Sunday, January 30, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: INTERROGO
Today's word is the first conjugation verb INTERROGO, a compound of the verb rogo. From this Latin root, we get the English noun "interrogation," along with the related adjectives "interrogatory" and "interrogative."
The Latin noun takes a direct object; you interrogate someone in the accusative, te interrogo, "I question you, I interrogate you." The subject of the interrogation can be expressed with the preposition phrase de, or it can introduce an indirect question.
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs:
Multa interrogans fit ingratus.
Magis docet qui prudenter interrogat.
Qui bene interrogat, bene docet.
Prudens interrogatio quasi dimidium sapientiae.
Qualis interrogatio, talis responsio.
Non meretur audire veritatem, qui fraudulenter interrogat.
Responsio secundum interrogationem intellegenda.
Versuta interrogatio, arguta responsio.
Interrogatus de alliis, respondet de caepis.
Priusquam interroges, ne vituperes quemquam.
Interrogatus non respondens pro confesso habetur.
Qui bene interrogat, bene dignoscit.
Plus potest unus stultus interrogare quam decem sapientes respondere.
State super vias, et videte et interrogate de semitis antiquis quae sit via bona et ambulate in ea.
Tres sunt infelices: qui scit, et non docet; qui docet, et non vivit; qui nescit, et non interrogat.
Tres sunt infelices: qui scit, et non docet; qui docet, et non vivit; qui nescit, et non interrogat.
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Friday, January 28, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: QUI
Today's word is XXX, which is a Today's word is the sneaky little relative pronoun, QUI-QUAE-QUOD, (genitive cuius), which is much used in Latin, and sometimes so confusing to English speakers..
Latin meaning and usage: I'm not going to try to provide an overview of the use of the relative pronoun, but here is a link to the section on the syntax of the relative pronoun in Allen & Greenough's Latin Grammar. Pay special attention to section 308 - it includes a lot of good information, especially on the differences between the way the relative pronoun is used in Latin as compared to its use in English.
Latin word formation: The relative pronoun qui-quae-quod is also used as an interrogative adjective (Quae puella? Which girl?), and the forms of the relative pronoun and interrogative pronoun quis-quid overlap perfectly, except for the nominative singular forms. You can also see the qui-quae-quod pronoun used in many other Latin compouns, such as quidam, quicumque, etc.
English cognates and derivatives: There is a famous Latin phrase using this relative pronoun that we still use in English: QED, which stands for: Quod erat demonstrandum.
Esto quod esse videris.
Qui non habet, ille non dat.
Deus dat cui vult.
Quod vis videri, esto.
Cum dixeris quod vis, audies quod non vis.
Quod bonum est, bonos facit.
Qui sibi malus, nulli bonus.
Agamus quod agendum.
Nihil dat qui non habet.
Sibi quisque habeat quod suum est.
Quod tuum, tene!
Sumus quod semper facimus.
Non semper ea sunt quae videntur.
Qui petit a te, da ei.
Quod verum est, meum est.
Id quod volunt, credunt quoque.
Vincit qui se vincit.
Frater est amicus quem nobis dedit Natura.
Quod sequitur fugio; quod fugit, ipse sequor.
Gratis dare debemus, quae gratis accepimus.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: CAELUM
Today's word is CAELUM meaning "sky" or "the heavens." The standard spelling is caelum, but you will sometimes find the spelling coelum. From this Latin word we get the English word "celestial," and you will also recognize the word for sky in other Romance languages, such as French ciel, Spanish cielo, etc. I used to live on a street called Camino Cielo, "Sky Street," when I was little!
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below, as well as additional proverbs:
Nil novi sub caelo.
Animum debes mutare, non caelum.
Caelum terrae, terram caelo misces.
Utere praesenti, caelo committe futura.
Ridenti domino nec caelo crede sereno.
Ridenti domino et caelo ne crede sereno.
Quid si caelum ruat?
Adhuc caelum volvitur!
O adolescentes, ad caelum mittite mentes!
Cetera animalia terram spectant, homo solus caelum intuetur.
In caelo quies.
Regnet iustitia et ruat caelum.
Novos caelos et novam terram expectamus, in quibus iustitia habitat.
Fiat iustitia et ruat caelum.
