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What gender would "this" or "that" be in if there is no subject to describe?
With a specified subject or object, it's easy to say "this" or "that."
This picture is of my dream.
Haec pictura somnii mei est.
But what if the noun being described is not present?
What is this?
Quid ... est?
If a noun is not specified, how is…
Middle School Historian
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What is "vocabulary" in Latin?
Having read the recent meta discussion concerning the tag vocabulary and remembering that we prefer to have our tags in Latin, I started to wonder how one might translate the word "vocabulary" in Latin.
What would be a good translation and why?
I…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Meaning of *iuvenis*
I seem to remember reading that iuvenis referred to someone roughly between 15 and 30. However, my Collins Latin Dictionary states it refers to someone between 30 and 45. Since a man could serve as praetor or consul at around the 40 year old mark,…
TheHonRose
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The word *quick* in Latin
There are many words, which are translated as quick. My initial search showed
celer: swift , quick, rapid; in a bad sense, hasty, rash
celox: swift , quick; f. as subst. a swift vessel, yacht
citus: quick, speedy
velox: quick, rapid,…
marmistrz
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What's the deal with Ov. Met. V, 414
I'm writing this Latin verse parser/scanner, and all is fine and dandy until I load up Ov. Met. V. This book features the following verse in my source text, which is usually very good:
adgnovitque deam 'ne' c 'longius ibitis!' inquit;
My parser…
blagae
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How To Say "-able" in Latin
Is it possible to use something similar to the English suffix "-able" to show that the action described can be done by someone or something? If not, what phrases do you suggest to use in its place?
Middle School Historian
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Translation of phrase from "Le Petit Prince"
There is an awesome quote in the brilliant book "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that is commonly translated to English as "what is essential is invisible to the eye" or simple "the essential is invisible to the eyes". I'm trying to…
John Smith
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Translating "idiot"
What would be a good classical Latin word for "idiot"?
The Latin word idiota seems to refer to an uneducated layman, whereas the English "idiot" means someone of low intelligence.
That is, the Latin word refers to low education (uncultivated) but…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Did the Romans use war-dogs?
I was surprised a few days ago to find myself in an argument with a reputable historian about the Romans' use of dogs in war, which I dismissed as a fantasy — or possibly a mere misunderstanding of Antony's soliloquy in (Shakespeare's) 'Julius…
Tom Cotton
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Are "parvus" and "magnus" the best adjectives to describe the length of a river?
In the first chapter of Lingua Latina per se Ilustrata, there are a series of sentences used to teach the usage of two adjectives, magnus and parvus. For example:
Nīlus fluvius magnus est. Tiberis nōn est fluvius magnus, Tiberis fluvius parvus…
Nathaniel is protesting
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How do I know when there is synizesis in a verse?
Synizesis is the rare phenomenon where two vowels within a word that normally do not form a diphthong are nevertheless pronounced as such, and hence count as a single syllable in the metre. Under which circumstances does this happen in Latin? Or is…
Cerberus
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Interpreting symbol at the end of entries in Latin probate act book?
While transcribing entries in a 16th century Latin probate act book, I have come across a symbol that commonly appears at the end of entries, and sometimes within entries:
What does it represent? Is it a word, symbol, or form of punctuation? How is…
Harry Vervet
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What is the climax of a story called?
I've seen progressio used as a part in a story which progresses the plot, but is there a word for a moment with action and conflict that determines the outcome of the story, or a crucial time for a character to make a decision? Any related terms are…
Middle School Historian
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Are θ/þ/th distinct in Etruscan transcription?
While trying to answer an etymological question, I was looking through several different online resources about Etruscan vocabulary. Annoyingly, although these resources use mostly the same transcription system, there are a few significant…
Draconis
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How to pronounce “mihi” in a Magnificat?
This question came up recently in my choir: how should we pronounce “mihi”?
The sentence is from a psalm:
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est.
We’ve encountered it in two Magnificats, the first one (Magnificat Primi Toni) by Spaniard Tomás Luis…
Édouard
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