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.
731
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On words with non-Classical meanings in LLPSI
I found Lingua Latina per se Illustrata(LLPSI) use the word kalendārium for calendar (as in Chap. 13, and the official Latin-English wordbook), but in both dictionaries L&S and OLD there is just ...
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1
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How would you translate "The Adorned" for use as a collective title?
I took a few years of Latin back in high school, but my understanding of the language never really surpassed novice levels.
I've been brainstorming names for a wolf pack in a story of mine; a lot of ...
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2
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1
answer
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How to express a prayer intention
I'm new-ish to speaking Latin - specifically praying in Latin. When praying with my family, we like to express prayer intentions before beginning (eg. "For so-and-so" or "For charity&...
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1
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How does one translate "a fighting thing" and "a running away thing"?
In the same way "a thinking thing" is translated into Latin to res cogitans, how would you translate in Latin "a fighting thing" and "a running away thing"?
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Is there a Simple Latin?
For english, a simple version of the language, called Simple English has been defined — an english-based controlled language — as an aid to teaching english to non-native speakers.
Has it ever been an ...
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Are there different words for an excerpt and its location in Latin?
In Latin, locus can be the passage of a text (e.g. Cicero says he is going to translate a passage in one of his speeches and uses locus if I remember correctly) but it can also be the location of the ...
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1
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What does the word "adidum" mean?
In a book in Latin, I found the sentence "Adidum vina" — Something (?) the wines. What does "adidum" mean?
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How would you translate "Mentalist" into Latin?
How would mentalist be translated into Latin? There is some debate about what constitutes mentalism, but to me I would summarize as the use of psychology, cold reading, skilled intuition, and careful ...
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How would you translate "rank" or "level" to Latin?
In English, we can talk about people or things as being at a certain level or rank. For example, in gaming systems, you might have a character or ability that is level 10, or level 20, etc.
What would ...
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What would be the Latin equivalent of the English noun, "reflex"?
The English word "reflex" comes from the late Latin word reflexus, to bend back, turn away. Is there a Latin noun equivalent to reflex in the modern sense? Classical is preferred, but any ...
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hoc pacto a synonym for quo modo?
I am working through the notorious Rosetta Stone Latin and they have the phrase "hoc pacto" seemingly as a synonym for quo modo. So, for example, there are sentences like:
Solum hoc pacto ...
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1
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Expressions of contempt or credulity in Latin
I am looking for a Latin equivalent of ‘my eye/ my arse’ as an expression of contempt or incredulity in Latin or less emphatic ‘I don’t think! e.g.
He’s a model of good behaviour, my eye/ my arse/ I ...
5
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2
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217
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First Declension Singular, Gen or Dat?
I'm learning the first declension and I am confused on how the word "terrae" is used as a genitive but can be used as a dative. How do I translate if I am given just the word "terrae?&...
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1
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Nomen agentis of 'Quaerere'
Everybody knows words like Terminator, Navigator, Laudator, ...
For verbs from the a conjugation is seems pretty simple to build the Nomen Agentis, what about words like 'Quaerere'?
I thought about ...
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5
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1
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96
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What people are considered to be part of "populus"?
Lewis and Short give the following in the dictionary entry for populus:
The people, opp. to the Senate, in the formula senatus populusque Romanus (abbreviated S. P. Q. R.), saep.; cf.: “et patres in ...
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How do you say “mask” in Latin?
What would be an appropriate Latin word to refer to the kind of mask you wear to fend of COVID-19? Dictionaries give me “persona” as the appropriate word for mask, but that seems that this would ...
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How to say something is on discount
"Discount" in the regular meaning: a product now costs less than it used to (usually deliberately by the seller).
I saw facio pretium is a phrase meaning "to set a price". So maybe ...
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Sources for listings of alternative forms of common words
Do you know any good sources for listings of alternative forms of common words.
For example most websites, books and tables only show "meo" for the Ablative of "meus", but there ...
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2
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Are “magna” and “maxima” incorrectly translated in these examples? (Seneca Epistula I)
I am reading the Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium by Seneca, both in the original Latin and in various translations for comparison/understanding (English, French, Italian, German). For the following ...
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To think of someone
I have been trying to translate this English phrase into Latin properly, and I started to check it in some resources.
In this text it goes: "..., cum de tuis cogitas,...". And I have no idea ...
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Latin to Latin Dictionary
I have a few Latin to English and English to Latin dictionaries, but I was wondering whether there is such a thing as a Latin to Latin dictionary, and, if so, where one might be found. There are, of ...
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Translation of Fratres Occasi
Someone in my organization is trying to sell memorial challenge coins with the text "Fratres Occasi", which they claim means "Fallen Brothers".
This seems, not right to me. My ...
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1
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What would be the best word for "destroyer"?
There are a few different words I've found with the meaning of "one who destroys or ruins", though most are fairly rare or only poetical. Is there a more commonly used word that I am missing?...
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What is the best way to say "OK" in Latin as an exclamation?
The word "Ok" in English can be used in multiple ways, though one of the most simple is as an exclamation that one was told something. As an example:
Iulius: Marcus, I had your toga dry-...
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35
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What is the best Latin counterpart for 'reach' or 'contact'?
In English you can use the verbs "reach" or "contact" to mean being in contact with someone without specifying the method.
When you don't want to specify whether you are writing a ...
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How do say something like "for a good time, call Aemilia" in Latin?
Here in the US, a cliched bit of graffiti you can often find written on the stall of a public bathroom is:
For a good time, call Aemilia.
