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1500 questions
13
votes
1 answer
Et cetera versus et alia
I have a couple of English usage manuals on my desk (Fowler 2e and Garner). Fowler says it's silly to restrict etc. to things rather than people, while Garner says to use etc. only for things, et al. only for people.
They seem to agree implicitly…
user3597
13
votes
2 answers
Which Latin declension is most common?
Does anyone know the rough proportions of Latin words that fall into each of the five declensions? Which is most common? Which is least common?
Owl
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13
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2 answers
I Can't See the Wood for the Trees
In a recent conversation, with Joonas (in our site's chat room), about chess, the well-known English idiom "can't see the wood for the trees" came up. This phenomenon--whether caused by a lack of intuition; succumbing to pressure; a "tunnel-vision"…
tony
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13
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1 answer
Wordplay with "Vox Populi" (populus, m vs. populus, f)
Say I want to mock up the idiom "Vox Populi" using not "populus" (m, people) but "populus" (f, poplar tree). Meaning something like "the sound of the poplar leaves rustling".
Do I have a way to discriminate enough between the two senses in written -…
Victor Dulepov
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13
votes
6 answers
How to correctly say Star Wars in Latin?
I know that the nouns are stella and bellum, but I think the translation should in spirit be closer to stellar wars or something similar.
alekdimi
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13
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2 answers
What does this damaged inscription in a church say?
I've been sent the following photo of an inscription in a Unitarian church.
As best I can tell, it says:
Templum hoc [re]novat[u]m
est […]eribus denuo et inte[g]re[?]
regnante serenissimo dono do[…]o
principe Georgio Rakoci
Anno do[min]i…
Draconis
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13
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3 answers
What does "quibus intemptata nites" (Odes 1.5.10–11) mean?
I'm currently reading Horace's Odes 1.5, and on lines 10–11 there's an odd construction:
...Miseri, quibus
intemptata nites...
Now, as far as I can tell, this literally means "Wretched people, to whom you shine untried." That doesn't make sense…
anon
13
votes
2 answers
In current teaching practice, what Latin pronunciation is most commonly taught in Europe?
I learned Latin in a US public school. Although pronunciation was admittedly never emphasized in the course, classical Latin pronunciation was always the ideal. I've met Latin students from across the country, and classical-style pronunciation…
echinodermata
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13
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5 answers
Causatives in Latin
Many languages I know of have a way of making causative constructions. For example, English uses "make" or "have": I make you do something or have you do something, or even cause you to do something. How do you do that in Latin?
MickG
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13
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1 answer
A correct latin translation of "By the power of truth, I, a mortal, have conquered the universe"
If you've read the V for Vendetta comics you may remember the quote "Vi veri vniversum vivus vici", which is supposed to mean "By the power of truth, I, a mortal [/ while living], have conquered the universe".
However, I am told this is at best a…
AvidScifiReader
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13
votes
1 answer
Why does Latin not have an instrumental case?
Seeing so many similarities in grammatical structure between Sanskrit and Latin, why is it that Latin does not have an instrumental case as Sanskrit does?
Ken Graham
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12
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2 answers
"Dies unus"—non primus?
Genese 1:5 Hieronymus traduxit:
Appellavitque lucem Diem, et tenebras Noctem: factumque est vespere et mane, dies unus.
Cur "unus", non "primus"? Nonne numerum ordinalem significat? Nonne "unus" est cardinalis?
Ben Kovitz
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12
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1 answer
What does "novit in tali" mean?
I'm reading Arcadius Avellanus's translation of fairy tales (he was the last known native speaker of Latin), and I've come across this sentence:
Regia Filia jocum dignata mittit ancillam cum lucerna, quam et magus erga novam perlibenter emutavit,…
Joel Derfner
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12
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0 answers
Received pronunciation in Ancient Greek
As S. Teodorsson argues in his work on the phonemic system of the Attic dialect, there is evidence that already in the IV century BC, 'popular' Athenian speech underwent changes such as the merger of ι, η, υ in [i]. Even more conservative…
Simon Korneev
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12
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1 answer
Do Possessive Pronouns Always Agree with the Thing Being Possessed?
I recently came across this sentence (a practice sentence with no given answer) in my Latin textbook:
mare nostrum plurimos portus habet
I translated this as 'The sea has most of our harbour.'
However I am not sure that I have got this…
0.5772156649
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