Caelum duos soles non admittit.
Suspice caelum et numera stellas, si potes.
Suspice caelum, et numera stellas, si potes.
Mane rubens caelum venturos indicat imbres.
Ubique medium caelum est.
Dives difficile intrabit in regnum caelorum.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: ATQUE
Today's word is the conjunction ATQUE, which means "and" in English. Note that before consonants you often find the form AC used instead. Of course, you already know the conjunction et, so the real trick with atque is learning to appreciate the nuances it brings to the sentence and how it is different from a simple, unemphatic et. To convey the emphatic sense of atque you might want to translate it into English as "and even" or "and especially" or "and then," depending on the context.
Note also that atque and ac can be used in comparative expressions as in nil aliud ac... "nothing other than... (fill in the blank)" and likewise idem ac... "the same as... (f
ill in the blank)."
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs:
Ave atque vale.
Asta atque audi.
Vivamus atque amemus.
Ossa atque cutis sum.
Ossa ac pellis sum.
Porro a Iove atque fulmine.
Vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit.
Pugnare cum Deo atque fortuna grave.
Nummis atque Deo servire potest nemo bene.
Auro patent cuncta atque Ditis ianuae.
Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis.
Cupido atque ira, consultores pessimi.
Multae regum aures atque oculi.
Ego ac tu idem trahimus iugum.
Omnes noti me atque amici deserunt.
Simul sorbere ac flare non possum.
Lingua in se mel continet ac venenum.
Inter os atque offam multa intercident.
Inter os atque escam multa interveniunt.
Per enses atque flammam eundum tibi erit.
Pueri ac vinum vera profantur.
Mortales laetos vinum facit atque facetos.
Nil aliud ac umbra atque flatus est homo.
Aliter de illis ac de nobis iudicamus.
Ignorantia non est idem ac error.
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: LEVIS
Today's word is the Latin adjective LEVIS, meaning "light" (in weight), along with related metaphorical meanings such as "swift, light-footed," "slight, without weight," "easy to do," "easy to digest," "mild, gentle," etc. This Latin adjective shares the same root as the verb levare, "to raise" (which is a matter of weight, of course!).
From Latin levis we get the English word "levity," and from the verb levare, we get "lever," "elevate," and also "relieve" and "alleviate." Likewise legerdemain, "sleight of hand," which we borrowed from the French, also comes from the Latin levis.
The vowel is short in levis, but there is another Latin word, lēvis, with a long vowel, which has a quite different meaning: "smooth, not rough."
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs:
Fortuna levis est dea.
Rapida fortuna ac levis.
Levis sit tibi terra!
Levis est labor omnis amanti.
Omne in amore malum leve est.
Leve fit, quod bene fertur, onus.
Parva leves capiunt animos.
Tempus facit aerumnas leves.
Maxima bella ex levibus causis.
Lucra levia crumenam efficiunt gravem.
Si non vincis parva et levia, quando superabis difficiliora?
Subere levior.
Quid levius vento? Fulmen.
Quod praeteriit, levius est.
Multae manus onus levius faciunt.
Multae manus onus levius reddunt.
Levissima res oratio.
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: DUCO
Today's word is the third-conjugation verb DUCO (ducere, duxi, ductus). Although we don't use this verb in its uncompounded form in English words, you probably recognize many of the compound forms in English words like "reduce" and "reduction," "produce" and "production," etc. Sometimes you have a choice: we say both "deduce" in English and also "deduct," with different idiomatic meanings for each one.
In Latin, the verb ducere has many idiomatic meanings; it's worth reading the Lewis & Short dictionary entry to see the range of meanings. One of the most common is uxorem ducere, "to lead a wife (home)," or in other words, "to marry."
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below, as well as additional proverbs:
Non ducor: duco.Ducit Dominus.
Eamus quo ducit fortuna.
Ducit amor patriae.
Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt.
Nil proprium ducas, quidquid mutari potest.
Idem egoque tuque ducimus pariter iugum.
Verba ducunt, exempla trahunt.
Dulcior est fructus post multa pericula ductus.
Tuae sortis uxorem ducito.
Volentem bovem ducito.
Prius lupus ovem ducat uxorem.
Consuetudo volentes ducit, lex nolentes trahit.
