in the comments on ...
5
votes
1answer
97 views
Vocative Gerund
I am 99.9999% confident there is no purpose for a vocative gerund. Yet nothing seems to specifically disallow for such a construction. In theory something such as "odi te currendum" (in English, "I ...
5
votes
2answers
90 views
Irreal condition expressed by a prepositional phrase
In English one can say:
Without you I would not be here.
This is roughly the same thing as:
If you had not helped, I would not be here.
The exact wording depends on context.
In the second ...
8
votes
1answer
95 views
Garden path sentences in classical Latin
A garden path sentence is a sentence that leads the reader astray and forces them to reanalyze.
The obvious first interpretation when one starts reading is a red herring and it comes clear that the ...
10
votes
3answers
292 views
Comparison of participles
Participles behave much like adjectives.
Do they also have comparative and superlative forms?
They are easy enough to form: ferentior, dicturissimus.
More precisely, are any comparatives or ...
5
votes
1answer
126 views
Has any Latin literature survived through the Arabs?
Some pieces of Greek literature have survived only through the Arabs.
But is there any classical Latin literature that has survived the same way?
This could mean translations from Latin to Arabic and ...
5
votes
1answer
59 views
How has literature helped archaeology?
Is there a good example case where extant ancient literature has helped understand archaeological findings?
This could mean, for example, a Roman author mentioning a tool and its use, which has helped ...
5
votes
0answers
40 views
damnatio memoriae
The Wikipedia article on the subject notes that the term damnatio memoriae, referring to the relegation of a person's name to oblivion, as if they never existed, is a neo-Latin expression first ...
4
votes
1answer
78 views
Ancient plagiarism
I have no doubt that plagiarism existed in the Greek and Roman antiquity: some authors must have copied material more or less directly from others without attribution.
(The moral requirement to cite ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
Politically (in)correct Latin
I am looking for an example of a pair of adjectives or nouns (broadly defined) in classical Latin which mean the same thing but one is considered rude and the other one polite.
I could list several ...
7
votes
2answers
347 views
Regular passive forms of “facere”
Have regular passive forms of the verb facere ever been used?
If so, what is the first occurrence?
In all of the Latin I have seen, the passive forms of facere are replaced by fieri.
Regular passive ...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
What is the earliest Latin crossword puzzle?
I think it is safe to assume that there have been crossword puzzles in Latin, and I think I have seen some in textbooks as well.
But what was the earliest Latin crossword puzzle?
I do not mean word ...
8
votes
1answer
71 views
What was the first name of Christmas?
What was the first Latin word or expression used for Christmas, the Christian event in the honor of Jesus' birth?
I know what to call Christmas in Latin, but it occurred to me that there is no ...
6
votes
1answer
110 views
Are there Roman examples of “of Rome” instead of “Roman”?
In my experience it is extremely common to say, for example, rex Romanus instead of rex Romae.
In fact, I do not recall ever seeing a genitive when a local adjective can be used.
Translating to ...
7
votes
2answers
116 views
Are there attested prohibition signs?
Are there preserved inscriptions or other such texts from ancient Rome that contain a prohibition?
I would prefer original signs that have survived, but mentions in the literature are also interesting....
11
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2answers
98 views
Are there any instances of long oblique cases of Iuppiter?
The name Iuppiter is declined weirdly.
It has otherwise regular third declension endings with the stem Iov-, but the nominative comes with the suffix -pater, producing Iuppiter.
At least this is what ...
16
votes
2answers
1k views
Latin plural of Curriculum Vitae?
Curriculum vitae (often abbreviated CV) is a common Latin locution present in a high number of languages, including English.
In English, as in other languages, how to pluralize these foreign ...
8
votes
1answer
474 views
Are there Latin puns? [duplicate]
This may seem like a lame question without much thought, and it really is, but did any (mainly Classical because we're all brainwashed into believing that this is the optimal stage of Latin, but other ...
9
votes
2answers
238 views
Did the Romans use war-dogs?
I was surprised a few days ago to find myself in an argument with a reputable historian about the Romans' use of dogs in war, which I dismissed as a fantasy — or possibly a mere misunderstanding of ...
5
votes
2answers
147 views
Classical example of homesickness
My dictionary translates "homesickness" as nostalgia or desiderium loci natalis, but the dictionary gives no source or era information.
Both of these are understandable, but I haven't found classical ...
5
votes
1answer
107 views
Are there other perfect imperatives than memento?
