Questions tagged [nuance]
The nuance tag has no usage guidance.
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"Once upon a time"
The English phrase "once upon a time" at the beginning of a story immediately sets the genre and style to a great extent.
Is there a similar device, possibly a phrase, in Latin?
It does not ...
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Τέλος vs. πέρας
Meanings of πέρας listed in wiktionary:
end, goal, extremity
All these fall within the scope of τέλος. I would like to understand the nuances of these three meanings (there is no problem with ...
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What is "heart" as the emotional organ?
In English one uses the word "heart" in a variety of ways to express deep emotion, as in "She will always be in our hearts".
Is there a corresponding "emotional organ" in Latin?
How should I go about ...
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Why did the Romans perceive darkness, ᴛᴇɴᴇʙʀᴀᴇ, as a plural count noun?
Why did the Romans perceive darkness, tenebrae, as a plural count noun? [Perseus corpus-search reference]
Or perhaps the better question is: what special nuance is conveyed by the
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Was "oscŭlum" a cultured word in Latin?
The Spanish language has two words for kiss:
Beso, from Latin basium.
Ósculo, from Latin oscŭlum.
The second one is very seldom used, and only in literature as it is a cultured word. Nonetheless, it ...
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Which modern cities are urbes?
I have understood that urbs is not just a "city", but more properly a "major city".
The L&S entry implies that it refers to a walled town, but city walls are rare nowadays.
What makes a city an ...
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What is the difference between conjunctive present and perfect with ne?
I have seen both present and perfect forms of the conjunctive for negative orders or requests, for example ne canas and ne cecineris.
What is the difference?
Is one more an order and the other more a ...
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Did "paganus" mean a non-believer before Christianity?
The adjective paganus is derived from pagus and seems to originally mean roughly "belonging to a village".
According to the L&S entry the sense "non-military" is also classically attested.
In ...
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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 ...
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Can infans refer to children who can speak?
The word infans means basically "speechless", as the connection to the verb fari immediately suggests.
One specific meaning of this word is a small child (III in the linked L&S entry).
I assume ...
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Quōmodo v. Quā ratiōne
I'm looking at a Latin translation of the Apology of Socrates by Marcellus Ficinus and I'm puzzled by the very first clause.
Quā vōs quidem ratiōne, Ō virī Athēniēnsēs, affēcerint accūsātōrēs meī, ...
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What does [ὀλίγου] ἐμαυτοῦ ἐπελαθόμην actually MEAN?
The first sentence of the Apology of Socrates is:
Ὅτι μὲν ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες Άθηναῖοι, πεπόνθατε ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν κατηγόρων, οὐκ οἶδα· ἐγὼ δ' οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπ' αὐτῶν ὀλίγου ἐμαυτοῦ ἐπελαθόμην, οὕτω ...
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Is there a more emphatic version of posse?
If I want to say "I can" in Latin, I will usually use posse.
But what if I want something stronger and more emphatic, like "I am capable of", "I am able to", or similar?
I am not aware of a Latin ...
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Comparison of omnes, cuncti, and universi
The three adjectives omnis, cunctus, and universus appear to be essentially synonymous.
They are often used in the plural.
The entries in L&S suggest very strong similarity, but I find it unlikely ...
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Has the meaning of any Latin adjectives narrowed in a way similar to English "gay" transitioning from a meaning of "happy" to "homosexual"?
The English words "gay" and "queer" are originally adjectives with a broad range of possible use contexts, but currently they are used almost exclusively in reference to certain minorities.
It has ...
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What to call an old people's service home?
When an elderly person is no longer capable of or willing to live on their own, they can choose to move something I would call a "service home"1.
Such institutions offer a variety of services: ...
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Development of the figurative meaning of derivare
If I understand correctly, derivare means literally "to lead water from a river" (from rivus).
L&S gives examples of this literal meaning, but it also lists figurative uses.
Only the figurative ...
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How to say "suit yourself"?
How to translate "suit yourself"? I'm curious as to how it translates to Latin. In certain contexts, it can come off as rude or sarcastic, even though, it's used in formal conversations and is not ...
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Is there a difference between the future participle and the supine accusative?
The purpose of motion can be expressed in several ways.
For example, I would consider the following essentially equivalent (did I forget something?):
Ille me salutatum Romam venit.
Ille me ...
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Do adverbs derived from iste have a pejorative tone?
I would call the pronoun iste a "second person demonstrative pronoun"1, meaning roughly "that thing near you".
It can also have a pejorative tone, implying that the speaker does not approve of the ...
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What is the difference between present and perfect conjunctive in hesitation?
I recently said this in our chat room:
Ita crediderim, sed certus non sum.
A brief discussion ensued about my choice of tense.
I wanted to express hesitation, and my gut feeling says that the ...
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4
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Word for "fumo" but less thick, thin smoke
"Fumo" means "I smoke, steam or fume". But is there a word which indicates a thinner smoke or fume rises from me?
I'm looking for a word that incense could say about itself.
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ergo vs. itaque
As I understand it, both ergo and itaque mean therefore, thus, so, accordingly, etc.
When should one be preferred over the other? Does it depend on context, or do they mean slightly different things?
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How to translate the Finnish "muka"?
I would like to know how to translate the Finnish particle or adverb "muka" or "mukamas" into Latin.
Pitkäranta's Finnish–Latin–Finnish dictionary offers the translations ut dicitur, ...
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Can adjectives describe any noun in a sentence?