Oportet remum ducere qui didicit.
Natura ducimur ad scientiae cupiditatem.
Felix qui meruit tranquillam ducere vitam.
Ut volucres laqueo, piscis sic ducitur hamo.
Arcta est via, quae ducit ad vitam.
Trans mare ducatur cattus, "mau" vociferatur.
Sicut equos domitant et ducunt frena, capistra: sic docet ac ducit nos consuetudo
magistra.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: MEDITOR
Today's word is the deponent verb MEDITOR (meditari, meditatum), from which we get the English word "meditation." The Latin word means to think or reflect about something, and also to plan or intend something. The English word "premeditated" (in the phrase "premeditated murder," for example) conveys this sense of "purpose" or "intention."
The verb can take an accusative object: meditor fugam, "I ponder flight, I think about flight." It can also take a preposition phrase with ad or with de with this same meaning: de fuga meditor. The verb can also take an infinitive complement: meditor fugere, "I ponder running away, I intend to flee."
The participle form of the verb gives rise to this adverb: meditate, which means "thoughtfully, purposefully." There is also a verbal noun, meditatio (third declension, feminine: meditationis is the genitive form, as you would expect).
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below:
Saepe intereunt aliis meditantes necem.Seria meditare.
Pervigili cura semper meditare futura.
Qui meditatur discordias, diligit rixas.
Exsilia, tormenta, bella, morbos, naufragia meditare, ut nullo sis malo tiro.
Agere volentem semper meditari decet.
Quidquid agas, operis primo finem mediteris.
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Sunday, January 16, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: EXPENDO
Today's word is EXPENDO, a third-conjugation verb: expendo, expendere, expendi, expensum.
Latin meaning and usage: Literally pendere means to "cause to hang down, to suspend," and so it comes to mean "to weigh" from the use of scale balances to measure weight. So expendere means "to weigh out, weigh out money in payment, pay." The participle, expensum, is used substantively to mean "money paid." The Latin verb can also be used metaphorically to mean "weigh mentally, value, evaluate."
Latin word formation: The verb is a compound, with the prefix ex- and the root pendere.
English cognates and derivatives: We get the English words "expend" and "expense" from this verb, along with "expensive."
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which also contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below:
Parvae expensae saepe factae consumunt patrimonium.Gaudebis semper vespere, si diem expendas fructuose.
Expende Hannibalem: quot libras in duce summo invenies?
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Friday, January 14, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: PUBLICUS
Today's word is the adjective PUBLICUS, which is actually a contraction of the word populicus, an adjectival form of the noun populus. Since we use the word "public" in English, this is a very familiar word.
One thing to watch out for, as with any Latin adjective, is the idiomatic meaning the adjective can have when it is used substantively. For example, a publicus can be some sort of public official or a magistrate. The neuter publicum, "the public (thing)," can refer to public funds or state property of some sort.
One of the most common uses of this adjective is in combination with the noun res, as in: res publica (and hence, our English word "republic").
You can see a trace of Latin also in the English phrase "notary public," which is a rendering of the Latin notarius publicus. Normally in English, the adjective would come before the noun ("public notary") but in this phrase, English imitates the Latin and French order used for this phrase.
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs:
Pro bono publico.
Non sibi, sed bono publico.
Publicum bonum privato est praeferendum.
Utilitas publica praefertur privatae.
Ius publicum privatorum pactis mutari non potest.
Salus publica, salus mea.
Salus publica suprema lex esto.
Publica fama non semper vana.
Honesta semper publico gaudeant, scelera secreta sint.
Nemo quemquam ire prohibet publica via.
Qui tranquille volet vivere, nec privatim agat multa, nec publice.
Onus est honos qui sustinet rem publicam.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: ANIMUS
Today's word is the wonderful ANIMUS in Latin, a word that is almost impossible to translate into English. A good place to start is with the origin of the word itself; it is cognate with the Greek word ἄνεμος, meaning "wind" (an anemometer in English measures wind speed). In Latin, the word animus doesn't mean wind that blows in the world but instead the "breath" or "spirit," as opposed to the physical body, corpus. By metaphorical extension, animus comes to mean "consciousness" and "understanding." It also means the "willful intentions" of the mind, or "desire." Since there is no simple way to translate this word into English, what you need to do is pay attention every time you find the word animus in Latin and see what the context and usage add to your understanding of the word.
