Questions tagged [vocabulary]
This tag is for questions concerning the meaning and usage of individual words or a few words in conjunction with each other.
559
questions
5
votes
1answer
64 views
What creative pursuits can I follow using the Latin Language?
While we're stuck in quarantine I have plenty of time to create. Here's what I've tried doing so far:
Helping answer easy questions on the Stack Exchange
Translating songs into Latin/Writing songs in ...
2
votes
1answer
41 views
How to determine the ending of a Latin noun?
In LLPSI, I have seen Latin be Latina, Latinum, and Latinae. What are the differences of these words and how do I determine which to use?
14
votes
7answers
5k views
Can you say “the” in Latin?
I'm reading Collar and Daniell's First Year in Latin right now and they mention that Latin has no articles such as "a", "an", and "the". Is this true? I have heard the book be inaccurate before.
9
votes
3answers
847 views
What is a leap year in Latin?
Now that it's 29th of February, there is no way not to ask:
What is a leap year in Latin?
Leap month and leap day (mensis/dies intercalaris or intercalarius) are well attested.
In the Julian calendar ...
6
votes
2answers
220 views
Deciphering a sentence
I have just encountered this sentence from an old book, however I can't understand it. not only I can't understand 3 words in bold, but also the entire sentence I can't make up.
Alia vero multo ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Salsissimum futura erit - is this right?
I need this translation for an artwork
"future will be salty"
Salsissimum erit futura
Salsissimum futura erit
it's a joke for an illustration of Diocletian announcing the salt as payment.
6
votes
0answers
83 views
How does Homer say “finger” and “leg?”
The English-Greek dictionary by Woodhouse translates finger as "δάκτυλος." However, the Homeric dictionary by Cunliffe doesn't have this word, and searching in the text of Homer doesn't seem to turn ...
3
votes
0answers
36 views
προσώπατα versus πρόσωπα, προσώπασι versus προσώποις in Homer
I'm working on learning Homeric vocabulary, and for this purpose I've written a script using CLTK to search for forms of a particular word through the Iliad and Odyssey. The idea is that I don't want ...
4
votes
0answers
69 views
Gen 1:28 only animals that move or all living beings?
The book of Genesis, 1:28 reads:
Crescite et multiplicamini et replete terram et subicite eam et dominamini piscibus maris et volatilibus caeli et universis animantibus, quae moventur super terram
...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
How can I say “school/university of life” in Latin?
I want to translate "school/university of life" into Latin. Meaning, where you learn about life.
Thank you in advance.
2
votes
0answers
41 views
Duumvir vs Duovir
A Duumvir, or Duovir, is one member of a two-man council.
Why are there two spellings, what does the nuance imply, and which one is correct under which circumstance?
5
votes
1answer
77 views
Counting to ten in Homeric Greek
How do you count to ten in Homeric Greek? The following is what I put together by knowing how to count to ten in modern Greek, and then looking for ancient forms that looked similar. Is this right for ...
5
votes
0answers
43 views
Old illustrated books showing daily life in ancient Greece or Rome
When I was learning French, I found it very helpful to work on my vocabulary using a picture book called First Thousand Words in French. For example, it would have something like a full-page picture ...
0
votes
1answer
108 views
Translation of ab and de in Greek,
How would one best translate ab and de from Latin to Greek in order to capture the different nuances?
In Greek both are usually translated as από.
I am trying to capture the nuances so I am using ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
Looking for Personal Lexicon / Dictionary Program
I'm trying to find a personal lexicon/dictionary/language study/flash card program - preferably one that makes allowances (ie has a place to enter) all of the forms of a word (noun declensions, verb ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
What do “inexquisitum” and “supramemorati” mean?
In a medieval document I am reading the words "inexquisitum" and "supramemorati" appear. I do not know these words, can not find them on Google and they are not in my dictionary. Does anyone know what ...
5
votes
1answer
107 views
Can the title “Pie Pellicane, Iesu Domine” be shortened?
I have a question regarding the Pelican Piety allegory. Is it accurate to inscribe it this way:
IESU PIE PELLICANE
For lack of space on artistic scroll work, is this accurate?
9
votes
2answers
1k views
When can “qui” mean “how”?
From brianpck's comment on another answer:
"qui" quite often means "how" in Plautus
This took me by surprise, since I'd never seen that use before.
In what contexts can quī mean "how"? And where ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
How to translate: “If anyone asks what you are now learning tell them they are unworthy?”
I am curious about the best way to translate this sentence into Latin:
"If anyone asks what you are now learning tell them they are unworthy"
Thanks in advance!
-Sue
7
votes
2answers
156 views
What is “appactim”?
The asker of another question cited a passage from a Hebrew-Latin lexicon:
At הֲלוֹם, arab. هَلُمَّ particula, huc, usque huc. pr. appactim.
Another edition of the book seems to confirm this ...
5
votes
2answers
260 views
Advenit versus Venit
In Cap. VII of LLPSI, Ørberg introduces Advenit with the following sentence
Ecce Iulius ad villam advenit.
It's curious to me that the verb includes the preposition; why not just use venit alone ...
6
votes
1answer
182 views
What does “Filiane” mean?
I am learning Latin from Collar and Daniell's FIRST YEAR LATIN. In LESSON IV: THE GENITIVE CASE TO DENOTE POSSESSION, an exercise is given (sentence translation).
Some examples:
Līberatne? Līberō, ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Lists of words to memorize before reading Lingua Latina Per Se Ilustrata classified by type: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc
I read that a good way to use LLPSI is by memorizing lists of words before going to the text. Does anyone know where these word list are?
2
votes
1answer
47 views
Translation request
I would like to translate the term "always loved" - referring to 2 parents.
