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Are there any subtle differences in the greetings, "Ave" and "Salve"?
When greeting someone, are there any subtle differences between "Ave" and "Salve"? Can both be used to greet and respond? E.g.
Marcus: Ave, Cicero.
Cicero: Salve, Marce.
Or, vice versa:
Vergilius: Salve, Ovidi.
Ovidius: Ave,…
ktm5124
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How to say "Luke, I am your father" in Latin?
I have found very diverse translations online:
Luke, sum ipse patrem te
Luca, pater tuus sum (or in a different order)
Luke, ego patrem tuum sum
My guess
First, the Latin name Luke seems to be Lucas.
Second, I would say the vocative need to be…
luchonacho
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Why is the supine called "supine"?
I think I understand most Latin grammatical terms in relation to what seems to be their etymology in Latin: cases from nominare, accusare, genus, dare, auferre; tempora from praesens, perfectum; verbal forms from finire, particeps, gerere; numbers…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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How is the supine related to the derived fourth declension noun?
I asked yesterday about the word venatu.
There was a good answer and good comments, but I want to ask a broader related question more specifically — especially due to TKR's comment.
I want to know how the supine (e.g. venatum and venatu) is related…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Is there any country or town where Latin is spoken daily?
It seems no country nowadays has Latin as official language, besides the Vatican. However, it seems Italian is the lingua franca of the Vatican.
Is there any town where Latin is commonly spoken today? Maybe by not all people, but by a "decent"…
luchonacho
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Is pronouncing 'th' as 's' in 'Boethius' typical in any common Latin pronunciation scheme?
I'm listening to lectures by theologian Douglas Kelly (Medieval Theology, lectures 7 and 8), in which he repeatedly pronounces the name Boethius as:
boh-EE-see-us (how it sounds to me)
/boʊˈiːsiəs/ (my guess at IPA)
Is there a recognized Latin…
Nathaniel is protesting
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How do the verbs do and δίδωμι come from *deh₃-?
I was a little surprised to find that the PIE root of do and δίδωμι is *deh₃-, not *do-. How did we get the "o" vowel sound from eh₃? I don't actually know how to pronounce h₃, but I'm assuming that *deh₃- rhymes with "meh"... correct me if I am…
ktm5124
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What exactly is brevis brevians?
I have come across the term brevis brevians a couple of times on this site.
Unfortunately Google does not provide me with a clear definition with examples, so I am still not entire sure what it means.
Using the sources I found, it looks like brevis…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Why do some 2nd decl. "-er" adjectives and nouns drop the "e" in the stem?
Is there any rule explaining why certain second-declension nouns and adjectives with a nominative -er ending drop the e when declined (e.g. ager, liber, pulcher), and why others keep it (e.g. puer, socer, līber)? (A fuller list of these nouns.)
That…
fpsvogel
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What's the difference between coniunctivus and subiunctivus?
I was thrown off by a recent question that talked about the "conjunctive" mood, which I had never heard of. A few searches of William Whitaker's Words reveals that both coniunctivus (or conjunctivus) and subiunctivus (or subjunctivus) are Latin…
Nathaniel is protesting
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Quid a "hic", "munere" significat Linnæus?
These words are inscribed over the entrance to the University of Pavia:
Quid hic? Intueri naturam. Quo munere? Curiosum esse.
They're translated here into Italian, which I'll translate into English as:
What do you do here? Study nature. What for?…
Ben Kovitz
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What is the definitive definition of rem?
The word rem seems to mean all sorts of things depending on the context — sometimes it means "the thing", sometimes "it", and sometimes rem can be entirely omitted from the English translation. What is the rule for determining exactly what it means?
Bob Eret
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When did the ligature for 'et' switch to the character '&'?
Firstly, I hope this question is within the scope of this exchange.
I know that the character '&' predates its English name "ampersand". I have read that the name 'ampersand' had "entered common English usage by 1837"[1] but the symbol itself is…
terminex9
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What's the difference between mutantur and mutamur?
A quote by John Owen:
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.
I was wondering if you could tell me the difference between mutantur and mutamur?
GoodluckH
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Variations on the diminutive: -olus and -ulus
The usual Latin diminutive suffix is -ulus (or -ula or -ulum).
However, it sometimes appears as -olus, like in filiolus, aculeolus, petiolus, and bestiola.
(And perhaps Venezuela, Venetiola, is a small Venice.)
When is -olus used instead of…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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