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Why did "cattus" replace Latin "feles"?
The word for cat is now, in almost every European language, derived from Latin cattus, as stated in Etymonline. It also says that the word was
[...] in general use on the continent by c. 700, replacing Latin feles.
The word feles (meaning just…
Charlie
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Why does singular "mons" become plural "montes"?
Some singular third declension nouns, ending in -s, have a t in their stem, so:
singular mons → plural montes
infans → infantes
miles → milites
I understand these to be examples of "lingual" or "T" mute stems, as described in Allen & Greenough §56…
Nathaniel is protesting
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Did grammarians consider the adverbial -e a case ending?
For adjectives of the first and second declension, the corresponding adverb is formed with the ending -e.
For example, pulchre (beautifully) comes from pulcher (beautiful).
Canonically this -e is viewed as a suffixed used to derive adverbs from…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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What is the origin of the 3rd-person plural perfect ending "-ēre"?
Laudavēre is an (apparently older) alternative to laudaverunt. What is the origin of this ending? Is it connected with any other known endings or affixes?
Clackson & Horrocks say it is from an alternative 3rd-person plural ending -er plus a "primary…
Cerberus
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Classical Latin translations from extant Greek sources (or vice versa)
Are there any ancient works, or parts of ancient works, which we possess in both Greek and Latin -- i.e. both the original and a translation, made in antiquity, into the other language?
I know there are many cases of e.g. Roman historians basing…
TKR
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Did the Romans really speak of "mare nostrum"?
I have heard a number of times that the Romans called the Mediterranean Sea mare nostrum, "our sea".
But was this really the Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea in any significant way?
I have three sources of doubt:
It occurred to me that I had…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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What would a 5th-6th century learned Latin pronunciation have sounded like?
Is there any information on the status of learned pronunciations from the late imperial period up to 1000 CE? I am wondering because the Classical Latin reconstruction seems to make clear that by the imperial period, final /m/ was regularly lost and…
Andonis Neilous
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What is the correct way to say "Noctis Avem"?
I'm looking to use "Night bird" as a name or title for something. I don't know which, if any, of the following would be correct:
Noctis Avem
Avem Noctis
Avis Noctem
Avem nox
etc.
What rules come into play when this is being used as a name or…
GJH105775
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Which verb for drinking is least related to alcohol?
In English, like in many other languages, "to drink" often means "to drink alcohol".
I dislike this connotation, and I would like to be able to talk about drinking with minimal alcoholic connotations.
Which Latin verb for drinking is best suited for…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Ūtāturne linguā Latīnā aliquis adverbō «ferē» velut linguā Anglicā verbō «almost» ūtimur?
Linguā Anglicā, saepe cum multīs adverbīs atque adiectīvīs, plūrima quōrum significātiōnēs absolūtās habent (exempla sunt «always» vel «everything» vel «nothing» vel «never», et cētera), adverbō «almost» ūtimur ut significēmus adverbum vel…
Ethan Bierlein
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If arm is 'arma', why is unarmed 'inermis' and not 'inarmis'?
I came across the Spanish word 'inerme', which comes from Latin inermis and means unarmed.
Since the Latin word for arm is 'arma' and the preffix 'in' indicates negation, it is clear that the form 'inermis' is just 'in-' + 'arma', so I wonder: why…
fedorqui
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What cases were used in compounds?
In Greco-Latin compound words, I generally use the bare stems for all but the last component, joined together with stem vowels (in Greek) or i (in Latin). For example, certifaciō (> certify) comes from the bare stem cert- plus the conjugated verb…
Draconis
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Difference between "hiems" and "hībernum"
The two words both translate to "winter" in English.1,2
Although information on Wikipedia is sparse, I gather that hiems is most commonly used as a noun, while hibernum is the noun form of the more common adjective hībernī (wintry).
Both forms,…
Flimzy
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Does "ad" have its origin in Hebrew/Semitic languages?
The sources I've read usually say that 'ad' (i.e., in 'ad infinitum') is derived from Proto-Indo-European *ád ("near, at"). However, they don't refer any Semitic origins.
But here's an excerpt from Philip Baldi's Semitic Influence in the History of…
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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Ante urbem conditam
The phrase ab urbe condita is used to express time in years after founding Rome.
This can be found in ancient texts.
It seems that the natural counterpart would be ante urbem conditam when one wants to describe time before that event.
However,…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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