The phrase implies that calling Aemilia will result in some ...
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5
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What does the word "numquid" literally mean?
I have come across this word a few times in more later Latin texts. Would this word be merely synonymous with 'num' and 'quid' or is there a different shade of meaning that can be explained through a ...
6
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1
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"This is the way" from The Mandalorian in Latin
The phrase "this is the way" is used multiple times in the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. The phrase is used to affirm that taking an action is done because this is the way that the ...
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4
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1
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"conpositio" or "compositio"?
In the entry of the Gaffiot dictionary for "compositio", there is a reference to Cicero De legimus (Liber II [55]).
However in this passage, according to Wikisource, Cicero wrote "...
user10593
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1
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How would I describe something as almost human?
I'm thinking of titling something "almost human", and in this case the subject would be a person (although as a title of a work I am totally fine with this being applicable to more than just ...
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4
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3
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Scientific name for living toys
In a world were living toys exist and are known (like Toy Story but with their sentience been common knowledge), what would be the Latin scientific name for a toy? In a similar way of how homo sapiens ...
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1
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Did Plautus say "morbus hepatiarius" or "morbus hepatarius"?
The word hepat(i)arius seems to be a hapax found in Plautus's Curculio.
The meaning and use of the adjective seems interesting, but this question is focused on its form. Is the right form hepatarius ...
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What does "ensem sufferre" mean?
In Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Roma Aeterna: Ch. 37 Line 173:
Cui (=Priamō) Pyrrhus “Nunc morere!” inquit, senemque ... ad ipsam āram trāxit, ubi laevā comam eius prehendēns dextrā ēnsem ...
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What are some loanwords in Latin where there is no native synonym?
My question about a Latin word for "tattoo" prompted some surprise in me that the Romans didn't borrow a word for tattoo. One would think that some group of people they interacted with who ...
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Is there a noun for a tattoo?
If I'm reading it correctly, Cicero uses the verb compungo in De Officiis to mean something like "branded" to describe tattoos:
Qui, ut scriptum legimus, cum uxorem Theben admodum diligeret,...
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2
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How to find original meaning of a Latin or Greek word in the Biological Taxonomy?
I have started compiling a list of Latin/Greek prefixes/suffixes for the biological taxonomy. However, when searching for parts of words (or whole words even), google often times returns 0 results. ...
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"Picea" mean Spruce or pitch pine?
While going through the name of the tree I find that Oxford Dictionary translated "picea" as a Spruce and while lewis translated it as a pitch pine. Both these are different trees.
Why ...
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1
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Does Latin "sexus" also mean "6" in English?
I started learning Latin (self-learning), I used Oxford and online Latin-English dictionary
but on translating the word "sexus" online dictionary it gives sex and six but the book gives only ...
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1
answer
182
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Difference between vito and caveo
I was reading De Imitatione Christi to get more familiar with the structure of a text in Latin and I notice that the author usually uses the verb caveo whenever referring to 'avoid' or 'beware' (such ...
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3
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Translating “Claim Joy” as a Personal Motto
I’m trying to come up with a good translation for my own personal motto, “Claim Joy.” I use it in the context of my own mental health struggles and a reminder that you can’t wait for happiness, you ...
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Can δῖος legitimately be translated as "boundless?"
Homer uses the set phrases ἅλα δῖαν and ἠῶ δῖαν to describe the sea and the dawn. Some 19th century commentators and translators (Buckley) think δῖαν should be read here as "boundless." The ...
user3597
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1
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“Hic” or “hīc”?
The pronoun hic (this) is written with short i in many places, e.g. Oxford Latin Dictionary. But in Lewis & Short: Latin-English dictionary and Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar, it is ...
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2
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What is the meaning behind "calcostegis" from the Appendix Probi?
I saw this entry from the Appendix Probi and can't seem to decide what it is exactly and what it means? From looking at it, it has something to do with walking from the 'calco' part, but not sure ...
2
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1
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Does vagor mean to bleat?
Normally I think of vagor as a deponent verb meaning to wander.
However, in the following online dictionary, they list vagor as meaning instead to bleat or wail or cry: https://www.online-latin-...
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2
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How would the Ancient Greeks have said "Egyptian black marble"
I have been researching Zeus' throne, and have found several sources that say the throne was made of black marble. One source, Robert Graves, was even more specific, saying it was Egyptian black ...
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Does, "Apostolus Hiberniae" end in an "ae" ligature or are the letters separate?
Could someone help me with the Latin translation of, "Apostle of Ireland"? I have found, "Apostolus Hiberniae". Does "Hiberniae" have end in the "æ" ligature or ...
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What is the vocabulary in the Homeric dialect for the parts of the body?
What is the vocabulary in the Homeric dialect for the parts of the body? Collecting these is a somewhat time-consuming process, because often the Greek concepts don't map one-to-one onto the English ...
user3597
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Which would be the best word for "abyss" in classical Latin?
In Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, he has the following well-known line:
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, ...
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7
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'fuam' and 'forem' not available in first and second person plural?
I found alternative forms of present and imperfect conjunctive forms of 'esse' on the german-latin dictionary website https://latin.cactus2000.de/showverb.php?verb=esse&form=esse :
I realized ...
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3
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Is "necesse" an adjective or an adverb
Introduction
My enquiry arrises from a passage in “Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana” in its tenth chapter which is entitled “BESTIAE ET HOMINES” on its fifty-ninth line which is as ...
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