Be aware also of the relate word anima. This feminine noun can refer literally to a breeze, or to the air itself. By metaphorical extension, anima also refers to the spirit of life, to the animating breath that moves through all living bodies, and to life itself. Yet it can also refer to the soul or spirit that has departed a living body, what we would call a "ghost" in English.
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below, as well as additional proverbs:
Bonum habe animum.Bono animo esto.
Forti animo esto.
Consilio et animo.
Nosce te; nosce animum tuum.
Animo cupienti nihil satis festinatur.
Vina parant animos.
Animum Fortuna sequitur.
Animus facit nobilem.
Oculus animi index.
Vinum animi speculum.
Corpus vas animi.
Oratio cibus est animi.
Oratio imago animi.
Oratio vultus animi est.
Sermo index animi.
Vultus animi ianua est.
Vultus imago animi.
Vultus est index animi.
In oculis animus habitat.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: CONSILIUM
Today's word is the noun CONSILIUM. The basic meaning of this word is "deliberation," but in the sense of "deliberating together," as indicated by the prefix con- which forms part of the noun. The word consilium can also the "plan" itself which results from that deliberation. It can also refer to the "judgment" or "reasoning" which guides that deliberation, or the "council," the people themselves who participate in the deliberation. There is also another Latin word, concilium, which refers strictly to the assembly.
Both consilium and concilium have given rise to words in English. The noun "council" is the group of people who engage in deliberation, and a "councillor" is a member of that group. The word "counsel" can be used either as a noun or as a verb; as a verb "counsel" means to give advice, and the noun "counsel" can mean an advisor (usually a lawyer or legal advisor) or it can mean the advice that is given. A "counselor" is someone who gives that advice.
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below, as well as additional proverbs:
Consilio et animo.
Nox dabit consilium.
A sene consilium quaeras.
Quod senior loquitur, omnes consilium putant.
Fortuna hominibus plus quam consilium valet.
Fortuna nulli plus quam consilium valet.
Facta iuvenum, consilia virorum, vota senum.
Quam miserum est, ubi consilium casu vincitur!
Malum est consilium, quod mutari non potest.
Nullum consilium est quod mutari non potest.
Sapientis est mutare consilium.
Qui autem sapiens est, audit consilia.
Auxilium peto, non consilium.
Qui dedit consilium, ferat auxilium.
Consilia minus utilia sunt quam exempla.
Fortuna fortis superat consilia hominum.
Frustra laborat vir qui consilio caret.
Consilio, non impetu opus est.
Consilium custodiet te.
Admitte consilium bonum, quicumque det.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: COMEDO
Today's word is the verb COMEDO (comedere), meaning "eat." This is actually a compound from of the verbo edo (esse). Unlike the simple form of the verb, however, which is irregular and has some confusing forms (est, "she is," ēst, "she eats"), the verb comedo is a regular third-declension verb: comedit, "she eats." You can see the Latin root reflected in the English derivative "comestible."
As a result of being less ambiguous, the verb comedere came to supplant the verb ēsse over time in later Latin, and it eventually led to the Spanish verb for eating, comer. Another verb that substituted for ēsse, the first-conjugation verb manducare ("to chew"), is what gave rise to French manger and Italian mangiare. The irregular Latin verb ēsse, meanwhile, has no offspring in the modern Romance languages.
Here are some Latin sayings and proverbs that illustrate today's word:
Ni molas, non comedes.
Ni purges et molas, non comedes.
Bona terrae comedetis.
Comede in laetitia panem tuum.
Requiesce, comede, bibe, epulare.
Comedamus et bibamus, cras enim moriemur.
Comedite, amici, et bibite; et inebriamini, carissimi.
Nonne melius est comedere et bibere?
Fici cadunt in os comedentis.
Ego seram, et alius comedat.
Ubi multae sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas.
Cuius panem comedo, eius cantilenam cano.
Plantate vineas, et comedite fructus earum.
Qui servat ficum, comedet fructus eius.
Eius dentes vel silicem comedere possunt.
Milvum comedens, et ipse milvus fies.
Linguam caninam comedi.
