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"Caesus et Clausus"

Is that grammatically correct? It's meant as a short motto whose meaning (in this case) I think would be "Struck/beaten and Shut off/Enclosed/Sealed", for a male character who has suffered some such terrible fate.

The purpose of this exercise is to make a short motto using the words Caesus and Clausus.

Edit: And rather then Clausus, is there any Conjugation of Claudo [L&S] that I could use (in the hopes of reaching something more sonorous, with a solid 'd' in it rather then 's' 's' 's' 's')? Specifically: Is there any way to use the Caes- and Claud- stems together?

Johan88
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Yes, it is grammatically correct, assuming you are referring to something masculine — or a person or animal of unknown gender. If you want feminine or neuter, or perhaps a plural of some gender, you will need to change the endings.

If you want something with the stems caed- and claud- instead of the -s- in the perfect stems, then I would suggest caedor et claudor ("I am cut and closed") or caeditur et clauditur ("he/she/it is cut and closed"). These are different to use since these are personal forms instead of participles. It is also possible to mix, like caesus claudor ("I am closed when I am cut"), but then the two verbs are not on equal footing. Yet another way to vary the motto is to use -que instead of et (see this question for a comparison), as in caedor claudorque.

The real trick is in choosing the words with the most suitable meanings. Take a look in Lewis and Short at caedere and claudere to get more details than Wiktionary gives. I can't judge whether they mean exactly what you want, but they look like reasonable choices to me. If you don't like the way it looks, you can try any of the numerous other online Latin dictionaries.

Joonas Ilmavirta
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  • Thanks so much. I updated my question after your advice. Choosing words was not hard for me in this exercise, but choosing the right inflection/conjugation of those words is what I struggle with, so I need to verify everything with those who are familiar with linguistics and the nuances of Latin/Greek. Thanks so much. :) – Johan88 Nov 06 '17 at 15:32
  • @user1988 I added a little something to the answer. – Joonas Ilmavirta Nov 06 '17 at 20:11
  • Thank you very much Mr Joonas. A very informative answer. Much obliged. :) – Johan88 Nov 07 '17 at 07:04
  • a final note: is Caesus Claususque grammatically correct? – Johan88 Nov 16 '17 at 17:12
  • @user1988 Yes, caesus claususque is grammatically correct and means (more or less) the same as caesus et clausus. – Joonas Ilmavirta Nov 16 '17 at 17:23
  • 'more or less'? If you were to give an English translation if Caesus Claususque may I please ask what it would be Mr Joonas? – Johan88 Nov 16 '17 at 17:33
  • @user1988 I would translate both the same way. There is a difference in nuance between et and -que, and it was addressed in the first question on this site (also linked in my answer above). In this case I see no big difference, so it's mostly a matter of taste. If you want more details than the linked question gives, you can ask a separate question about comparing caesus et clausus to caesus claususque. – Joonas Ilmavirta Nov 16 '17 at 17:38
  • Thank you so much Mr @JoonasIlmavirta . Once again you've made my day . – Johan88 Nov 16 '17 at 17:45