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What's the most idiomatic way to say, "thanks, you too"?
We were discussing this question in the chat room, and came up with the possibility, gratias similiter, but we are not sure whether it's idiomatic. The context is this. Let's say a co-worker says to you, "Hey, you look sharp today!" You might…
ktm5124
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Was the term "firmamentum" used outside of Christian or Jewish texts?
In a common Jewish or Christian view of the world, the sky is a support for something. I don't recall much of anything about this, but I know that explains the English term firmament. However, did firmamentum ever appear before to mean the sky? Some…
Middle School Historian
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Is there a connection between modus and (adverbial) modo?
Lately I've come to dread coming across the word modo. Is it going to be an adverb meaning "just a moment ago" or "only (this and nothing more)", or a noun for "a way of doing something", "a musical measure", "a grammatical mood", "a unit of…
Ben Kovitz
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Did the Romans have a selection game?
If there are three people and only two candies — and in other similar dire situations — people sometimes choose to play some kind of game to select who is left without something or who gets to do something.
The most well known ones are probably…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Is there a connection between clivus and clinatus?
Wiktionary suggests that clivus is related to clino and clinatus. But it doesn't explain the connection. Is there some way that n in a verb becomes v in a related noun or adjective?
Wiktionary traces both words to the same PIE root, ḱley-.
Ben Kovitz
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8
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Latin prefix to describe the wiping out of robots
Does the "gen" from "genocide" come from "genus" as in "race"? If so, what Latin prefix should one use to describe the wiping out of robots? I can't say "codacide" can I? Automatacide?
Brofitable
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What did a *cellarius* do?
Inspired by this question A good word for waiter or waitress I'd like to know what duties a cellarius had in antique times.
The German word for waiter, Kellner, is a loan from cellarius, but it acquired its present day meaning only recently (18th…
Sir Cornflakes
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Yet another question about translation... Four words
I am currently studying Latin (3rd year in high school); so I do have a mild understanding of the language. I would like to know whether this translation is correct, makes sense and sounds at least a bit natural. Unfortunately, I can't ask my…
SuperSoldier
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What's the difference between *quisquis* and *quicumque*?
Quisquis and quicumque are both described as indefinite (or generic) relative pronouns, and are both defined in dictionaries as "whoever, everyone who...". Is there any difference at all between the two pronouns -- functionally, or in terms of idiom…
TKR
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'auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium [...] appellant': justification for translation
The following quote by Tacitus (extract from Agricola) is very famous, particularly for its catchy second part, but here I'm interested in the first part:
auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium atque ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem…
plannapus
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Indefinite relative clauses in indirect discourse
What is the most idiomatic way of expressing in Latin a sentence containing an indirect statement, which itself contains an indefinite relative clause?
To start with the direct version: consider a sentence like "We will receive whoever comes to us."…
TKR
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When is/was *vesper* second declension, and when third?
I've seen both, so obviously both were used, but are there circumstances that determine which option to use? Or is it something that changed over time?
Joel Derfner
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Jenney's Second Year Latin, Lesson 12, exercise E: Ut clauses and how to translate English infinitives
I'd like some clarification on the possible translations of "to see you." I'm teaching Jenney's Second-Year Latin (1990, Prentice-Hall edition).
In the introduction to Lesson 12 (page 138), the book gives a very brief and not-so-thorough list of…
BrennickC
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Is there a difference between the future participle and the supine accusative?
The purpose of motion can be expressed in several ways.
For example, I would consider the following essentially equivalent (did I forget something?):
Ille me salutatum Romam venit.
Ille me salutaturus Romam venit.
Ille Romam venit, ut me…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Is my Latin translation wrong, or is the original wrong?
In another 17th century ecclesiastical Latin book I'm reading, Creaturae ad Poenitentiam Dispositio, the author speaks of someone who goes "over the top" in humility, claiming to be the worst of the worst, worse than Judas Iscariot, worse than…
Matt Gutting
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