I learned from this previous question about the semantics of memento(te) that memento(te) is not morphologically a future imperative.
It turned to be a perfect imperative (semantically present), as it ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
How did the Romans wish happy holidays?
The Roman year included many festive occasions.
In today's world it is customary to wish merry Christmas, happy Easter, and other such things.
Did the Romans do the same during their own festivals, ...
4
votes
1answer
224 views
Latinitas for other languages
Latinitas could be described as high quality Latin.
If I want to refer to the same thing for other languages, can I use nouns like Graecitas, Anglicitas or Finnicitas?
(I am not sure if Anglitas and ...
12
votes
2answers
685 views
The lowest form of humor
Many Ancient Greek jokes are preserved in the Philogelos, ranging from wordplay to stereotypical foreigners to utter nonsense. And certain epigrams from Lucillius and Argentarius contain excellent/...
10
votes
2answers
125 views
Choosing conjunctive tenses in a clause subordinate to a subordinate clause
I will phrase my question through an example.
Consider this sentence in English:
I do not know whether you wrote where you are.
This has one governing clause ("I do not know") and two indirect ...
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votes
6answers
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How did the Romans wish good birthday?
I know how to wish a happy birthday in Latin: Bonum diem natalem!
(There are other options as well.)
It just occurred to me that I do not recall coming across any ancient birthday congratulations.
Do ...
4
votes
2answers
205 views
Sapiens: tasty or smart?
The verb sapere can mean tasting like something or having a sense of taste.
The latter can be understood figuratively close to "to be wise or sensible".
Dictionaries list the participle sapiens ...
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vote
1answer
80 views
Deriving lactuca from lac
The word lactuca refers to lettuce, and Lactuca sativa is the scientific name.
Some of the plants in this genus seem to contain some kind of milky liquid which must be the reason for deriving the word ...
5
votes
1answer
112 views
Conflict between form and content in ancient literature
I am looking for examples in ancient literature with conflict between form and content.
I believe such conflict is typically satirical, but there may be other reasons as well.
I would like to know in ...
6
votes
1answer
115 views
Synizesis in perfect tense 'ui'
Can synizesis happen when the perfect stem ends in 'u' and the ending starts with a short 'i'?
For example, can the 'ui' in fuisti be synizesized1 into a diphthong?
In my understanding the two vowels ...
10
votes
1answer
375 views
Victorum: victus or victor
The (masculine) plural genitive of both the participle victus and the derived noun victor is victorum.
If I write, for example, uxores victorum infelices erant, it is unclear which wives were unhappy.
...
7
votes
1answer
177 views
Does the name take the same case as “appellatus”?
Consider the following sentence with a tentative Latin translation:
Let us meet in the building called Taberna.
Conveniamus in aedificio Taberna appellato.
In which case should I decline the ...
7
votes
2answers
100 views
does there exist “valde <superlative>”?
Are there any examples in classical texts where the word 'valde' is used before a superlative? For example 'valde stultissimus' to mean very, very stupid.
7
votes
1answer
373 views
Is there an example where res publica is not republic?
The word res alone can mean state, and especially res publica means that (or republic).
Looking at meanings of res and publicus, this is not the only possible translation of res publica, if no context ...
12
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2answers
1k views
Does the “re” in emails have an ancient origin?
The Latin ablative re has become a word in English, meaning "regarding" or "with reference to" or something along those lines.
This is also used in emails as an automatically generated prefix "Re:&...
11
votes
1answer
418 views
Is there a John or Jane Doe in Latin?
In English, John Doe or Jane Doe is understood not to be an actual name of a person, but to be some kind of a placeholder name or mean an average citizen.
There are many variants of this name in ...
7
votes
1answer
328 views
Can *ne* in *ne … quidem* mean *ne* instead of *non*?
In all examples I have seen, the ne in ne … quidem could be replaced with non alone, leaving out the quidem (thus changing the meaning from "not even" to "not"), and still make a grammatically ...
7
votes
1answer
358 views
Classical words for spelt
The Latin Wikipedia article about spelt mentions two ancient Latin names for spelt: spelta and scandala.
I have found spelta used in more recent Latin, but nothing ancient.
I have never seen scandala &...
6
votes
2answers
322 views
How to use apposition with vocative?
I am uncertain when to use nominative and when vocative in an apposition related to direct address.
This issue is easiest to describe with examples.
I have understood that the following use is correct:...
