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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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 ...
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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 ...
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1answer
66 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?
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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 ...
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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
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153 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 ...
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2answers
248 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 ...
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1answer
180 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, ...
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1answer
76 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?
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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?
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2answers
342 views
Translating “newsletter” or “bulletin”
Is there any analogue of English newsletter or French bulletin in Latin?
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60 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 ...
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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 ...
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1answer
67 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.
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1answer
210 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 ...
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1answer
109 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:...
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2answers
93 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, ...
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2answers
392 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 ...
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1answer
120 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 ...
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1answer
246 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", ...
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3answers
151 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 ...
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1answer
43 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 ...
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1answer
164 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, ...
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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, ...
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1answer
202 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 ...
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1answer
114 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 ...
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1answer
240 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 ...
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2answers
1k 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 ...
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2answers
95 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, ...
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2answers
166 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 ...
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1answer
85 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 ...
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3answers
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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 ...
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2answers
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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 ...
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49 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 ...
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1answer
133 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 ...
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1answer
119 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" ...
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2answers
835 views
How to say “fit” in Latin?
The English word "fit" has a number of different uses, and that makes searching difficult.
I am looking for a verb or phrase to be used in a sentence like this:
The souvenir does not fit in my bag.
...
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3answers
152 views
Where does the word “tudes” 'hammer' show up in texts?
Lewis and Short has an entry for a noun tŭdes, with the genitive singular given as "is (ĭtis, acc. to Fest. p. 253 Müll.)". It is defined as "a hammer, mallet". The two citations in the entry show the ...
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2answers
221 views
About supplemented word ὀλόφῳ in a fusion of Lobel-Page fragments from an Italian Sappho anthology
This Italian Sappho anthology, on p. 57-58, has a fusion of several Lobel-Page fragments (cfr this question of mine), among which is 67(a). In l. 3 of that fragment, which is l. 16 of the fusion, the ...
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1answer
105 views
What is “password” in classical Latin?
The concept of passwords predates computers:
To gain access to, say, some heavily guarded premises, one may need to be able to say a secret phrase to the guards.
I would imagine this concept was not ...
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4answers
3k views
Does this sentence I constructed with my junior high school latin work? I write online advertising and want to come off as snobby as possible
Essentially, I want to say something like:
"If you read this, your will will be mine". (In a teasing way like, Who Reads This Is Stupid).
I 'distilled' it as much as possible to "reader beware: your ...
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2answers
114 views
Are there minimal pairs between the acute and circumflex accent?
Ancient Greek had two (*) different types of accent on long vowels: the "circumflex" accent indicates high tone on the first mora, and the "acute" accent indicates high tone on the second. (Short ...
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2answers
78 views
“Nucis vado”? Going nuts?
Does "Nucis vado" mean going nuts? I go of a nut?
Some folks want to use it as a motto and I would like to make sure it is proper.
If not, what would "Going Nuts" be, properly translated?
Thanks for ...
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0answers
47 views
How would you translate γέγονεν in John 1:15?
I'm translating the 15th verse of John 1, and I'm curious to know the nuances of translating the phrase ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, and especially the word γέγονεν.
Below is the NA28 ...
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1answer
91 views
Is there a Greek word meaning to purr?
I've heard that there is no known verb for purring (of a cat) in Greek. Is that true? Any qualified guess as to what verb a Greek might have used?
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2answers
78 views
Is ulcantur a subjunctive of ultus?
I have a prayer I say every morning. It includes the word ulcantur. I can't find a translation. I think it is a subjunctive for ultus?
O Piisima Virgo Maria, quæ caput serpentis contrivisti, protege ...
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1answer
40 views
What are auscultatores?
In honor of the last broadcast of the Nuntiī Latinī:
Nuntii Latini Radiophoniae Finnicae Generalis, qui inde ab anno millesimo nongentesimo undenonagesimo (1989) iam triginta annos septimanatim ...
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1answer
69 views
Branches of Roman military in Latin
The military force of a country is often divided in branches such as an army, a navy, and an air force.
There are many other branches out there, but the point is that I am looking for a division of ...
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2answers
91 views
What is a “sockpuppet”?
Inspired by a recent meta question, which I had to write in English for lack of appropriate Latin vocabulary:
A "sockpuppet", on the internet, is an alternate identity someone creates for nefarious ...
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1answer
46 views
Proper way to say “Traveler's Writ/Licence/Certificate”
I am looking for more or less the 'proper' (or any good approximation) way to translate a "Traveler's Writ," as in a certificate or license given to a traveler that allows him legal access to an area.
...
