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.
599
questions
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1answer
48 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 ...
2
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1answer
82 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 ...
4
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2answers
113 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
67 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.
...
4
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2answers
118 views
The meaning of 'belgicare' in Notker Balbulus
What is the meaning of the obscure verb belgicare or belgico?
Background
Notker Balbulus of St. Gall (c. 840 to 912) writes this verb in a letter/epistle to a certain Lantbert, wherein Notker defines ...
2
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1answer
122 views
Does Latin “pingo” relate to “pix”? [closed]
Does Latin "pingo" to paint relate to "pix" tar by analogy with "pango" to agree and "pax" peace?
3
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1answer
59 views
Can I submit a manuscript with 'submittere'?
As a scientist, I frequently find myself submitting a manuscript to a journal for peer review and hopefully publication.
What would be a good Latin verb for this sense of "submit"?
It could also be a ...
3
votes
2answers
358 views
Does “aurea” have the second meaning?
Does "aurea" have the second meaning?
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=aurea&la=la#lexicon aurea doesn't mean "the bridle of a horse" in the following context in my opinion:
"...
4
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2answers
131 views
Can one create a diminutive of a truncated form of “frater”?
In Spanish we have the word mano for hermano ("brother"), and that form can give the diminutive manito, when the brother is very small (less than one). In Latin, like in Italian, it might be possible ...
7
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1answer
674 views
Translating 'Liber'
I'm new to Latin (in the first semester), and recently found myself tripped up when reading a text from another student in my class, which was:
ille liber mihi nunc bonum est
Whether it was lack ...
5
votes
2answers
142 views
What should we call the space beyond the world?
To the Romans, if I understand right, the word caelum "sky" incorporated everything above the earth: the atmosphere, the space beyond it, and even the thrones of the gods.
But nowadays we divide ...
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1answer
596 views
Why is the phrase “horror vacui” commonly interpreted as “nature abhors a vacuum”?
Why is the Latin phrase: horror vacui commonly interpreted as: nature abhors a vacuum?
It may well be Aristotle's intended message, given the context, but it seems like a bit of a jump. Doesn't it? ...
4
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1answer
127 views
What would a Roman call modern necromancy?
Originally, the word necromantīa referred to a sort of divination using ghosts, like what Odysseus did on his journey home: he made an offering and summoned the shade of Tiresias, in order to ask him ...
9
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1answer
278 views
The opposing meanings of the word donec?
I saw that "donec" might mean: "as long as", but it also can mean "till". In a sense those are opposing meanings. let's consider this example:
I'm happy as long as there is daylight outside
I'm ...
6
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4answers
1k views
A latin word for “area of interest”
Looking for a word that expresses "Area of Interest", "Sphere of Interest" basically a word that expresses everything a person may be interested in.
Google translate says "Rem" means interest, but ...
8
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1answer
437 views
What is Plautus’s pun about frustum and frustrum?
The word frustum is often mispronounced as frustrum.
Wikipedia states that this mispronunciation goes back a long time and a pun about them is included in the works of Plautus.
Can anyone direct me ...
7
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2answers
181 views
How were fractions written and pronounced?
In English, when we want to express parts of wholes and certain numbers of said parts, we use fractions consisting of a denominator indicating how many equal pieces an item has been broken or divided ...
2
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1answer
109 views
Is the Latin word verenda a noun? If so, which lexical root it has?
Is the Latin word verenda a noun? If so, which lexical root does it have?
Deu.25:11:
"Si habuerint inter se jurgium viri duo, et unus contra alterum rixari coeperit, volensque uxor alterius ...
7
votes
1answer
511 views
Is crescere the correct word meaning to to grow or cultivate?
I am creating a program that helps people learn a growth mindset and “grow” into what they want to become. Is crescere the correct word meaning to to grow or cultivate?
3
votes
2answers
770 views
What would be a literal translation of “Satan”?
In Ancient Greek, the Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan, "adversary") is sometimes translated as διάβολος (diábolos, "betrayer") and sometimes adapted as Σατανᾶς (Satanâs).
In Latin, it seems like there ...
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6answers
9k views
Is Cola “probably the best-known” Latin word in the world? If not, which might it be?
I found this in an ecological park:
Cola is actually a Latin word (a scientific one, referring to the plant), albeit its etymology is African.
I am curious about whether it is "probably" the best-...
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2answers
2k views
How to find the stem of any word?
I am wondering if the stem of every word has an exact form?
For example:
For the word genus, how could you determine is it gen or gener?
For the word līber, how could you determine is it līber or ...
4
votes
3answers
137 views
Why there are several words for swimming?
The words nō, natō, adnō are all verbs which means to swim. They have their own conjugation respectively.
Maybe there are not only three, but I'm not sure.
I wonder why there are several words in ...
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3answers
187 views
Does 'ipse' truly mean change?
This quote hails from the liner notes to this CD: John Adams's Violin Concerto performed by Leila Josefowicz, David Robertson of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Alice Miller Cotter has a BA in Music (...
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6answers
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How to say 'striped' in Latin
I'm looking for a way to describe striped cloth — that is, with regular stripes all over, or like the stripes on the flag of the USA.
I'm well aware of the stripe on a toga, angusticlavus, etc. But ...
6
votes
1answer
163 views
In what sense is a university (universitas) a whole?
The word for a university in many languages (not Finnish though!) comes the Latin word universitas.
The word appears to mean roughly "the whole", but one might also analyze it along the lines of "...
3
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4answers
166 views
How do you translate: What things, then, will you do?
How do you translate the following sentence:
What things, then, will you do?
