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1500 questions
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2 answers
Translation of a Jodocus Hondius map inscription
Could anyone help me understand the meaning of the Latin in this Jodocus Hondius map from the early 1600s?
Exquisita & magno aliquot mensium periculo lustrata et iam retecta Freti Magellanici Facies.
I know very little Latin but have managed to…
Jason S
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14
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2 answers
Pulvis aut Favillae in 'Dust and Ashes' in the Book of Job?
The famous phrase "Dust to Dust, Ashes to Ashes" does not come from the Bible but from the English Burial Service of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, reading: "we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust;"…
Johan88
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14
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Did word order have any function in colloquial Latin?
In Latin, word order is mostly free. This is used intensively by poets and other authors to achieve a desired rhythm or rhetoric figures like chiasms. However, this does not apply to regular, spoken language and also to writings without any…
Wrzlprmft
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14
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3 answers
Is "esse est percipi" grammatical, even with infinitives?
According to the Crash Course Philosophy video today, George Berkeley summarized his empirical philosophy with the phrase "esse est percipi", to be is to be perceived. However, it feels somewhat incorrect to use infinitives this way. "Cogito ergo…
ws04
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14
votes
1 answer
Bullying vocabulary
I am not familiar with any mentions of bullying in Roman literature, so I would like to ask for good words for the phenomenon in classical Latin.
I would like something that is suitable for bullying in a school, but other similar contexts are also…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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14
votes
2 answers
Latin passive endings: Why is -mini sticking out
The Latin passive ending usually feature an additional letter R compared to the active endings: laud-or, -aris, -atur, -amur, -antur. However, the second person plural is different, using the ending -amini.
What happened here? How did the ending…
Sir Cornflakes
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14
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1 answer
On the etymology of "violin" and "vitula"
Several English etymological sources say violin is from Latin vitula. A vitula/vitulus is a calf. But why was the instrument named after a calf?
But some sources say this vitula may be from vitulari "to make merry", which is probably related to…
Cerberus
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14
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3 answers
"Deep" Meaning of "Gloria in excelsis Deo"
Sorry if the question is not very deep, please edit the question if it is not accurate in meaning.
According to Wikipedia (and common understanding of people who sang Gloria), the meaning is stated as "Glory to God in the highest".
However, recently…
Sunny Pun
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14
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3 answers
How to translate "Ceteris Paribus"?
I'm studying economics, and the words ceteris paribus are often used. I know it means that one thing changes, but that the other factors stay the same.
I was trying to figure out the translation myself, and I knew that ceteris means remaining, and…
L. Peters
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14
votes
1 answer
How was perpendicularity expressed in classical Latin?
In today's mathematics, two lines are said to be normal to each other if they are at a right angle (perpendicular) to each other.
I want to know how this can be expressed in classical Latin.
Closely related questions have been asked on mathematical…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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- 587
14
votes
1 answer
Did Romans distinguish between black and blue?
Did the Romans distinguish between black and blue? Or, more generally, what do we know about their color system?
I was wondering because many of the modern Roman languages use either Arabic or Germanic words for blue and I faintly remember my Latin…
Bert Breitenfelder
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14
votes
2 answers
New testament Romans 2:8 - Why is nominative used instead of accusative like the previous verse?
See the Vatican version here:
6 qui reddet unicuique secundum opera eius:
7 his quidem, qui secundum patientiam boni operis gloriam et honorem
et incorruptionem quaerunt, vitam aeternam;
8 his autem, qui ex contentione et non oboediunt…
Disenchanted Toad
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14
votes
3 answers
Why isn't "Puto deus fio" grammatically incorrect?
According to Suetonius, the final words of emperor Vespasian were "Vae! Puto deus fio" which translates to "Alas! I think I'm becoming a god".
But the 'proper' way of saying this would be using an acc-inf construction, i.e. "Vae! Puto me deum…
Cataline
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14
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Greek pronunciation, invisible aspirations
Is there any evidence that aspirations that are as a result
of composition no longer orthographically marked were still
pronounced? Or to the contrary? I mean was προαίρησις
pronounced proairesis or prohairesis? Since as far as I know
diacritics…
Toothrot
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14
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3 answers
How to say "you are welcome"?
If someone thanks me in Latin, how should I respond?
I have been taught to reply sodes, but L&S does not seem to mention such use at all.
Did the Romans have any idiom for replying to "thank you"?
A direct translation of the English "you are…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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