Questions tagged [word-comparison]
For questions about comparing two or more words, not for comparative forms of adjectives.
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Why is πλοῦτος sometimes neuter?
I was reading some of the letters of St. Paul recently and noticed that πλοῦτος is sometimes neuter, e.g. Ephesians 1:7:
. . . ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ...
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ūro vs adūro in Ritchie's Fabulae faciles (Hercules, §22)
I read in Ritchie's Fabulae faciles ([Hercules, §22], macrons are mine):
(Hercules is about to attack the hydra)
Mox mōnstrum inuēnit, et quamquam rēs erat magnī perīculī, collum ēius
sinistrā ...
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Is verus (true) etymologically related to viridis / vireo (green / to be green)?
Is verus (true) etymologically related to viridis / vireo (green / to be green)?
The closest to this that St. Isidore in his Etymologies p. 124 says:
Switches (virga) are the tips of branches and ...
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Why is computatorium considered to be a better word than computatrum? (For the English word "computer")
I was watching a Luke Ranieri video in which he mentioned that computatrum isn't a very good word for computer, and that computatorium is much better, and that people should stop using computatrum. ...
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Is there a relationship between καθαιρέω ("destroy") and καθαίρω ("purify")?
καθαιρέω and καθαίρω look remarkably similar and seem to have similar meanings: "destroy" and "purify/purge," respectively.
It came as some surprise to me, though, that I couldn't ...
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Adverbial numeral for the "teen"s
I noticed this numeral while reading Regulus, the Latin version of the Little Prince. In the scene that the businessman shows his sum of stars, he says:
Cinq cent un millions six cent vingt-deux ...
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sempiternus vs. æternus
What's the difference between sempiternus ("always eternal") and æternus ("eternal")?
Does æternus refer to creatures (e.g., angels and human souls) that were created in time but ...
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What's the difference between "ultio" and "vindicta"?
my Latin is terrible and a buddy of mine wants a proper translation for a tattoo, “Revenge is in the hands of the father” and I am getting mixed up by vindicta and ultio. Would it be, “Ultio in ...
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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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How to say "after all" in Latin?
Wiktionary says "after all" is a prepositional phrase. It shows these three words: denique, demum, tandem
The English-Latin dictionary I have says it's an adverbial phrase. It shows these ...
user11898
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What is the difference between the Greek words "χρονος" and "καιρος", both meaning "time"?
In my YouTube video explaining why I don't believe in afterlife, I used, among others, the following argument I came up by myself:
Et si homines habent animam quae tempus potest sentire, quomodo id ...
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What are the differences between these three words linguistically?
According to Annals of Tacitus there are three words that derive from "Arsac":
Arsacis (e.g. VI:33)
Arsacidis (XIII:37)
Arsacidarum (e.g. XII:10)
What are the differences between these ...
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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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Best translation - "Live Deliberately" - vive de industria? vive deliberate? vive consilium?
What would the best translation of "Live Deliberately" be as a motto? I'm thinking of a few different phrases: vive de industria? vive deliberate? vive consilium? Not sure what is best.
...
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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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Difference between ἑβδομάς and Σάββατον?
Searching for "week" in the LXX Septuagint, I think hebdomas is used for the entire week as a whole, whereas Sabbath for weekdays, and weekend. But hebdomados could be used for the week as ...
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Both "fēmina" and "mulier" mean "woman": what's the difference?
The word fēmina is used with the meaning "woman":
Of human beings, a female, woman (cf.: uxor, mulier, matrona; conjux, marita)
(Lewis and Short)
(Fēmina also means "female" when ...
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What's the difference between aster, stella, sidus and astrum in Latin?
aster, stella, sidus and astrum are are all nearly means or related to stars. But are there any key differences between these words ?
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Relationship between συμφορά and συμφέρω
A συμφορά generally means a "misfortune"; συμφέρω, however, is unambiguously positive: "to be beneficial."
It's a little strange that τὰ συμφέροντα and συμφορά are (essentially) ...
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Latin Equivalent of "Comparing Apples and Oranges"
Is there an equivalent Latin expression that is similar to "comparing apples and oranges"?
For example:
Person 1: Our hockey goalie is so much better than your hockey goalie! Our hockey ...
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'Aurifer' or 'Auriferus'?
What is the masculine form of "Aurifera" ?
I supposed it was "auriferus":
Tibicen auriferus is like a goldish beetle.
http://www.masscic.org/sightings/cicadas/tibicen-auriferus-in-...
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The difference between ᾰ̓́στρον (ástron) and ἀστήρ (astḗr) in Ancient Greek
The words ᾰ̓́στρον (ástron) and ᾰ̓στήρ (astḗr) both apparently refer to a celestial body (typically stars and planets).
Other than ᾰ̓́στρον being a 'second declension' noun and ᾰ̓στήρ being a 'third ...
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Prana = anima or spiritus?
On p. 188 of Breath, James Nestor writes:
The concept of prana was first documented in India and China…, some 3,000 years ago, and became the bedrock of medicine. The Chinese called it ch'i and ...
