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.
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"Friendless" in Latin?
I am looking for a general strategy for translating adjectives like "friendless" into Latin.
My interest is general, but for concreteness I will discuss my thoughts in light of this example.
...
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What is the meaning of audio?
Sometimes people use the term "hearing Mass". For example, it is used in the Six Precepts of the Church where it is a translation of the Latin "Missam audire":
To hear Mass on ...
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How would I say something along the lines of "no kicks no glory", "no kickstart no glory"
The intention is to point out that there is no glory in starting your motorcycle with electricity. Starting up your engine by kicking your kickstart is the one true and pure way. I tried to figure it ...
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Is there an antonymous phrase to dies mali?
"dismal" in English was originated from Latin dies mali ‘evil days’.
Is there an antonymous phrase to dies mali?
If yes, is there an English word originated from that?
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How to interpret "tertio" in the context of dates?
I often see dates expressed as, for example, tertio idus maias where idus is the feminine accusative plural and maias is the adjective agreeing with idus relating to the month of May. So, the question ...
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Questions on reading the prologue of Aesopus Latinus via LLPSI
Duplex libelli dos est: quod risum movet
et quod prudenti vitam consilio monet.
Calumniari si quis autem voluerit
quod arbores loquantur, non tantum ferae,
...
(Line 3~6)
Dos is explained as a ...
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Why is the name of Athens (Athenae) plural?
The Latin word for Athens, Athenae, is plural. Why is this?
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Why is the Latin word for plum so close to the name of Damascus?
The Latin word for plum is damascena, and the capital of Syria is Damascus.
Are these names related? Why is Latin word for plum so close to the name of Syrian capital? Did Damascus have good plums in ...
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What does "nosse" mean?
What does nosse mean? I cannot find it in Lewis & Short. For example:
Quam ob rem, quod quaesivit ex me P. Apuleius, homo et multis officiis mihi et summa familiaritate coniunctus et vobis ...
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How would you properly translate "of the Gods" into Latin?
I am trying to translate the phrase "of the gods" into Latin. Google translate says it would be deorum, however I am skeptical of the accuracy of Google translate, other sources say it is ...
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Quidquid vs quæcumque
Both quidquid and quæcumque are ways of translating English whatever or all things that [sth.], but is there any difference in meaning in that specific context?
I have a vague notion, not based in ...
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The feeling of home
I believe there is an idiom in English that says:
It feels like home
Or
something [about it] felt [somehow] like home
This means when you’re at a place where you feel comfortable and as if it was ...
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How can I express "to make a wish"?
I want a phrase for "to make a wish" instead of a single verb "to wish", in order to make the line of lyrics long enough for the music.
The noun for "wish" may be optatum,...
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Was the Latin verb "stimulare" ("to stimulate", from the noun "stimulus" meaning "sting") attested in the meaning "to sting (of an insect)"?
The Latin verb "stimulare" (to urge, to stimulate) comes from the noun "stimulus" (sting of a bee or a similar animal). Was it ever attested in the meaning "to sting (of a bee)...
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Does "virtus" apply to women?
Virtus, literally "manlihood", is the origin of English virtue and is often so translated. As far as I know, virtus mainly refers to "courage", "strength" and other "...
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What is the difference between Obsculta and Exaudi?
In the Rule of St Benedict we find:
Obsculta, o fili, præcepta magistri,
https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/benedict.html
We also have this in some prayers: Exaudī nos Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, ...
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Would a cat be considered a "bestia"?
I am trying to understand what the word "bestia" meant. Did it have the same connotations as the English word "beast" and the Croatian word "zvijer"? Would somebody who ...
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What does "Potochoterophii Fohsiensis" possibly mean in a Latin cryptogram from "Cocker's Decimal Arithmetic" textbook?
I was reading an old math textbook, Cocker's Decimal Arithmetic, and came across this cryptogram:
The question I have is about the beginning of the text:
Anixo guo Anamfiggino Jorammi Lehkeg ...
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when to use *tria* vs. *tres* and why?
"Quot liberi in familia sunt? ____[III] liberi."
"Vir, puer, puella ____[III] vocabula sunt."
"Rhenus et Danuvius et Tiberis ____[III] fluvii sunt."
#when would I use ...
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Learning *About* Something in Latin
As I understand it, the usual verb for learning in Latin is discō. Looking at Lewis & Short on Perseus [link] it seems like this is attested with an accusative (in the sense "to learn NOUN&...
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How would you translate "purposefulness"?
Purposefulness or goal-orientedness.
I've seen such translations as "propositum" or "voluntas", but they seem to refer to "purpose", not to the quality of sticking to a ...
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Auto-antonyms in Latin
It seems there are no questions on this site about it because I can't search out.
An auto-antonym (also called contronym, antagonym, Janus word, etc.) is a word whose antonym can be itself. For ...
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Can 'superiore' mean 'previous years' (plural)?
Under the year 1558, George Buchanan writes (Rerum Scoticarum Historia, 1582):
Hoc anno et superiore etiam, caussa religionis quodam modo iacuisse videbatur, quod morte...
In the standard English ...
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encrypt / to hide a message in Latin
What was the verb(s) the Romans used when the hide/encrypt a message in another text (and also the antonym "to decipher")? After consulting Döderlein's Hand-book of Latin Synonymes (Celare), ...
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How to translate "It is easy to remember"?
