Most Popular
1500 questions
17
votes
1 answer
How does forem compare to essem?
The verb esse has two sets of imperfect conjunctive forms: essem, esses, esset… and forem, fores, foret…
What is the difference between these two, in meaning and in use?
Are there cases where only essem is valid, or ones where only forem is?
When…
Joonas Ilmavirta
- 113,294
- 21
- 192
- 587
17
votes
2 answers
Why do we say that an ablative absolute has a participle?
An ablative absolute consists of a noun in the ablative and a participle modifying it.
Except that that's not really the case. We frequently find the participle replaced with just an adjective (or even dropped altogether), with the result that in…
Mar Johnson
- 675
- 4
- 8
17
votes
1 answer
Why did Hieronymus choose to use Latin tenses that don't exist in Hebrew when translating for the Vulgata?
Nisi Dominus ædificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam. [psalm 126:1]
I am pretty sure that classical Hebrew has no future perfect tense, so how did Jerome arrive at his decision to employ it, and other un-Hebraic tenses, as…
Senex Ægypti Parvi
- 273
- 1
- 5
16
votes
1 answer
Why are the words for "children" (liberi) and "book" (libri) so similar?
While working in class, I came across this. They have a similar spelling, yet mean completely different things. Is this just random or does it have an actual purpose in the Latin language?
Book = Libri
Children = Liberi
Tmanzz122
- 183
- 1
- 9
16
votes
3 answers
Can "ee" appear in Latin?
There are a few instances in Latin where words are spelled with two vowels next to each other, in hiatus: filii "sons", metuunt "they fear".
Now, the last words of the Emperor Julian II are normally quoted as vicisti, Galilaee. The second word here…
Draconis
- 66,625
- 6
- 117
- 269
16
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between -us and -io?
One can derive nouns from verbs by attaching -us or -io to the perfect participle stem.
For example, movere gives rise to motus (fourth declension) and motio.
The meanings of these derived words are quite close to each other.
What is the difference…
Joonas Ilmavirta
- 113,294
- 21
- 192
- 587
16
votes
2 answers
What is the vocative of Gnaeus?
I would like to know how to decline the name Gnaeus in vocative.
I see three options:
Gnaee (regular declension)
Gnai (would make sense by analogy to Gai if the name is pronounced /gnaius/)
Gnaeus (if no declined vocative sounds natural, nominative…
Joonas Ilmavirta
- 113,294
- 21
- 192
- 587
16
votes
2 answers
Why is the "u" in "nuntius" and "nuntiare" long by exception?
First of all, a warm hello to all the users here!
I was recently thinking about the pronunciation of nūntius and nūntiāre along with its derivatives (such as prōnūntiāre). According to "Latin for Beginners" by Benjamin L. D'Ooge, the "ū" in…
Agrippa
- 163
- 7
16
votes
4 answers
What would be a "night owl" in Latin?
On the recommendation of an esteemed Finnish member of our forum, I decided to ask how one would translate "night owl" into Latin.
night owl (noun)
a person who keeps late hours at night
I first checked Whitaker's words, and the only general word…
ktm5124
- 12,014
- 5
- 35
- 74
16
votes
3 answers
Which common nouns have a locative?
I recently mentioned to someone the mnemonic I'd learned for the locative: "cities, towns, islands smaller than Rhodes, and domus and rus". In other words, only the names of cities, towns, and small islands, plus two common nouns, were able to take…
Draconis
- 66,625
- 6
- 117
- 269
16
votes
5 answers
What is the meaning of "Ex Lux", the name of Lucifer Morningstar's new bar?
I've been a fan of Mike Carey's Lucifer comic series, for its believable portrait of a fallen angel. The series spun off from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, which established this incarnation of Lucifer Morningstar.
In short, Lucifer gets tired of the…
Gallifreyan
- 262
- 1
- 2
- 7
16
votes
1 answer
Quare dicitur "poeta" et non "pœeta"?
"Why is it "poeta" and not "poeeta" in Latin?" This question occurs in the Harvard University Catalogue of 1872-73, but I haven't been able to find the answer. The reason I would expect "pœeta" is because it comes from Greek ποιητής poiētēs, and…
Asteroides
- 28,832
- 1
- 80
- 144
16
votes
1 answer
Was "mendicus" a term for the impotent or idle poor?
I came across the term mendicus in a 16th century English parish register.
According to Lewis & Short it means: "beggarly, needy, in want, indigent".
I understand the word derives from menda meaning fault, blemish, or physical defect.
Under the Poor…
Harry Vervet
- 487
- 7
- 12
16
votes
1 answer
Meaning and etymology of ūrīnor and ūrīna: "to dive" comes from "pee"?
Starting from a Bart Simpson prank call, I looked for "urinator" in Wiktionary, and suddenly found myself faced with the Latin meaning of the word, that is, ūrīnātor meaning "diver". And I was like no, I can't believe that. And things got even more…
MickG
- 3,275
- 1
- 11
- 22
16
votes
2 answers
Why does uacuus have three syllables?
I stumbled across this question on the pronunciation of 'vacuum' in the “linguistics” forum.
My question is: If uacuus is *wak+wo- why does uacuus have three syllables, but uiuus, paruus, caluus etc. have only two? Is there a rule that says that *wu…
fdb
- 17,845
- 1
- 23
- 47