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Is Cola "probably the best-known" Latin word in the world? If not, which might it be?
I found this in an ecological park:
Cola is actually a Latin word (a scientific one, referring to the plant), albeit its etymology is African.
I am curious about whether it is "probably" the best-known Latin word in the world. If not, which one…
luchonacho
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Is there a Latinism for "under fire"/"in combat"/"under duress"?
This question is partially open ended.
I'm looking for a Latin idiom or euphemism or phrase that expresses something being from or related to practice as opposed to being related to theory. Something that was practiced or developed or is otherwise…
Valerie
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What was the sibilant in θάλασσα?
The word θάλασσα thálassa "sea" is spelled in various different ways, with different letters replacing the sigmas: some dialects had a tau, for example, while others had a theta.
Do we know (through loans and cognates, for example, or transcriptions…
Draconis
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Etymology of "salarium" and its connection to salt
It has been asked before both in the English Language & Usage site and the Spanish Language site about the etymology of salary and salario, respectively. In both cases, this site was mentioned as a more suitable place to ask this question, but it…
Charlie
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Does mentula ("penis") derive from the same root as mens ("mind"), and if so why?
The Latin word mentula isn't properly defined in the Lewis & Short dictionary, but it does show up on Latin-Dictionary.net and Wiktionary. Both those dictionaries define mentula as "penis". But what's striking about this word is its resemblance to…
ktm5124
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When did the Romans start using Z?
Several of my recent questions have touched on the letter Z, which was introduced fairly late to the alphabet (it's disappeared from its Phoenician position and been added back in at the end, in its Greek form).
Clearly it wasn't in common use in…
Draconis
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14
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Why does "e" occur in forms of 'vōs' but not 'nōs'?
The forms of nōs and vōs exhibit a pattern, except in the genitive (nostrī/um, vestrī/um) and the possessive (noster, vester). Did vōs originally resemble nōs in all its forms, only to diverge later? If so, what caused the change, and why did nōs…
Slade
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14
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Saints: sanctus or divus?
I was in Bologna last week, and a couple of churches had an inscription about their dedication to a saint.
To my surprise, they used the word divus instead of sanctus.
For example, a church may be dedicated to divus Paulus instead of sanctus…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Were 'th' and 'ch' aspirated in classical Latin?
I have been taught that 'th' and 'ch' were pronounced just like 't' and 'c' in classical Latin, with no aspiration.
The answer to this earlier question confirms that 't' and 'c' had indeed little or no aspiration.
But did 'th' and 'ch' really lack…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Were voiceless stops (p, t, c, qu) aspirated in Classical Latin?
In English, the voiceless stops/plosives (p, t, k, "hard" c) are aspirated, particularly when beginning a word. That is, speakers release a burst of air when saying pop, tea, kaluha, or coffee (put your hand in front of your mouth and try…
Nathaniel is protesting
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14
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What is the earliest known word borrowed from Latin to Greek?
There was a great cultural borrowing of ideas from Greece to Rome, and a number of Greek words ended up being borrowed to Latin.
But it must have happened the other way, too, at some point.
What is the earliest known word borrowed from Latin to…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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14
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3 answers
Which verbs have reduplicated perfect stems?
Certain verbs, such as curro, have reduplicated perfect stems (such as cucurri). Other verbs, such as facio, fero had a reduplicated perfect stem in Old Latin (as seen on the Praeneste fibula) which were levelled by the time of Classical…
jogloran
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Can -que be attached to a word ending in -que?
Some Latin words end in -que (for example quinque, vocative of adjectives ending in -quus and imperatives like relinque), but I have never seen the conjunction -que attached to such words.
Are there examples of having a double -que in this sense?
Do…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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2 answers
When did Caesar's works begin to be used to teach Latin to non-native speakers?
Eleanor Dickey, a professor of Classics, responded recently to a question about the works read by those learning Latin as a second language in the Greek-speaking ancient world:
[Students in the East] start on Virgil (mainly the Aeneid) and Cicero…
Nathaniel is protesting
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14
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What is the difference in meaning or nuance between 'premō' and 'imprimō' in the sense of 'I press'?
Wiktionary shows that both premō and imprimō can mean (among other things) "I press."
Looking at the formation of the latter word, the prefix im-, can negate the root word. How this applies to this particular word (even in the sense of "imprint")…
Flimzy
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