Would it be acceptable to translate this as semper carissimi rather than semper amati?
5
votes
2answers
345 views
Translating “newsletter” or “bulletin”
Is there any analogue of English newsletter or French bulletin in Latin?
2
votes
0answers
61 views
Discere and Studere
When "discere" can be synonymous with "studere"?
I read an old book saying that:
"discere" and "studere" aren't usually synonymous, but they can be in some particular contexts.
I'd like to know in ...
2
votes
1answer
53 views
ULD adpositions
To familiarize myself with Latin adpositions, I tried to translate the first chapter of the Universal Language Dictionary.
I would like to find for each term the least ambiguous and most common ...
3
votes
1answer
73 views
Fill vs fill up in Latin?
If I wanted to translate "To fill a cup" and "To fill up a cup", are there in Latin 2 different words to translate "fill" and "fill up"?
To fill up = to fill totally.
6
votes
1answer
211 views
Substantivization of “continuum”
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
168 views
Generic toast in classical Latin
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:...
2
votes
2answers
96 views
How do I translate this phrase?
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, ...
9
votes
2answers
424 views
Present participles of the verb esse
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 ...
6
votes
1answer
128 views
Italiānus “native or inhabitant of Italy” - Latin or Macaronicanese?
I've come across the adjective italiānus in reference to the modern people of Italy, their culture and language in Internet Latin, and found it suspicious. I would like to know:
whether it's ...
1
vote
1answer
280 views
Mysterious word for “expert” in an Italian anthology's version of Sappho LP 21
In this Italian anthology, LP 21 l. 2 (the first line where the papyrus has letters) is read as containing επαβολησ (and perhaps vestigia around it). The first word in the translation is "esperta", ...
7
votes
3answers
163 views
Cibus sanus — healthy food?
The Duolingo Latin course uses sanus as "healthy" in connection with meals.
A healthy lunch would be prandium sanum according to the course.
But I always thought that sanus is only refers to the ...
0
votes
1answer
49 views
Explanatory and Etymological dictionary of the Latin Language
With the term explanatory I am translating ερμηνευτικό. A dictionary which defines words comprehensively and clearly.
If one considers Oxford University to be the authority on the English language ...
5
votes
1answer
169 views
Thematic, genred concepts in Ancient Greek?
Trying to come up with magical 'schools' for a game, and my goal is to:
Use Ancient Greek, Koine if absolutely necessary
Have words of generally the same length and number of syllables (not like, ...
1
vote
0answers
28 views
Untraceable word in a combination of LP fragments
LP 68(b) and 69 have been combined into a single text by the impression that they were «ex eadem parte papyri» and by the one letter split between the two. The resulting text, found in 6.A.iv here, ...
9
votes
1answer
212 views
Substantive adjectives “Latīna, Graeca” as language names
For example, I want to say: Latīna placet mihi magis quam Graeca, quamquam in Graecā multō plūra et doctiōra dē philosophiā scrīpta sunt.
I've seen people claiming that this use is incorrect and that ...
4
votes
1answer
120 views
Does “physicae artis” mean “physics”?
Google Translate translates "physicae artis" as "Physics". Is that correct? What would be the reasoning of it? Why isn't it "nature of the art" or "physics of the art"?
This is related to the ...
7
votes
1answer
392 views
In memoriam: why not “in memoria”?
Consider this usual example of Latin+English:
As Wiktionary states, in memoriam literally means "into memory" (memoriam is in accusative case). However, as Wiktionary (above) and Wikipedia state, the ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
Is Duolingo good for Latin?
On August 28*, 2019 Duolingo announced its Latin course for English speakers.
Out of curiosity, I subscribed, but I'm just starting to peek into it.
My question is (if anyone has tried it in depth ...
7
votes
2answers
104 views
Does “laudate” imply the morning part the day? (or are these translations wrong?)
This 2000's document by the Vatican, clarifying some issues relative to the Liturgy of the Hours (or Divine Office), states (original in Latin):
c) per se Laudes recitari debent horis matutinis, ...
8
votes
2answers
193 views
When did “virgo” gain its sexual meaning?
The primary meaning I associate with virgo, virginis is "young woman", perhaps a bit older than a puella but not yet a mulier.
However, the descendants of this word (in English and the Romance ...
5
votes
1answer
90 views
Did “quartilis” exist?
In statistics, a point that separates out (a multiple of) 25% of the data set is called a "quartile". Similarly, if it separates out 20% of the data, it's a "quintile", 1% a "percentile", and in ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
Are there nouns that change meaning based on gender?
I was looking through a feature in some Romance languages, Spanish and French, where nouns in Spanish change depending on gender. I was wondering if Latin had a few of these.
Here are examples in ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What is a “click” in Greek or Latin?
Linguistically, "clicks" are a type of sound found in certain African languages, mostly Khoisan and Southern Bantu. The English word is also used for various other sharp, high-pitched noises (like ...
4
votes
0answers
50 views
Opposing meanings of the suffix -gena
I recently came across the word "deigena" while reading c. 2, lectio 4 of Aquinas's Commentary on the Divine Names of [Pseudo-]Dionysius. This led me to discover what seems to be a productive suffix ...
4
votes
1answer
134 views
μονάδαι as plural form of μονάς
In the text that I am reading now, the Greek word μονάδαι is used to indicate "units". I have understood it as a plural form of μονάς, however, I could only find μονᾰ́δε in the dual form and μονᾰ́δες ...
3
votes
1answer
128 views
How to say “Third time lucky” in Latin
Answering a recent question, I've realized that I don't know how to say the following idiomatic expression in Latin (cf. Spanish: "A la tercera va la vencida"). Any suggestions?
"Third time lucky" ...
