Questions tagged [classical-latin]

Questions concerning Latin of the classical era, approximately 75 BCE to 300 CE

The primary eras of Latin, with approximate dates, are:

For questions concerning specifically spoken Latin until the 6th century, use .

For changes in Latin within and especially across eras, use .

855 questions
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Does Latin have any Portmanteau words?

English has many examples of portmanteau words (e.g. "motel" is a combination of "motor" and "hotel"). Does Latin have any such phenomena?
8
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De mortuis nil nisi bene or bonum?

I was surprised to see that several (Hungarian) sources claim that De mortuis nihil nisi bonum is an incorrect version of De mortuis nil nisi bene, but I could find nothing supporting this theory in English. Can anyone shed some more light on the…
domotorp
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How do we get around the fact that 'extera' appears rarely as masculine

In the OLD it says that 'exter' is rare as a nom sing masc adjective but in the LASLA database it does not appear at all as a masc positive adjective in any case. As a superlative the masculine 'extremus' appears 16 times. So if you want to modify…
bobsmith76
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Was Classical Latin spoken fast like in the Romance languages or slow like in English?

Was Classical Latin spoken fast like in the Romance languages or slow like in English? In all the Nuntii Latini episodes, Classical Latin is spoken fast like in the Romance languages, https://areena.yle.fi/audio/1-1931339, Thomas Bervoets speaks…
Ana Maria
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For what copulative verbs is the nominative case used in addition to est?

I'm a real beginner, but I was reading that a noun is declined as nominative for the predicative nominative, so: cattus est canis, the cat is a dog both cat and dog would be declined in the nominative case. but I was curious if both nouns would be…
lincoln
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How would one say "such as" or "like" as prepositions

For example, how would one translate the prepositions in the following phrases: "The man is like a dog" or "We go many places, such as the forum"? What case would "canis" and "forum" be, respectively? I've tried looking in quite a few places, but…
Drew
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Express "female strength" in Latin

I am trying to find a name for a company related to a feminist movement. I put in "female strength" and it came back Vi Femina. Is this correct? I checked a different site and put in that Vi Femina and it came back with zero results. Assistance…
6
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Can magna be a noun or an adverb?

In this passage from Ars Poetica we find: Ī́ncēptī́s grăuĭbū́s plērū́mque‿ēt mā́gnă prŏfḗssis Pū́rpŭrĕū́s, lātḗ quī splḗndĕăt, ū́nŭs ĕt ā́lter Ā́dsŭĭtū́r pānnū́s I can't figure out if 'magna' is an adverb or a noun or if it is an adjective, which…
bobsmith76
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6
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Did Romans have only one suffix -uus?

I stumbled across this comment on using the "v" and "u" in the “linguistics” forum. My question is: what does "The Romans would not have differentiated the symbols" mean? Did Romans have only one suffix -uus? If so, why we, in the modern day,…
6
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When did the classical period of Latin end?

When did the classical period of Latin end? I found that it is different in various books. Wikipedia: 75 BC–AD 3rd century Oxford Latin Dictionary: ? BC–AD 200 Lewis and Short: unknown Allen and Greenough’s Latin Grammar (page 8): 80 BC–AD…
Display2
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The idiom "poenas dare" is translated passively. Why?

I'm new to Latin. I've been learning for about a month. I'm wondering if anyone can explain why "poenas dare" is often translated as "to pay the penalties" instead of "to give the penalties". I feel like "pay" is passive whereas "give" is active. Is…
Phillip
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Hi omnes lingua: Why lingua is put in singular?

The 2th sentence in De Bello Gallico Liber I. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. The word lingua is put Ablative Singular. Why? I am not a native speaker of Indo-European languages. It is hard for me to understand how one…
liridilis
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"Litus Saxonicum", or "Litus Saxonicus"

Well I have found the Saxon Shore written, in some sites, as "Litus Saxonicus", It seems OK, but I have found as well Litus Saxonicum. Source: Notitia dignitatum.
ephesinus
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5
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Saying hello to a mixed-gender group

If you were greeting a mixed-gender group, what would have been the most common way to do this in classical era Rome? Would they have said something like salvete amici et amicae, or would they have only used the masculine noun?
Adam
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Counterpoint to: De mortuis nil nisi bene [dicendum]

There's an old, and I guess relatively famous, aphorism "De mortuis nil nisi bene dicendum" ("Of the dead speak nothing but good"). I'm wondering if there are any classical Latin counterpoints or rebuttals to this. In particular I wonder one might…
user692
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