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What does "eo" mean in this passage of Hyginus?
In his account of Œdipus, Hyginus writes:
[Œdipus] fortissimus præter ceteros erat eique per invidiam æquales objiciebant eum subditum esse Polybo, eo quod Polybus tam clemens esset et ille impudens.
My attempt at a literal translation would read…
Joel Derfner
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The Names Amadeus, Amadeo, Amadei
Beloved Wikipedia says: Amadeus is a theophoric given name derived from the Latin words ama – the imperative of the word amare (to love) – and deus (god). As a linguistic compound in the form of a phereoikos, it means "Love god!".
Is it correct that…
Johan88
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What is the word for "reason" and what resonance does it have in Roman culture?
I find it interesting that the French expression avoir raison shares an etymology with the English words "reason" and "rational". In a post-truth political era, it is refreshing that the French expression for "being right" is at least etymologically…
ktm5124
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Is there a Latin equivalent for "All talk but no action"?
There was a discussion about the phrase "Blowing your own trumpet" which according to some means same. But when translated to Latin idioms it steered more towards just being "too proud" or "praising oneself (too much)".
teemu
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Are there Latin words for hair color?
English words like "brunette", "blonde", and "redhead" refer to people of a particular hair color.
Are there similar words in Latin?
It is easy to express hair color in English or Latin with several words: "a girl with red hair", virgo crinibus…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Does "quidam Ciceronis" indicate respect for the person?
In Augustine's Confessions, book 3, chapter 4, he writes:
et usitato iam discendi ordine perveneram in librum cuiusdam Ciceronis (source)
Henry Chadwick translates the bolded phrase as "a certain Cicero" and writes:
'A certain Cicero' might seem…
Nathaniel is protesting
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When can I perform an elision?
I've been reading poetry lately and sometimes, the meter just doesn't make sense. Now, I know that elision is a thing, but I don't know the rules. When can I elide letters? Are there any hard-and-fast rules for when elision is required, or is it all…
anon
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How did the Romans latinize foreign names (personal, place names)?
I am looking for references to linguistic work on latinization of foreign names by the Romans from the earliest days to the early centuries AD. As this is perhaps quite a wide topic, some field review papers or books would be the best.
To elaborate,…
kkm -still wary of SE promises
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Double meaning Ex pluribus unum
Ex pluribus unum means (simplified) "From many, one", in the sense that many parts build one whole. Can I also use the phrase in the sense that from many possible solutions or things only one (the best) is selected? It's for a tagline, so there is…
jamjam
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What is the correct Latin prefix for 'two-and-a-half-times'?
Question.
What is the latin prefix for "2½ times" ?
Remark.
The question asks for the correct analogue of the prefix "sesqui-" which, of course, is the prefix for "1½ times".
guest
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How does 'versus' metaphorise plowing in Ancient Rome?
[ Etymonline :] from Latin versus "a line, row, line of verse, line of writing,"
from PIE root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). The metaphor is of plowing, of "turning" from one line to another (vertere = "to turn") as a plowman does.…
user37
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Is the prefix "di-" more Latin-like than "bi-"?
Question.
(1) Is there anything close to scientifically-meaningful to say about whether the prefix "di-" is more Latin than the prefix "bi-", when indicating two-ness?
(2) Are there published scholarly references on precisely this question,…
guest
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How can I tell if -ere is getting substituted for -erunt?
There's an alternate form of the third person plural perfect active indicative. Instead of, say, habuerunt, a poet might write habuere, to make the word fit with the meter, but that looks like the infinitive! How can I tell them apart?
anon
9
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What is Latin (and Greek) for "medium"? (Greek)
The particular sense of medium I have in mind is the one used in
Water is a medium of sound propagation.
But propagation implies a multiplicity of places, or at least two of them, so that if something propagates then it goes from place A to B.
But…
Catomic
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When is there a U instead of an E in gerund(ive)?
Tuomo Pekkanen's Latin grammar mentions (§52.3) that the -e- added to the present stem before -nd- in the gerund and gerundive (in the third and fourth conjugations) can be replaced with a -u-.
For example, mittendus = mittundus and faciendus =…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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