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Why is "porticus, porticūs" a feminine fourth-declension noun?
The fourth declension was one of the less common inflection pattern for Latin nouns, and the vast majority of fourth declension nouns are masculine nouns ending in the deverbal abstract noun suffix -tus (-sus).
I'm wondering why the word porticus…
Asteroides
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Why does "ut" mean such different things when it has a subjunctive verb vs. an indicative one?
We all know that ut, when paired with a subjunctive, is translated as "in order to" (purpose), "to" (indirect command), and, with some words, "that" (result/fear). However, ut with an indicative means "(just) as". I can't figure out how…
anon
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What kind of scribal abbreviation for Christi is this?
These are the opening words of the "Subtrahente se famula Christi Liudmila" excerpt from Legenda Christiani (Vita et passio sancti Wenceslai et sanctae Ludmilae avae eius). However, what is the scribal abbreviation used for Christi here? The only…
Vladimir F Героям слава
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Numbering of persons
It is conventional to number the three persons of Latin and Greek and many other languages so that the first person is the speaker, the second one is the listener, and the third one is anyone else.
Did the ancient grammarians already have this…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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"Tu quoque, Brutus, mi fili?" Grammar question
Someone told me these were Caesar's actual last words. Google confirms this. But I can't find an explanation for what looks to me like weird grammar.
First of all, shouldn't "Brutus" be "Brute" (vocative case) since Caesar would presumably be…
ribs2spare
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How to decline a whale?
The Latin word cētus (a whale or some other major sea creature) behaves peculiarly.
In singular it is a normal-looking masculine cētus, but in plural it is a neuter cētē.
The original Greek word is neuter in both numbers…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Latin for "In war and in peace"
I remember reading long ago a pithy Latin expression for “in war and peace,” or “in war as in peace,” or something to that effect. The idea is that one might say, for example, that a certain truth holds under peaceful and warlike circumstances…
Sebastian Koppehel
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12
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Can one translate ἀθάνατος as 'living' rather than 'immortal'?
Context
There is an old hymn, often referred to as the Trisagion or Thrice-Holy. It goes like this in Greek:
Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.
(Transliterated, this reads, "Hágios ho Theós, Hágios ischyrós, Hágios…
Samantha Y
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liberalis corporis et sanguinis christi... liberalis?
I've come across an unusual use of "liberalis", and I wonder how it should be translated. It's in a Catholic catechism, which heads one section:
"liberalis corporis et sanguinis christi domini alimenta sustentabatur"
Here's the full…
Roger Pearse
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Latin translation for the Serenity Prayer?
I'm looking for the latin translation of the Serenity Prayer:
God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Here's what Wikipedia says:
Deus,
…
rAthus
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Is this bible in Koine Greek?
So I bought a Greek bible and I’m not sure whether it is Koine or Modern Greek. Could someone please help me out? Thanks.
Owl
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How do you translate "Don't Fear the Reaper" into Latin?
In T. Pratchett's Discworld series, Death's motto is "Non Timetis Messor", meant to be a translation of "Don't Fear the Reaper". But in other books he uses "Timetere", and I am unsure of which would be correct, if either of these. The imperative…
Whitehot
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Who invented the common expression "et cetera"?
This question seems to assume that the Romans actually used et cetera as we do. But did they really? By that, I mean: did they use et cetera at the end of a clause or phrase, without any noun agreeing with cetera, to mean "and so on, und so weiter,…
Cerberus
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Are there official Latin translators?
A colleague had this problem recently:
A degree certificate from their home university was issued in Latin, but they need it in English or Finnish for the purpose of a grant application.
Apparently no official English translation was supplied or the…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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apud + place name vs. locative
What is the difference, if any, between using apud with the name of a town, and using the locative form of that name?
Reading Suetonius Tiberius 40, I noticed this usage:
statimque reuocante assidua obtestatione populo propter cladem, qua apud…
TKR
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