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.
607
questions
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65 views
New Life - Latin translation
I’m looking for farm name ideas and am stuck on the concept of it being a “new life”... celebrating a changing of life’s season, etc. All I can find really is the general translation, I’m not sure how ...
8
votes
2answers
850 views
How to say that I have used up all of something?
Suppose that I have a book that has given me a lot of good hints but now I feel that I have exhausted the book and used up all it can give.
Is there a Latin verb that I could use to express this?
The ...
2
votes
2answers
85 views
What would be correct way to say “very fortunate “
Trying to find the correct adjective for “very lucky/very fortunate “ in feminine singular. Valde fortunata or ipsum fortunata?
4
votes
1answer
58 views
“Project Management” in Latin
I was looking for a translation for "project management" and its adjacents (project manager etc.). There's surprisingly few direct translations for "project", but I've managed to ...
5
votes
1answer
97 views
Creating a Latin motto
I want to craft a Latin motto for a literary work. This motto would mean "I seek peace, I make war by duty".
I thought about this: "Pacem adfecto, officiosus bellum gero".
I have ...
4
votes
1answer
436 views
Translating “cum chordis corda, cum fidibus fides”
I’m having trouble understanding the following construction:
cum chordis corda, cum fidibus fides
It is taken from a German manuscript by Dietericus mentioning that the human body should be like a ...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
How to say “To serve, not to be served” in Latin?
I would like to know how to translate the phrase "To serve, not to be served" in Latin.
It doesn't have to be a word for word translation. But, I want to know the phrase that would give the ...
7
votes
2answers
390 views
Translation of devom
I'm looking to find the translation of devom. I have looked for a translation online and in dictionaries and come up empty.
In Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan he quotes an inscription:
DEVOMNODENTi
...
4
votes
1answer
150 views
What is “formatting” in Latin?
I would like to adapt the proverb dē gustibus nōn est disputandum ("there's no accounting for taste") to refer to formatting—the layout of text on a page, the font selection, the use of ...
7
votes
1answer
119 views
Difference between 'urbe' and 'oppidum'?
I have found that LLPSI uses oppidum to describe cities (at least in the early chapters) while Duolingo uses urbe. What is the difference, and which should I usually use?
6
votes
2answers
110 views
What is a “rough draft” in Latin?
Suppose I'm preparing a speech for the Senate floor, and I want to make sure it sounds just right before I present it. So I come up with a rough draft, then revise it several times until I'm satisfied ...
4
votes
2answers
90 views
A noun meaning “survivor”
I am looking for a noun meaning "survivor". It looks like the closest in meaning is the adjective superstes. Can that be used as a noun, and if so how do you decline it? Per the post on ...
3
votes
1answer
98 views
Difference between geminus and gemellus
Both geminus and gemellus seem to have similar meanings: twin-born, born together, twins. Is the main difference between these two words how they were used, or did they have additional meanings that ...
3
votes
3answers
122 views
What case does 'plus' take?
I don't have any information about what case to use with 'plus' (or 'magis'). In dictionaries usually only prepositions take some case, and it is showed in parentheses.
In my language, 'more' takes ...
3
votes
0answers
29 views
What are the meanings of servus and minister in ecclesiatical latin?
Reading the answers to another question I thought about the meaning of servus and minister in christian/ecclesiastical latin.
It seems to me that in classical latin servus related clearly to the legal ...
2
votes
2answers
172 views
How do I say, “In pursuit of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness”?
I know "Truth, Beauty, Goodness" is "Veritas, Bonitas, Pulcritudo."
But do I need an "et" before "Pulcritudo"? When do you use and's in Latin?
And how would ...
5
votes
2answers
111 views
What is the best Greek word for a thrown knife?
In the Netflix show The Umbrella Academy, one character has a limited form of telekinesis: he can manipulate the movement of knives that he throws.
If I wanted to give this ability a pretentious Greek ...
7
votes
2answers
227 views
What is the source of the Greek phrase πύξ, λάξ, δάξ?
πύξ, λάξ, δάξ "by punching, kicking, and biting" is described by Wikipedia as an "epigram describing how laypersons were chased away from the Eleusinian Mysteries". Where is this ...
5
votes
0answers
76 views
Well, well, well
How to say this expression in Latin!?
Expressing surprise: Well, well, well! It is here (when smth lost and found)!
Expressing sarcasm: Well, well, well... And what now!?
Expressing begining: Well, ...
6
votes
2answers
137 views
Confusing syntax in two sentences
I seem to be confused by the constructions of these two sentences from a Medieval Latin text:
Unde vocum alia suavis est illa, scilicet quae subtilis, spissa, clara et acuta est.
and
Multiplicem ...
4
votes
0answers
72 views
Passage from Odington
I am looking at a short passage from Odington's treaty on music, and am unsure about the last bit, particularly the meaning of "abiectus" in this context. I admit to having limited skill reading Latin-...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Are there any general rules for creating 'proper' Latin neologisms, beyond matching gender, number, and case?
For the sake of this question, I'm going to be using this definition of neologism, "A newly coined word or phrase." From my understanding, the loose etymology of this word is the French neo plus Greek ...
8
votes
1answer
223 views
Can “sum” and “nemo” work together to create a phrase meaning “I am no one?”
I have been trying to understand the relationship between "sum" and "nemo", to create a phrase meaning something like "I am no one". In all the contexts I personally ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Res vs Obiectus
What is the difference in meaning between Res and Obiectus (is it merely a matter of Language evolution Classical vs Medieval)?
As a meaning I am interested in that which (the thing that) is related ...
3
votes
0answers
62 views
What is a “camarilla” in Latin?
The Spanish word camarilla means a group of conspirators meeting in secret to manipulate the political leadership. It's been borrowed into English, as well as quite a few other Romance languages, ...