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What is the difference in meaning between postposition "causa" and preposition "propter"?
What is the difference in meaning between the postposition "causa" and the preposition "propter"? Both mean "because", right?
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Minimal pair for hidden quantity
Is there an example where the quantity of a vowel makes a difference in a syllable that is heavy by position?
For a concrete example, this does happen in Finnish (where long vowels are written as ...
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Difference between erga and quoad?
In medieval Latin, is there a difference between erga and quoad? They both seem to mean "with respect to".
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What is the difference between the words petere and interrogare?
I was trying to say something around the lines of
what more to ask
which it's kind of an idiom which I think it means something around the lines of "I don't need to ask for anything else"?
...
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cunnilingus vs cunnilinctus
I'm interested in the morphology of these two words. How are they structured and does their structure affect their meaning at all?
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Are Κηφάς (a Greek proper name), κεϕαλή (head), and πέτρος (rock) etymologically related?
Saint Peter was named Cephas by Jesus, which is recorded in the gospels as the Greek translation Πέτρος. Are Κηφάς (a Greek proper name < Aramaic כיפא, kēp̄ā, "rock"), κεϕαλή (head), and ...
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Are pignus, pinguedo, & piger etymologically related?
Are pignus (pledge), pinguedo (fat), and piger (lazy person) etymologically related?
de Vaan p. 465 says:
The etymology [of pignus] is uncertain, since one can imagine a meaning "pledge, surety&...
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commence < commensa = "joint table"?
M. J. Toswell, Today's Medieval University p. 24 claims a new master
would eat at the commensa, the joint table, after his commencement ceremony of stepping upward
Does the English word "...
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Are ἄρσην, ἄρσις and θήλυ, θέσις etymologically related?
In Mt. 19:14, "άρσεν και θήλυ" means "male and female".
In music terminology ἄρσις means a stressed/emphasized sound, and θέσις the corresponding unstressed one.
Is ἄρσις ...
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Amar vs encantar in Latin
As I've understood it, in Spanish there's a difference between using amar for people and encantar for things. Is there a similar difference in Latin?
This page describes the difference:
https://...
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Did the Romans use 'animus' and 'anima' together?
The words animus and anima are pretty close to each other, and their difference has been explored on this site before.
In order to understand their nuances in classical Latin I would like to see an ...
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Are "pater", "parens", "parturitio", & "partitio" etymologically related?
Are pater (father), parens (procreator), parturitio (parturition), and partitio (partition) etymologically related?
Phonetic and semantic similarities lead me to think they might be related. I can't ...
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Differences between cano and canto
In Cap. X of LLPSI, Ørberg introduces the verb cano, having introduced canto in a previous chapter. The usage of both so far is just sing, but are there more nuanced differences between the two?
From ...
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When to use ae vs a for plurals?
I'm reading Familia Romana book and encountered these 2 sentences.
Corsica et Sardinia insulae magnae sunt.
And
Brundisium et Sparta oppida magna sunt.
Why does the ae changes to a and vice versa?
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What is the relation and history of 'si' and 'sic'?
Lewis and Short tell me that sic comes from si by adding the particle -ce.
I can understand sice wearing down to sic, but I do not quite understand how I am supposed to understand the meanings of the ...
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Two levels of 'and'
What I am looking for is best illustrate by an example, so please excuse the detour.
In Finnish there are two words for "and": "ja" and "sekä".
When used together, "...
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Lonely vs. alone
A person is alone when there are no other people around.
A person is lonely when the presence of other people is missed.
Neither implies the other; you can be lonely but not alone or alone but not ...
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What are the differences between "demens" and "insanus"? Are there any single Latin words (nouns) for "insane person"?
First, I'm struggling with understanding the difference between demens and insanum.
My understanding is that demens is an adjective (insane). I've also seen insanum in a few online dictionaries (here'...
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Can we finally know the difference between these words?
There seem to be four different Latin words, all of which are common, and all of which seem to mean exactly the same thing, "finally":
tandem
denique
demum
postremo
Is there any difference ...
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What is the difference between 'etiam' and 'enim'?
In Latin etiam and enim seem to have pretty similar meanings.
I notice that both Greek and Latin seem to use connective words like this a lot, I suppose because they had no punctuation, so they serve ...
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Euler passage translation (Latin in 18th century)
I would like to include a translation of a brief passage from Euler's music text Tentamen novae theoriae musicae (1739) in an article I am writing, but find the original somewhat tricky to work with. ...
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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?
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Distinguishing house from home
The common word domus can mean both "house" and "home".
How can I make a distinction between a house and a home in Latin?
For example, I might buy a house but it doesn't feel like ...
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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 ...
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Romans and Ancient Greek language [duplicate]
Is there evidence in the inscriptions, that Romans have realised, that Hellenic languages are very close to theirs own language!? It seems to be that the distinguish was applied to the Etruscan ...
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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 ...
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