"remember" here means "to call to mind", and I considered "facilis + supine" construction, but verbs for this meaning (memini, reminiscor, recordor) are all too special ...
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"Receive blow in the face with hand"
In Seneca's Moral Letters 78:
Athletae quantum plagarum ore, quantum toto corpore excipiunt!
to receive blow in the face is plagam ore excipere: that is an ablative without preposition which would ...
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Translation for "adventure"
One of the meanings of the word adventure is "exciting or remarkable experience", e.g.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
They were looking for adventure.
Working with children can be a ...
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Is there a way to say "download" and "upload" in Latin?
I checked neolatinlexicon and Google and I couldn't find anything
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Was there a Classical-era word for "lawyer" specifically?
In the time of the late Republic, an ōrātor like Cicero would give all sorts of speeches. And some of his most famous are either attacking or defending someone on trial.
Was there a Classical-era word ...
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Is there a way to say the phrase "Buy time" in Latin?
Is there a way to say the phrase "Buy time", as in to buy oneself time?
Example sentence: "He bought himself some time" or "He bought himself time"
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How do you say the verb "switch/switch to" in Latin?
I want to know how you say the idea of "switch to" in Latin. I wasn't able to find a translation
For example if I want to say something like: "I was using this tool, but I switched to a ...
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What's the best way to say the noun "Objective" in Latin?
What's the best way to say "Objective" in Latin? As in, "Your next objective is to do [insert thing here]"?
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Best modern translation for "Emperor"?
The word "Emperor" seems a bit hard to pin down in Latin when looking for a constant expression to use, because of its multiple synonyms that seem to have been employed frequently throughout ...
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What is the best Latin translation of 'towards truth'?
I am looking to create a Substack publication where I can share articles I have written on philosophy. I want to choose a name for the website that best summarises or encapsulates the nature of the ...
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Is there a singular of 'manēs'?
The manēs or dī manēs, the benevolent spirits of the underworld, are usually addressed as a collective.
But what if I want to talk about one specific benevolent spirit? Is the singular (*manis perhaps?...
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What is going on with the symbol in the weight here?
So this is an image from William Musgrave's account of the Southbroom Hoard discovered outside Devizes, Wiltshire, in England in 1714. They seem to be some local's cache hidden away around the reign ...
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What would big/difficult/formal words be like in Latin?
Latin has approximately 40.000 words. A really small number for a language. How can we know when the word is "big" or formal in Latin? English uses the words from Latin to sound formal. I ...
user11898
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Morituri - Grammar
Basic, I'm sure, but I've read that this form is infinitive - to die - but also can mean 'we who are about to die'.
I'm newish to Latin grammar - what is the name of the form/case(?) that could ...
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Is there a Latin equivalent for this particular nsfw term?
Thanks to Martial, I've come across a decent variety of sexual terms in Latin. Unfortunately, these words are generally difficult to look up in dictionaries, because of the archaic style Latin ...
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How would you say "grass" as in "Green grass covers his grave."?
I am trying to translate some lyrics of a patriotic Croatian song in Latin. Here is what I've got thus far:
Non sunt heroes,
non sunt Croati,
ita fortes ut Jelačić erat.
Sed nunc eum atra terra tegit,...
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amatus or amatum - which one is the perfect passive participle form
I've just started studying Wheelock. In the Vocabula section, the entry for amo is amo, amare, amavi, amatum. Yet most dictionaries give the past participle as amatus. Which is correct?
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16th century vocabulary - harpsichord
In a 16th century text about musical tuning by Benedetti, the author provides this diagram, which he uses to describe his process of tuning the notes on a harpsichord:
In the text, he begins his ...
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What is difference between adit and advenit?
In LLPSI I was introduced to two verbs "adit" and "advenit", but what is difference between them if both of them mean "to go to"? Same to "abit" and "exit&...
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Translating "I came, I saw, I cried" in Latin for a yearbook quote
I am searching for a yearbook quote, and had the idea of modifying the quote
"Veni vidi vici", by replacing the last verb with "I cried". Having searched, online, I have found the ...
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How to say 'that' as a conjunction as in "I'm pleased that it is friday"?
I see this use of 'that' in English sentences all the time connecting subordinate clauses and such. I was wondering how'd you say something like "I'm pleased that it is Friday" or "He ...
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What is the Latin word for zebra?
I was searching for animals in Latin, and I ended up finding that the Romans knew zebras, and they used them to pull chariots. They also had the name "hippotigris". However, I couldn’t find ...
user11898
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Translating English Mother Quotes
I am getting a tattoo for my mother who passed 3 years ago.
I think any of the following would be beautiful:
“A mother/Your mother is always with you”
“A mothers love never dies”
“A mothers love lives ...
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Translation of 'nothing'
What is the most accurate translation of the phrase, 'from nothing, [back] to nothing.'? my own attempt is 'Ex nihilo in nihilum' Does that sound right?
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Differences between natio, populus, vulgus, cultus, and societas?
Is there a distinct differentiation between the words natio, populus, vulgus, cultus, and societas in classical Latin? I'm encountering conflicting definitions in various dictionaries.
user12055
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Can uppercase j be used to replace uppercase i letter on a monument inscription?
I have seen it repeatedly on two grave inscriptions. Both were called Ida but there was Jda on the grave inscription. They lived in the 19th and 20th centuries in the Central Europe.
Is this a ...
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