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What is the Latin word for zebra?
I was searching for animals in Latin, and I ended up finding that the Romans knew zebras, and they used them to pull chariots. They also had the name "hippotigris". However, I couldn’t find any author talking about them. Does anybody know if that…
user11898
12
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4 answers
To what extent are Koine and modern Greek mutually intelligible?
How difficult would it be for a person who knows Koine Greek to communicate with a native speaker of modern Greek, aside from the non-existence of words for modern inventions?
Someone
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What nuances distinguish sed/vērō/vērum as words for "but"?
I've seen sed, vērō, and vērum described as "but, butter, buttest," but the descriptions in e.g. Gildersleeve, Bennett—even Zumpt—leave me scratching my head.
Joel Derfner
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What is the meaning of the abbreviations “h.e.” and “h.l.”?
In Novum Lexicon Graeco-Latinum in Novum Testamentum, Johann Friedrich Schleusner wrote the following entry on the Greek word νεόφυτος.1
In his entry, he uses two abbreviations, “h.e.” and “h.l.”
What are the meaning of those two abbreviations?…
Der Übermensch
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12
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The lowest form of humor
Many Ancient Greek jokes are preserved in the Philogelos, ranging from wordplay to stereotypical foreigners to utter nonsense. And certain epigrams from Lucillius and Argentarius contain excellent/horrible puns (depending who you ask), such as an…
Draconis
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Comparing ius sacrum and fas
I would like clarification on two related divine and legal terms: ius sacrum and fas.
They can both be translated as "divine law", but I do not think they are the same thing.
I have an idea of what they might be, but I would like confirmation or…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Is *Moscovia* a latinists' invention?
Quoting this article on Grammatica Russica by Heinrich Wilhelm Ludolf:
The Russian city of Novgorod (literally ‘new town’) becomes (in the ablative case) Novogorodio. Moscow is Moscovia, though it also appears as Moscua (preface 5).
(emphasis is…
Roger V.
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The Word Niger In Acts 13:1. Does It mean Black?
This is not a religious question but moreso clarification on the word Niger in the bible. Here is Acts 13:1:
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of…
Servant
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Genitive vs Ablative of Price
In Latin, worth or value can be expressed by the genitive or by the ablative. Here are some examples:
Genitive
Non pono utrique par pretium: pluris aestimo beneficium quam iniuriam. (Sen Ep. Mor. 81.8.2)
Non ego te flocci facio; ne me territes.…
brianpck
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Is the complement of esse in nominative or accusative when esse is a subject?
Suppose I want to say something like "I like being a human".
There are undoubtedly several ways to phrase that in Latin, but I want to do it so that it the subject is "to be a human".
The complete English sentence would be something like "To be a…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Can you place "et" inside a prepositional phrase?
I became curious about this question as I was translating a passage written by a textbook author. The passage begins,
Poeta Ovidius fabulam de dea Latona et de femina Niobe narrat. (Latin via Ovid)
You can see how the author moved the conjunction…
ktm5124
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Choosing conjunctive tenses in a clause subordinate to a subordinate clause
I will phrase my question through an example.
Consider this sentence in English:
I do not know whether you wrote where you are.
This has one governing clause ("I do not know") and two indirect questions, first subordinate to the governing clause,…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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'Quae pars anterior quae posterior jure habeatur in toto genere non liquet': taxonomical description of Antarctissa denticulata (Ehrenberg 1844)
In one of his 1844 manuscripts, C. G. Ehrenberg described the radiolarian species Lithobotrys(?) denticulata (now known as Antarctissa denticulata) and, as it was customary at the time, did so in Latin. Although in general his descriptions are…
plannapus
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When should nūllus be singular vs plural?
“Nūllus” indicates a quantity of zero, so it's not obvious if it should be plural or singular, and I have seen examples of both, but I am unsure what the choice should be based on.
The first pair of examples I saw made me think it might be about…
Florianus
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Can -que be used with adverbs?
If I wanted to say something like "I love you now and forever", can I use -que with one of the adverbs like I would with nouns?
Nunc perpetuoque te amo.
I tried searching various adverbs with -que attached but didn't find anything attested.
Adam
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