Most Popular
1500 questions
9
votes
1 answer
What are popular fonts for polytonic Greek?
There are quite a lot of fonts available for writing Latin, which have been designed for easy legibility and contain all the letters of the Latin alphabet.
For the Greek alphabet, however, most modern fonts are designed for modern (monotonic) Greek,…
Draconis
- 66,625
- 6
- 117
- 269
9
votes
1 answer
Is there a pre-Christian Roman story of "coming to faith"?
Is there a story in the Roman literature of someone previously not believing in the traditional Roman gods or a specific deity within their pantheon but later, after a vision or another experience, being convinced that they do indeed exist?
I…
Joonas Ilmavirta
- 113,294
- 21
- 192
- 587
9
votes
1 answer
What does "tom. i." mean?
I'm seeing the following abbreviation in several book/manuscript citations, particularly in religious works, but I have no idea what the abbreviation means. From the context of where I'm finding it, I'm assuming it is a Latin abbreviation. Does…
Emily Jacobson
- 91
- 2
9
votes
1 answer
Ørberg/Eutropius "potestátés majórés"
In Róma Æterna, the second volume of Ørberg's Lingua Latína per sé illustráta, in a chapter adapted from Eutropius I.9–III.6, on page 181 we find the following sentences:
Verum dignitás tribúnórum mílitárium nón diú persevérávit. Nam post…
Joel Derfner
- 16,468
- 1
- 43
- 101
9
votes
1 answer
How did the fourth declension neuter dative singular become different from the non-neuter ending?
Usually, when a neuter case ending is different from the non-neuter ending in the same declension, the difference is in the nominative or accusative case (e.g. -us and -um in the second declension nominative singular, or -ōs and -a in the accusative…
Pizgenal Filegav
- 191
- 1
- 8
9
votes
1 answer
Is there a relationship between the word amor (love) & mors (death)?
I recently read in a book that there is an etymological relationship between the Latin words amor & mort but no citation is given. Looking at an online etymological dictionary (Wiktionary) did not confirm this. Is anyone familiar with any sources…
Tibaq
- 101
- 1
- 3
9
votes
2 answers
What should an epidemic be called in Latin?
Is there a good Latin word for an epidemic or even a pandemic?
The word epidemia is probably easily understood by most, but it doesn't seem to be a classical one.
The adjective epidemus is attested but rare.
I imagine the Romans and later…
Joonas Ilmavirta
- 113,294
- 21
- 192
- 587
9
votes
2 answers
Comparing quicumque, quilibet, quisquis, quivis
The pronouns quicumque, quilibet, quisquis and quivis have a somewhat similar meaning, roughly "anyone".
What exactly are their differences?
The dictionary entries I have seen do not provide a clear comparison between these pronouns.
Is there…
Joonas Ilmavirta
- 113,294
- 21
- 192
- 587
9
votes
2 answers
Translating a line of dialogue as though spoken a thousand years ago into Latin for a book
I am writing a book set in the present day with a very old character (thousands of years old). A modern day human asks him:
"Do you speak Latin, like really speak Latin?"
His response would be in old fashioned Latin from when he spoke it natively…
Tim B
- 209
- 1
- 3
9
votes
2 answers
Was the middle finger obscene in Ancient Rome?
I was recently reading a work where I became (re)acquainted with the fact that the middle finger can be referred to as the digitus impudicus -- the "shameful finger" -- in Latin.
My question is whether we have classical attestations, anecdotal or…
brianpck
- 40,688
- 5
- 94
- 204
9
votes
2 answers
Latin pronunciations in a choir's rendition of the anthem of the European Union
I've never studied Latin, but I have this understanding of its pronunciation:
In classical Latin the "soft c" and the "soft g" do not exist.
In modern Vatican Latin, words are pronounced the way they would be if the were standard modern Italian…
Michael Hardy
- 235
- 1
- 6
9
votes
1 answer
Latin abbreviation "plagg."
used, e.g., here and here
does it mean "pages"? how come?
checked all the entries beginning with "plag" on Logeion and the only one that could possibly fit is plaga
what's a good resource for expanding Latin abbreviations. I'm only aware of…
youdontknowme
- 101
- 4
9
votes
1 answer
Sherlockian Logic
In the crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, central character, detective, Sherlock Holmes described his approach to evidence-analysis as the discarding of the impossible; then, whatever remains, however unlikely, must be the truth.
How to express…
tony
- 8,640
- 3
- 15
- 37
9
votes
4 answers
In contemporary spoken Latin, do people mark the 1st-declension ablative case?
In contemporary spoken Latin, such as (I think) occurs among canon lawyers in the Vatican and at Latin-only conventicula, do people clearly lengthen the -ā at the end of first-declension nouns in the ablative case? If not, does this cause confusion?
Ben Kovitz
- 15,914
- 2
- 32
- 86
9
votes
1 answer
What word did the Romans use to describe a hot, dry, sandy desert?
Did the Romans during the classical era have a word for a dry, hot, desert? There is desertum, but that is more "wilderness" than explicitly desert in the sense we might think of today. Another possibility is solitudo, as used in this quote ,…
Adam
- 8,520
- 3
- 20
- 76