6
votes
3answers
192 views
What would “opossum” be in Latin?
I was wondering how one would translate the word "opossum" into Latin.
It derives from Native American names for opossum meaning variably "white dog" and "white animal," so it could be translated ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
What should an epidemic be called in Latin?
Is there a good Latin word for an epidemic or even a pandemic?
The word epidemia is probably easily understood by most, but it doesn't seem to be a classical one.
The adjective epidemus is attested ...
3
votes
2answers
115 views
“Man to Man” in Latin?
I've been spending a lot of time on this one but not quite sure how you would preserve the idiomatic connotation of the phrase "man to man". I'm planning to use it in a sentence like "they were ...
6
votes
1answer
80 views
Mountains and Mountain Ranges: Names
I have been recently enjoying Mark Walker's delightful translation of Professor Tolkien's masterpiece, The Hobbit (Hobbitus Ille). I was especially charmed by Tolkien's maps, translated into Latin (...
3
votes
1answer
84 views
I’m exploring names for a fictional space agency. Which would be more correct?
I’d like it to have the acronym "ET"
Would it be better for it to be:
excelsior terra
or
excelsior tellus
I’m sure that there are better ways to express this though I have always liked the ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Latin word for “liar”
Is there a succinct pronoun for a person who is a liar? You could make a phrase for a person who lies using mentior, or construct a sentence about the lie itself with mendacium, but what a single word ...
5
votes
1answer
123 views
Translate compound word “airship” to Latin
Is there a more idiomatic way to translate "airship" than something like navis aeris (maybe this already is natural to a native speaker)? A compound word like "Airship" in English feels like a more ...
4
votes
1answer
71 views
Translating “lesson” into Latin
Salvete,
How do people normally translate "lesson" into Latin for use in modern conversation?
English and many other languages derive their word from lectio (reading), so I suppose that would only be ...
18
votes
1answer
2k views
Are there Latin words known only by reconstruction from Romance languages?
I presume that many Latin words made it to the Romance languages, but were never attested in writing, whether because they were limited to Vulgar Latin or just because by chance no writer used them ...
2
votes
3answers
75 views
How do I know the difference between crying out, crying tears, and war cry?
All the words just say cry. I want to find a word that means crying as in crying tears, but all I see are words for war cry and crying out.
4
votes
2answers
114 views
How would the Romans have borrowed the word “Dune”?
Following up on my previous question about a latin word for "dunes", how would the Romans have adopted and latinized a word of Germanic origin like "dune"? I found a few examples of similar sounding ...
6
votes
1answer
482 views
Is there a Latin word for “dune”?
Did the Romans have a word for "dune", as in sand dunes? There are plenty of words relating to sand itself, but I can't find anything specifically about dunes. There is a placed called Arenae Montes (...
9
votes
1answer
143 views
What does “non oportet” mean?
When verbs that recommend an action to some degree (such as should, must, ought) are negated, there are two possible interpretations: (a) the action is simply not recommended, nor anything else; or (b)...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Latin Translation for “Death to the enemies of mankind”
I'd like to translate "Death to the enemies of mankind" into Latin. How can I do that? If there are multiple ways of saying it, I would like it structured as close to a motto as possible, since that's ...
6
votes
1answer
92 views
Complete list of Greek -μι verbs
Is there an exhaustive list somewhere of all the simplex -μι verbs in Greek?
Searching Perseus for words ending in -μι brings up a long list of results, most of which are prefixed forms of the same ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Latin Phrase for “It goes without saying”
The title of the question pretty much sums it up.
I am looking for a Latin phrase for the English expression "It goes without saying." I am not sure if an analogous expression exists- although I would ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
How would you translate “circumferens” in this passage from St. Augustine's Confessions?
I'm reading the beginning of St. Augustine's Confessions (Liber I Caput I), and had some trouble translating the word circumferens. How would you translate it?
magnus es, domine, et laudabilis ...
4
votes
3answers
162 views
Best Latin translation of an English Phrase “Always Present, Never Seen”
I am designing some potential products for my organization, and I want to include a version that includes a tag line written in Latin of one of the our organizational values. The phrase I'm looking ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
How do you say this phrase in latin? Venisti, vedisti, you destroyed?
Can someone help me with this expression?
I want it to say "You came, you saw, you destroyed".
I know the first two parts... but I can't seem to find how to say the last one.
I would appreciate the ...
9
votes
1answer
145 views
What word did the Romans use to describe a hot, dry, sandy desert?
Did the Romans during the classical era have a word for a dry, hot, desert? There is desertum, but that is more "wilderness" than explicitly desert in the sense we might think of today. ...
4
votes
1answer
165 views
Inaccurate translation of phrases in Latin with word “defender”
I'm trying to translate the following words to Latin (see blockquote). And I've used various translation tools, but I have a strong feeling it's inaccurate.
These ones I would like to have correctly ...
4
votes
1answer
126 views
“Aliquid scribere” or “de aliquo scribere”
Scaliger once wrote Manilius nesciebat quid scribebat, by which he obviously meant that Manilius did not know what he was writing about.
In English, there is a big difference between "writing ...
2
votes
1answer
32 views
What are the proper terms for highly-educated people?
I'm curious about terms that can be used to describe these people, or the qualifications themselves:
College/university graduate
Somebody with a "Master's" qualification
Somebody with a "Doctorate" ...
5
votes
1answer
304 views
Is there a Latin equivalent of “lady”?
In English the word "lady" generally carries a positive connotation - that's why Aung San Suu Kyi is also referred to as "The Lady".
I'm wondering if Latin has an equivalent for "lady". Google ...
5
votes
2answers
134 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 ...
