Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about technical or specialized words in fields like grammar, IT, politics, sports, etc.
23
questions
5
votes
1answer
82 views
Is there a Latin equivalent to ἐπίκοινος?
The Ancient Greek grammatical tradition, going back to Dionysius Thrax (or maybe farther), distinguishes five types of nouns: masculine, feminine, neuter, common, and epicene (ἐπίκοινος). Four of ...
11
votes
6answers
8k views
What should the corona virus be called in Latin?
The corona virus (or a specific kind thereof) is a hot topic, and one should of course be able to discuss it in Latin.
But what should we call the thing in Latin?
Both corona and virus are Latin words,...
6
votes
2answers
929 views
Does ancient Greek have its own terms for grammar?
I'm working on ancient Greek (Homeric) vocabulary, and sometimes it's helpful to write down, e.g., on a flashcard, some grammatical information. For example I might want to record that ἕν is neuter (...
0
votes
2answers
100 views
Why was the subjunctive mood 'so called because the Greek subjunctive mood is used almost exclusively in subordinate clauses'?
Concerning the adjective "subjunctive", OED (3rd ed., 2012) mentions (emphasis mine):
Post-classical Latin subiunctivus is a translation equivalent of Hellenistic Greek ὑποτακτικός , which as a ...
5
votes
2answers
225 views
What is the term for extremely loose Latin word order?
For a Latin-language artificial intelligence called Mensa Latina the user manual will need to discuss and therefore refer to the phenomenon in Latin prose where meaning comes from grammar and ...
10
votes
1answer
668 views
Exactly what is a declension?
I was reading a Latin grammar book (Jenney's First Year Latin, for the curious) having recently resolved to learn a bit about the language and what I understood was as follows:
Latin is an inflected ...
4
votes
2answers
71 views
in order of temporal proximity
In Latin, how would you refer to the concept of sorting events according to temporal proximity (i.e. most recent, or nearest to now, first); as opposed to sorting by priority, or starting from the ...
8
votes
5answers
394 views
What is the “economy principle” in papyrology exactly?
I have come across the phrase "economy principle" somewhere I cannot recall, talking about why some combinations of papyrus fragments were made. What is this principle exactly?
Update
As I typed it, ...
5
votes
1answer
396 views
How to translate machine learning?
Machine learning is a roughly method where a machine learns to perform a certain task by learning on its own.
The machine gains experience and can solve a very specific problem intuitively.
It is not ...
5
votes
1answer
110 views
Why did the Romans link Autumn with earth and melancholy, Spring with air and sanguine, and Winter with water and phelgm?
I don't understand the Romans' linking of humor, season, and characteristics for Humours 1-3. E.g. for 1: 1.1. Why'd black bile predominate in autumn (which I agree, is cold and dry)?
1.2. Why'd ...
5
votes
1answer
106 views
What does 'iure civili' mean in Apuleius VI.23, when Cupid and Psyche get married?
When Cupid and Psyche get married, at the end of their story in Apuleius' Metamorphoses VI.23, Jupiter announces that they will be wed iure civili:
Et ad Venerem collata facie, ‘Nec tu,’ inquit ‘...
7
votes
1answer
894 views
What is the difference between a roman (“novel”) and a “Milesiae fabula”?
Apparently, the fabula Milesiae, "story of Miletus", was a Greek genre. Apuleius calls himself "the author of this Milesian tale" in his Metamorphoses (IV.32, below). From what I remember of the (late)...
5
votes
1answer
62 views
General term for each inflected form of a lexeme
illī is a X of ille declension.
illī is singular dative masculine form of ille.
In the first sentence what we should say instead of X?
6
votes
1answer
257 views
Meaning of Spiritus Lenis
I'm studying Arabic grammar from an old text book and it uses the term Spiritus Lenis. What does it mean?
To quote the book:
The object of it is merely to distinguish elif as the long vowel (ie ...
8
votes
1answer
431 views
What exactly is brevis brevians?
I have come across the term brevis brevians a couple of times on this site.
Unfortunately Google does not provide me with a clear definition with examples, so I am still not entire sure what it means.
...
4
votes
1answer
109 views
Is there a rhetorical term for personification?
In the ancient inventory of technical terms for rhetorical effects and devices, was there a term corresponding specifically to personification, in the sense of "the attribution of a personal nature or ...
5
votes
1answer
158 views
Caeteris paribus
Caeteris paribus means "all else being equal" yet, terminologically, also stands in for "all else unchanged". I'm interested in knowing actually how to say "all else unchanged" in a way that bears ...
12
votes
2answers
415 views
Why do we call a case a casus? And why rectus, obliquus?
I would translate the grammatical word casus (whence English case) as "a fall". And, indeed, the German word is Fall, Dutch naamval ("name fall"). Why is this word used for the grammatical function of ...
8
votes
1answer
138 views
Please briefly define “futurum instans”
I am writing a book, quoting from Aune: “There are several instances in Revelation of this use of ἔρχεται as futurum instans…” Note that Aune uses the term “futurum instans” for Greek, not ...
5
votes
0answers
67 views
What is meant exactly by the “familiae Troianae”?
I have seen the term familiae Troianae mentioned in Pauly and elsewhere. It has something to do with Roman families and Trojan ancestry, but it seems to be a fixed and well known term: what does it ...
12
votes
1answer
223 views
Did the Romans have a Latin name for their domestic peristylia?
A typical upper- and probably also middle-class Roman house in the classical age contained a peristylium or peristylum, or so I was told. I wonder why they used a Greek word for such a standard Roman ...
9
votes
1answer
127 views
How does the gerund 'bear' or 'carry'?
[ Etymonline: ]
1510s, from Latin gerundum "to be carried out," gerundive of gerere "to bear, carry" (see gest). In Latin, a verbal noun used for all cases of the infinitive but the nominative; ...
11
votes
1answer
360 views
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) ...
