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Do any Latin verbs use a temporal augment?
In Greek, past tenses are formed with "augmentation," e.g. present -> imperfect:
λῡ́ω > ἔλῡον
εὑρῐ́σκω > ηὕρῐσκον
Since we know that certain Latin verbs preserve perfect reduplication, I wonder: do any Latin verbs also preserve a temporal augment?…
brianpck
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Semper Veritas, Semper Veritatem, or something else?
I'm considering getting a tattoo with the phrase "Always Truth" or "Always the Truth" in Latin, but I'm not 100% how to translate it, because I don't really understand Latin noun declension. My first guess was Semper Veritas, and based on Semper…
Zeus
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Is there oil without olives?
Is the Latin word oleum ("oil") related to oliva ("olive")?
If yes, how?
The two words look similar, but oleum does not look like a regular derivative to me.
Many dictionaries mention that oleum means "oil" or "olive oil", but that could be just…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Out of nothing comes something (Ex quidem nihil fit?)
If "ex nihilo nihil fit" means "out of nothing comes nothing" then how would one say "out of nothing comes something"? The best I can come up with is "ex quidem nihil fit." Is that translation correct?
אהרן רובין
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How is "quod" operating in this sentence of Hyginus?
The first sentence of Hyginus' Prometheus is:
Hominés anteá ab immortálibus ignem petébant neque in perpetuum serváre sciébant; quod posteá Prometheus in ferulá détulit in terrás, hominibusque mónstrávit quómodó cinere obrutum servárent.
Before,…
Joel Derfner
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"..so that others may live", future subjunctive?
Salvete, omnes:
I studied Latin in college, but it has been a few years since I was immersed in it. I'm trying to wrangle a translation for the motto of an American Air Force search & rescue unit:
These things I do, so that others may live.
My…
Jacob Briskin
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Evolution of the meaning of Tollere?
One of my favorite Latin words is Tollere because it means both "to raise" as in to lift off the ground, as well as (more poetically) "to raze" or destroy/take away.
Are there any commentaries on how this word came to have seemingly disparate…
Cthos
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Can "tam" be correlated by itself with "ut"?
After reading the comments in this question, I wanted to clarify whether a certain proposed usage of tam is appropriate. In it, tam was proposed as an emphatic alternative to sic, when correlated with ut, e.g.:
Tam enim eam amabam ut omnia ei…
brianpck
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How to respond to sneezing?
There is an idiomatic way to respond to someone sneezing in many languages, and Wikipedia has a list.
Latin is not included.
Is there a canonical Latin reaction to someone sneezing?
Any era of Latin is fine.
I could always use a translation from…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Is *Numidius* an Ancient Roman name?
Is Numidius an Ancient Roman name (probably a nomen gentilis) or is it spurious and caused by corruption of other names?
What I have found so far:
The name Ummidius (that is clearly and unmistakably attested) can be corrupted to Numidius
There also…
Sir Cornflakes
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I make/create therefore I am
I'm trying to find the most valid translation for "I make, therefore I am". The closest I've seen is "ego creo ergo sum" But have also seen just "creo ergo sum". Also seen many places stating that "Facio ergo sum" was correct but google translate…
Adam Haile
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What does the phrase "nec non" mean? (Metamorphoses I.612-614)
In this passage from the Metamorphoses, Juno just descended from heaven onto earth to spy the whereabouts of her husband. Jupiter, having foreseen his wife's arrival, changes Io into a heifer.
speciem Saturnia vaccae,
quamquam invita, probat nec…
ktm5124
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How do I understand "victís" and "imperitátum" in this sentence from Livy XXI?
In Róma Æterna (second volume of Lingua Latína per sé illustráta), p. 209, in a discussion of Hannibal adapted from Livy book XXI, contains the following sentence:
Odiís etiam prope májóribus certávérunt quam víribus, Rómánís indignantibus quod…
Joel Derfner
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Borrowing Greek verbs without -ίζω
I was recently linked to this post on False Cognates, discussing different verb classes in Latin, Greek, and Germanic.
One part caught my eye:
Latin verbs of all conjugations are borrowed easily (in several different ways, as I shall describe) but…
Draconis
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Did Cicero say or write "dubitando ad veritatem pervenimus"?
I have seen the phrase "Dubitando ad veritatem pervenimus." attributed to Cicero in some websites and books, some of them claiming to find it in De officiis (for instance Diccionario Akal Del Refranero Latino, by Jesús Cantera Ortiz de Urbina), or…
Florent Michel
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