New answers tagged word-choice
21
votes
Both "fēmina" and "mulier" mean "woman": what's the difference?
In Republican and early Imperial Latin, mulier was more common, and fēmina was more markedly respectful
Although it might seem surprising to speakers of modern languages where using the word "...
- 24.1k
5
votes
"Semitic languages" in Classical Latin
As pointed out, the Romans did not have a concept of language families as we understand them today. They did however have a concept of some peoples speaking languages that were similar to or "the ...
- 373
16
votes
"Semitic languages" in Classical Latin
While fdb is absolutely correct that the ancient Romans had no conception of language families, we can come up with a plausible calque—a literal translation of each component of a word or phrase.
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- 56.5k
6
votes
"Semitic languages" in Classical Latin
The ancient Romans had no concept of language families, nor of Semites (the supposed descendants of Noah’s son Shem). There is consequently no word for “Semitic languages” in Classical Latin.
- 16.5k
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