As long as the adjective matches its noun in case, number, and gender, is it possible to move the adjective anywhere in a sentence, even outside of prepositional phrases and subordinating or ...
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French and Latin "s'il te/vous plaît"
The phrases si tibi placet and si vobis placet can be found in Latin literature, but they are not particularly common.
At least superficially they correspond to the French "s'il te plaît" and "s'il ...
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How to use immo?
What does the word immo really mean and how can I use it?
I read this and this dictionary entry, and I was left confused.
Some of the uses I can understand, but some I cannot.
Either I do not have ...
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Using "sānē" v. "certē" v. "profectō"?
The dictionary definitions of these three words aren't particularly helpful in figuring out when to use which one.
Lewis Elementary's definition of sānē includes
indeed, doubtless, by all means, ...
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Flavor/meaning/nuance of "aliquando" in "tandem aliquando"?
The first sentence of Cicero's second Catilinarian reads in part
Tandem aliquando, Quirites, L. Catilinam . . . ex urbe . . . ejecimus.
(I realize I'm leaving out all the fun parts; forgive me.)
...
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Is there a difference between septimana and hebdomas?
My dictionary gives two translations for "week": septimāna and hebdomas (gen. hebdomadis, feminine).
Is there a difference between these two words?
Are there contexts where only one of them is ...
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Semantic differences between verbs of thinking
Latin has lots of verbs which can be translated as "think", including puto, opinor, arbitror, existimo, reor, censeo, cogito, and doubtless many others.
How might one get a handle on the semantic ...
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Which verb for drinking is least related to alcohol?
In English, like in many other languages, "to drink" often means "to drink alcohol".
I dislike this connotation, and I would like to be able to talk about drinking with minimal alcoholic connotations.
...
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Are there dictionaries that translate profanities profanely?
Sometimes I come across Latin profanities, for example when reading a certain poem of Catullus.
Many dictionaries fail to translate profanities properly, perhaps in order to maintain a certain level ...
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How does the Latin of these two translations of The Little Prince compare?
There are two translations of The Little Prince into Latin, one by Auguste Haury and one by Franz Schlosser. I'm trying to get a sense of the relative merits of their Latin.
Here's the dedication of ...
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How can I use "quippe" properly?
Lewis & Short gives the following definition:
surely, certainly, to be sure, by all means, indeed, in fact
certainly, indeed, forsooth
for, for in fact
for, because, inasmuch as
for ...
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What are some examples of "subicio" being used to mean "submit, subject, present"?
In English, the epigraph of A Christmas Carol reads
I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with ...
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Can "simultas" simply mean "task," or does it always connote hostility?
In his tale of Æetes, Hyginus writes
Itaque Æeta Jasoni hanc simultatem constituit: Si vellet pellem auratam auferre, tauros æripedes … jungeret …
Lewis & Short gives this ...
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meaning of "non omnínó"
Omnínó is defined in Lewis Elementary as
altogether, wholly, entirely, utterly, at all
[with numerals] in all, altogether, only, but, just
by all means, indeed, doubtless, yes, certainly,...
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Is there a way to make a sentence ironic in Latin?
Is there a way (spoken or written) to make a phrase sound ironic in Latin?
For example "good for you" would be "tibi bonum est"?
Could there be intonation or another word to make it sound ironic?
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"Ne . . . quidem" in Noctes Atticæ
In the preface to Noctes Atticæ, Gellius writes
Nos vero, ut captus noster est, incuriose et inmeditate ac prope etiam subrustice ex ipso loco ac tempore hibernarum vigiliarum Atticas Noctes ...
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What's the difference between coniunctivus and subiunctivus?
I was thrown off by a recent question that talked about the "conjunctive" mood, which I had never heard of. A few searches of William Whitaker's Words reveals that both coniunctivus (or conjunctivus) ...
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What nuances distinguish statuó, cónstituó, and ínstituó?
I'm asking mostly in the context of living Latin and trying to figure out how to say things like "I decided," "I started a blog," "I set up an organization," "I instituted a policy," and so on, for ...
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What does "quidem" REALLY mean?
The Lewis Elementary Latin Dictionary (via latinlexicon.org) gives the following definitions:
quidem
[expressing emphasis or assurance] assuredly, certainly, in fact, indeed
[in answers] certainly, ...
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The word *quick* in Latin
There are many words, which are translated as quick. My initial search showed
celer: swift , quick, rapid; in a bad sense, hasty, rash
celox: swift , quick; f. as subst. a swift vessel, yacht
citus: ...
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What nuances distinguish "minor" and "ínstó" when they mean "threaten"?
The prefix of ínstó seems to suggest pressure or movement in a way that minor doesn't, but is that suggestion borne out in their actual use? Quí minátur quasi fíxus est, quí ínstat in aliquem movet?
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What's the difference between nam and enim?
Both nam and enim are generally defined as meaning "for," the only difference between them being that nam comes first in a clause and that enim is postpositive (i.e., it comes second).
Is there a ...
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What nuances distinguish sed/vērō/vērum as words for "but"?
I've seen sed, vērō, and vērum described as "but, butter, buttest," but the descriptions in e.g. Gildersleeve, Bennett—even Zumpt—leave me scratching my head.
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What is the difference in meaning or nuance between 'premō' and 'imprimō' in the sense of 'I press'?
Wiktionary shows that both premō and imprimō can mean (among other things) "I press."
Looking at the formation of the latter word, the prefix im-, can negate the root word. How this applies to this ...
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