Questions tagged [classical-latin]
Questions concerning Latin of the classical era, approximately 75 BCE to 300 CE
865
questions
3
votes
1
answer
542
views
What's the meaning of "lex fundamentum est libertatis, qua fruimur. legum omnes servi sumus, ut liberi esse possimus"?
On the title page of The Works of James Wilson, there's a Latin inscription saying, "lex fundamentum est libertatis, qua fruimur. legum omnes servi sumus, ut liberi esse possimus":
What ...
- 133
4
votes
2
answers
507
views
How do you say "living being" in Classical Latin?
In the Gaffiot dictionary, animal is translated as "être vivant", that is "living being".
However I am a bit skeptical about this, as the quote given opposes animalia with ...
user14839
4
votes
1
answer
94
views
Is "tandem tamen" a classical paronym?
I've noted the use of the expression tandem tamen (~ in the end however, but yet, and yet), in various Latin texts. It's a paronym that appears in many post-classical and neo-Latin texts; by example :
...
- 717
0
votes
2
answers
182
views
'Antisemitism' in Greek and/or Latin
This is a purely linguistics inquiry.
One term that's piqued my interest is "anti-Semitism." While it's widely used, the construction (anti- + -ism) feels recent compared to terms like "...
user15476
5
votes
1
answer
80
views
What is the difference between gradus and passus as a step or pace?
Gradus and passus both have multiple meanings. Passus, as in its meaning related to feet, is also described as a unit of measurement, of five Roman feet. Gradus also has distinct meanings, including ...
- 465
0
votes
0
answers
120
views
Why do Gerundives ever exist when they can technically be rewritten with, "Necesse est (DO) (inf)...."
Libri legendi = The books are to be read.
Necesse est libris legi. = It is right/necessary for the books to be read.
Technically, these two sentences, although they are grammatically different, mean ...
- 132
3
votes
1
answer
132
views
Is "Ita an non" a valid, neutral, straightfoward translation of "Yes or no"?
Asking to really, really be sure since I'm planning on getting it tattoed. I just intend that simple sentence in the more correctly latin way possible, but there are many ways to say it and I don't ...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
84
views
Use of the perfect to indicate "whenever I do someting"
In the following sentence I do understand the reason the perfect is used for veni:
rure meo possum quidvis perferre patique; ad mare cum veni, generosum et lene requiro ("In my country estate I ...
- 7,359
1
vote
0
answers
63
views
from dēfēcisse to deficisse
My question concerns the forms dēfēcisse (dēficio, active infinitive perfect) and the variant dēficisse. I found both forms in a text from Justin/Trogus (Epitome.11.2.7) :
In cuius apparatu occupato ...
- 717
3
votes
1
answer
111
views
Reason for ablative case in "praesidioque decorique parentibus esse"
In Lucretius II 641–643
"aut quia significant divam praedicere ut armis
ac virtute velint patriam defendere terram
praesidioque parent decorique parentibus esse."
I am not very comfortable ...
- 411
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What's the most common word in Latin?
A comment recently mentioned that the most common word in English is "the", which is odd since it has no direct Latin equivalent. That made me realize: I'm not sure what the most common word ...
- 68.3k
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Can someone help translating "one must die for one to live"
I'm writing a novel and at some point, the hero needs to make a sacrifice: "One must die for one to live." He has to chose between two people: only one will survive, the other one will die. (...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
135
views
Have these Greek letters been related to these Latin/English letters?
Was each following Latin/English letter originated from, cognate with, or related to the Greek letter given after the Latin/English letter?
Latin f and Greek phi
Latin h or e, and Greek eta
Latin j ...
- 1
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What are the Greek or Latin words for these SI prefixes?
Smith's Greek and Latin Roots gives the etymology of a few SI prefixes. For example, tera- is from Greek teras ("monster"), deci- from Latin decem, and micro- from Greek mikros ("small&...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
163
views
Example request: accusative neuter nouns in any classical prose text
Is anyone able to provide me with about five sentences from any Latin classical text (one or more), excluding poetry or plays, where a NEUTER noun (any) is unambiguously employed in the accusative as ...
- 39