The context is the Nova Vulgata translation of Hosea 4:5:
Et corrues plena die, et corruet etiam propheta tecum nocte; et perdam matrem tuam.
How would I translate the phrase, plena die, into English? I believe it is in the Ablative Absolute.
Would it be something like: "in the fullness of day" . . . or, "when the day is full" . . . or, "all day long"?
Thanks for any help!
Your second option is the best bet, but it's not an ablative absolute. It's an ablative of time, which is what's used when you want to express at what time something happens (i.e. at night, on the third day). You can see some examples here.
It's a strange phrase in Latin for sure, but I wonder if it might have been crafted upon the phrase luna plena (full moon), so that it would mean something like "high noon"? I only see it once in Honoratus, but it's unclear what exactly it means in that passage.
For what it's worth, the Vulgate simply as hodie, but that doesn't seem right. The Hebrew doesn't have anything about "fullness," and instead simply contrasts "the day" with "the night," so that a parallel should be formed in the Latin, too. Thus I'd be inclined to leave out any mention of fullness at all and go with a regular ablative of time, i.e. when it's day, during the day, in the day (as opposed to when it's night, in the night, during the night, etc.).
