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1500 questions
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Why sōns but absēns?
The present participle of esse was (at one point) sōns, presumably from *h₁sonts. However, when a prefix is attached, it becomes -sēns, as in absēns and praesēns.
I'd always figured this was a relic of vowel reduction in non-initial syllables, like…
Draconis
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What is the word for number "0"?
Unus, -a, -um means number "1". What is the word for number "0"?
https://www.translate.com/english-latin says it is nulla. Is it correct?
Tim
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Why Is This Noun in the Singular?
I'm reading LLPSI, chapter 20 "Parentes" (skipping ahead quite a few chapters, just for a peek and to see how much I can understand from a more advanced chapter).
The third sentence reads:
Cūnae sunt lectulus īnfantis.
Why is lectulus (and the…
Nicolas Miari
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Did the Romans borrow any inflection from other languages than Greek?
Some Greek loan words in Latin use Greek declension.
For example, I recall seeing Aeneida and Aeneidos instead of the regular Latin declension Aeneidem and Aeneidis.
Some elements of Greek inflection were thus borrowed, at least for names.
But did…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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How to translate the phrase "perfacile factu esse"?
I'm having a hard time translating this phrase from Caesar's De Bello Gallico. I understand, from doing a bit of research, that probat illis introduces indirect speech.
Perfacile factu esse illis probat conata perficere, propterea quod ipse suae…
ktm5124
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How did the Romans pronounce roman numerals?
As I understand it, their notation (subtractive notation?) is quite hard and tedious to work with even for its natives. In fact, many numbers are themselves math problems.
How did they speak of their arcane numerology to one another? They presumably…
Lemma Prism
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The syntax of swearing
How to swear in Latin?
I am not looking for vocabulary, but syntax.
Did the Romans only swear using interjections, or did could swearing be used within a sentence?
There are several ways to swear in the middle of a sentence to emphasize…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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"To shed blood" – profundere or effundere?
In a 1957 encyclical titled Invicti Athletae, Pope Pius XII wrote:
... non solum profuso sanguine fidei nostrae testimonium Deo praebetur ...
which the official translation renders
... not only by shedding of blood is the witness of our faith…
Matt Gutting
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Ranking the Difficulty of Latin Authors
Has there been a rigorous study of ranking the difficulty of ancient Latin authors? You often see (and, from personal experience, feel) the increase in difficult going from Caesar to Tacitus or Vergil to Juvenal, but I'm not aware of any actual…
cmw
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"Non possunt dari" translation
Please could someone explain what I am missing here?
In Spinoza's The Ethics, Proposition V is said:
PROPOSITIO V: In rerum natura non possunt dari duæ aut plures substantiæ ejusdem naturæ sive attributi.
This is translated as "There cannot exist…
Aili J.
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Forms of 2nd Declension Neuter Nouns ending in -ium
The 2nd Declension Neuter endings are:
Singular
Nom: -um
Gen: -ī
Dat: -ō
Acc: -um
Abl: -ō
Plural
Nom: -a
Gen: -ōrum
Dat: -īs
Acc: -a
Abl: -īs
With a word such as auxilium (meaning help, aid), which is 2nd declension neuter, why does the i from the…
Sapphira
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Confusion re the naming of Roman freedman
I asked this on the HistorySE site, without much luck, so thought I'd try here. If it's inappropriate for this forum, please let me know and I'll delete it.
I have just been reading this which is admittedly very old, and there is a statement which…
TheHonRose
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Did an internal m nasalize the preceding vowel?
We know that the final m was not a full consonant in classical Latin, but denoted nasalization and elongation of the preceding vowel.
See this or this old question for more details.
Was this effect limited to word-final position, or did an internal…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Rupes Recta, The Straight Wall, Correct Translation
Rupes recta is the name given to a feature on the Moon. This feature is also known as the straight wall or straight cliff.
Is rupes recta the correct Latin phrase for straight wall or straight cliff?
The phrase may have originated during the 1600s.
KeithSmith
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What is "express" in Latin?
Express buses, express trains, and express lifts — and maybe some other express things — are vehicles that have unusually few stops and are therefore faster than others.
What would be a good way to express (no pun intended) this in Latin?
For…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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