I am particularly doubtful of the translation of "things" here. Would we use res, rei?
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2answers
510 views
How would you say “same thing” in Latin?
How would you say "same thing" in Latin? As in the sentence: If only you were feeling the same thing that I feel for you?
5
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1answer
365 views
What would the Romans have called “sorcery”?
In Christian Latin, the word maleficia is used for "witchcraft" or "sorcery": supernatural powers that don't come from God, and are probably associated with demons. A person who uses these powers is a ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
An idiom for working as something
I would like to have a good idiom or two to express working in some position.
A structure like this seems to be missing from my vocabulary, or at least I don't feel confident enough that what I might ...
6
votes
2answers
737 views
What is a romance in Latin?
The word "romance" seems to come from Latin, but no similar Latin word appears to mean anything related.
Is there a good Latin word for a romance, a kind of an intimate relationship?
I cannot think of ...
3
votes
1answer
43 views
Usage of Exigo, Exigere
Can the verb "exigo, exigere, exegi, exactum," be used to mean "that man will pull through, despite his many injuries?"
Wheelocks' translation allows for the meanings of "drive through, complete, ...
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3answers
8k views
“Oh no!” in Latin
Are there idiomatic Latin exclamations similar to the English "oh no!" used when one finds oneself in an unfortunate situation?
The only thing that I came up with is that I might want to use vae or o ...
5
votes
1answer
206 views
Can “nemo” be an adjective?
I subscribe to a "Latin word of the day" email, which sends me a random vocabulary word and an example sentence every day. Last night's email had this:
pecco, to sin.
Nemo accusator caret culpa; ...
4
votes
1answer
81 views
Please translate: “Bacon Machine” (Apologies in advance for the somewhat silly question)
For a game I'm working on, I'm looking for a phrase in Latin that describes a robot created for the purpose of making synthetic bacon.
After looking at Latin grammar books, my current guess as to a ...
3
votes
1answer
145 views
Understanding the use of “regnavit”
Regnavit is the
third-person singular perfect active indicative of rēgnō
(Wiktionary)
Now, many times this word translated as if present, regnat, which is puzzling. For example, consider Psalm ...
3
votes
1answer
82 views
Is “eloquii mystici” a correct translation of “sorcerers/enchanters”?
Is "Omnus nos eloquii mystici" correctly written to say "We are all sorcerers/enchanters"? I know there are different ways to say sorcerer or enchanter, but I really want to use "eloquii mystici". I ...
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4answers
12k views
How do I say “Brexit” in Latin?
Londinium, Britannia, 284 AD. The military commander Carausius is leading a movement to take Britannia out of the Imperium Romanum. He thinks there is a conspiracy between locals and foreigners to ...
4
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1answer
95 views
What does the f. adjective “tulda” mean?
In the scientific name Bambusa tulda, I would like to know what tulda (tuldus?) means.
3
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2answers
2k views
What is the Latin word for “will”, as in “willpower”?
The English noun "will" has a few different meanings. One is the choice or intention to do something, as in "willing" and "free will": Latin voluntās.
Another meaning, though, is more like "resolve" ...
3
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1answer
58 views
Lost and Confused--Supplemental
I am advised to re-submit this as a separate question (had thought, initially, it was just an aside, barely worthy of mention); anyway, North & Hillard Ex. 195: "All order thus being lost, Nicias ...
4
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2answers
702 views
Uter vs. Uterque
The way I learned 'uter' and 'uterque' was as follows. 'Uter' is like the Greek 'πότερος', meaning (in interrogative uses) 'which, of two?' and (in non-interrogative uses) 'either, of two'. I learned ...
3
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2answers
59 views
Trying to come up with a sort of wordplay phrase that translates to “power takes control”
Trying to come up with a sort of wordplay phrase that translates to “power takes control” but uses a Latin word that can mean both takes as in requires and takes as in takes away from you. This is for ...
2
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1answer
87 views
How do I translate “On the Nature of Renewal” into Latin?
I'm trying to create a title in latin:
On the Nature of Renewal
where Renewal could be exchanged with Rebirth or Regeneration, and Nature is maybe better as Subject. With this structure, I figured ...
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3answers
2k views
Why is “ita vero” two words?
I was taught the way to say "yes" in Latin is two words: "ita vero". It seems counter-intuitive that it's two words, but why is that so? In essence, why is the Latin word for yes two words? Does "ita" ...
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1answer
147 views
<quality> even for being a <noun>
Salvēte omnēs, hocc erit mihi prīmum rogātum hāc in sēde. Haud dūdum vīdī quendam hominem scīscitārī, quōmodo posset Latīnē dīcī "he has a long tail, even for a cat". Ad quod rogātum cum respondēre ...
4
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1answer
392 views
Are there any words in Latin that are “light”?
In Latin, every syllable is either "light" or "heavy". A "heavy" syllable is one that has a long vowel and/or a coda consonant, and a "light" syllable is anything else. This distinction is important ...
4
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1answer
2k views
Phrasing “I am enough” in Latin
Can someone help me distinguish between "ego satis" vs "sum satis" vs "Ego satis superque sum"?
I want to say "I am enough" as in "good enough as a person".
3
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1answer
149 views
How many letters are words in Latin?
In English, there are a few words that sound the same as a single letter. Some are spelled with a single letter ("I", "a") while others are just pronounced that way ("eye", "cue", "why").
How many of ...
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1answer
1k views
What does 'i' mean in Latin
I was reading a story in Latin, and part of it said "i nunc, Mercuri". I don't know what i is in Latin. By the way, this line is said in dialogue. Is it a filler word similar to the "umm" or does it ...
