Questions tagged [english-to-latin-translation]

For questions about translating English words or phrases into Latin. Bulk translation requests are off-topic.

On this site, is intended for questions specifically about translating things from English to Latin. For example, you could ask

  • How a word fits into a sentence
  • For a colloquial translation when your literal one makes no sense
  • What case to use in a specific usage

Some effort must be made for the question to be considered on-topic. Questions posting a passage and asking for a translation will simply be closed; posting a sentence, an attempt at a translation – even simply listing the words you think might fit – and then ask for help, will be welcomed by the community. See also and How can I ask a translation or homework question?

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What's the Latin for motorcycle

A long time ago, probably when I was auditing botanical Latin, I recall someone saying what the Latin word for motorcycle would be. It was a long and literal description of what one is given that such machines didn't exist when Latin was "alive."…
Joyal
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Speaking about an inflected word in Latin

In English, it is fairly common to write/say such sentences as the following: What is the possessive case of she? Should I use who or whom after man? What is the past participle of run? These kinds of questions quickly get thorny when I attempt to…
brianpck
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How to translate “Wir müssen wissen, wir werden wissen.” into Latin?

“Wir müssen wissen, wir werden wissen.” — David Hilbert “We need to know, we will know.” — David Hilbert I was trying to translate this quote into Latin while preserving the parallelism between the two parts but I couldn't come with something…
user10176
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Latin for clockwise/anticlockwise?

I'm trying to express 'clockwise' and 'anti-clockwise' in Latin, for which there are not likely to be classical precedents. Other languages generally seem to lack such brief and simple expressions : in German and French, for example, it's necessary…
Tom Cotton
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Don't let the bastards grind you down

The intertubes are awash with grammatically incorrect "translations" of the phrase "don't let the bastards grind you down" (please pardon my French :-) Can someone please provide a correct and definitive (canonical) translation? [Update] Chaps, I…
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Captain Jean-Luc Picard's, "Make it so!"

"Star-Trek" aficionados ("The Next Generation" 1987-1994) may recall that in trying circumstances, Captain Picard would accept advice, from crew-members, with a "Make it so!". In Latin could this be one word, an imperative: "fac(ite)!" = "Make (it…
tony
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Deliberately ambiguous translation of "Songs of the wild dog"

I am translating the phrase "Songs of the wild dog" into Latin, and I have the following: Canti Cantus Canis Feri For context, this is the title of a music album I am working on. Aside from accuracy in translation, could this phrase mean anything…
Adam
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How do you say, "I will remember you", or "I will never forget you," in Latin?

I'm trying to write a letter to a friend in Latin, but I do not trust google translate. Help?
Lucy A.
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Help with translating "For those about to die, we salute you" ?

I want to riff off the famous saying "those about to die salute you". According to wikipedia the original is: "Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant" ("Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you") I want to change it to "Hail, Project…
Alex Kinman
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Translating a phrase from "The Mandalorian": I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold

A little bit of context: There is this character called Mando who is a "bounty hunter", someone who carries out certain tasks (mainly underworld) and gets rewarded with a handsome amount of money. The thing is, sometimes his means are a bit harsh,…
Diego Ojeda
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"Les morts gouvernent les vivants" - "The Dead govern the living" - Auguste Comte

Living in France & participating in traditional Latin masses, I'm only vaguely familiar with some Latin in very specific contexts. I was looking to translate the sentence "Les Morts gouvernents les vivants / The dead govern the living" from an…
Joseph
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How can I translate "Who cares for the carers?"

Trying for a pithy bit of Latin to echo "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Carers as in doctors / nurses etc. Sorry, to clarify... My understanding / interpretation is that "who guards the guards?" is that it is a cleverly circular idea that you might…
Saul
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Trying to translate "Master Thyself" into Latin

"Know thyself" or "temet nosce" is a well known Latin term meaning to look deep into yourself and really understand who you are. I would like to know how to say "Master thyself" in the sense of now that you know yourself, are you disciplined enough…
Marcus
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Is There a Latin Euphemism for "Dying"/ "Dead"?

One of Joonas's old Qs. has made a welcome return: Is there a Latin euphemism for going to the toilet?. This brought to mind the fatuous things we say about death: "He's passed over."; "He's passed on."; currently in vogue; "He's passed."; this…
tony
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Why did Cicero use The Royal "We"?

Thanks to Ben Kovitz who, in Q: "gerund + genitive" vs "gerund+accusative" ("scribendo epistulas" vs "scribendo epistularum"), pointed out Cicero's referring to himself in the first-person plural, in the following: "...[ ]...ut stante re publica…
tony
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