Pisces magni parvulos comedunt.
Ranarum more bibunt, nihil comedentes.
Bos hic non comedat, qui iam iuga ferre recusat.
Serpens nisi serpentem comederit non fit draco.
Conditus in palea a stupido comedetur asello.
Tarde venientes, male sedentes et nihil comedentes.
Patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupescunt.
Non esse homini bonum sub sole nisi quod comederet, et biberet, atque gauderet.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: GRATIA
Today's word is the lovely feminine first-declension noun GRĀTIA, which is notoriously difficult to render in English. One basic meaning is "favor, liking, love," the positive affection that one person can show to another. By metaphorical extension, grātia can also mean the quality itself which provokes this positive feeling, so that it can be rendered as "loveliness" or "charm" in English. In addition, grātia can also be the outward sign that one feels favor or affection for someone, in which case it can be rendered as "thankfulness" or "thanks." This meaning of "thanks" leads to the special usage of gratia in the ablative with a genitive complement to mean "thanks to" or "for the sake of," as in the phrase exemplī grātiā, "for the sake of an example," a Latin phrase often abbreviated e.g. This is also the construction in the phrase Ars grātiā artis, "Art for the sake of art."
There are quite a few English words which are derived from this Latin root. When you say "grace" before dinner, you are offering thanks. Something that is "graceful" or "gracious" has the quality of loveliness or charm. You can "ingratiate" yourself to try to get into someone's good "graces," so to speak. We also say "gratis," in English, a contracted form of gratiis, the ablative plural of gratia, meaning "(with) thanks" or "(as a) favor," without cost.
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more information, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below, as well as additional proverbs:
Gratia referenda.
Dei gratia sumus quod sumus.
Ars gratia artis.
Gratis accepistis; gratis date.
Quae gratis accepimus, gratis demus.
Gratis dare debemus, quae gratis accepimus.
Dei Gratia.
Vere amat qui gratis amat.
Nemo dat gratis.
Mecum facile redeo in gratiam.
Si diligitis eos qui vos diligunt, quae vobis est gratia?
Apud paucos post rem manet gratia.
Gratia namque cum fieri properat, gratia grata magis.
Gratia gratiam parit.
Non gladio, sed gratia.
Cum inimico nemo in gratiam tuto redit.
Super argentum et aurum gratia bona.
Vile donum, vilis gratia.
Deus superbis resistit; humilibus autem dat gratiam.
Gratia nulla datur, si munere munus ematur.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: TAM
Today's word is the wonderful adjective TAM, which means something like the English adverb "so" (although be careful, because as with so many of the most basic words of any language, you will rarely find a one-to-one equivalent with another language). You can use the word tam by itself, or in coordination with the adverb quam in a tam... quam... (so... as...) construction.
Finally, you can also seem tamquam used as a single word, meaning "just as" or "as like." For example, there is a saying, Calet tamquam furnus, "it's hot as an oven." You can think of that as being a condensed form of the fully expressed comparison: Tam calet quam furnus calet, "It is as hot as an oven is hot."
Here are some examples of different ways of using tam in Latin sayings and proverbs:
Non tam ovo ovum simile.
Non tam lac lacti simile.
Non tam aqua similis aquae.
Tam Marte quam Minerva.
Tam time quam timeris.
Nihil tam molle quam voluntas.
Tam ego homo sum quam tu.
Tam dispar quam aquilae columba.
Nihil est tam iuri inimicum quam vis.
Tam nudus quam natus erat.
Nudus tamquam ex matre.
Veniam ad te tamquam fur.
Inflat se tamquam rana.
Tamquam canis e Nilo.
Niger tamquam corvus.
Stupes tamquam hircus in ervilia.
Haeret tamquam mus in pice.
Satagis, tamquam mus in matella.
Crevit tamquam favus.
Orbis vertitur tamquam mola.
Amicus est tamquam alter idem.
Invidia, tamquam ignis, summa petit.
Virtutem gloria tamquam umbra sequitur.
Transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra.
Sic fac omnia, tamquam spectet aliquis.
Tamquam tabula naufragii.
Diliges proximum tuum tamquam teipsum.
Tamquam meum nomen novi.
Scio tamquam ungues digitosque.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: VESPER
Today's word is the noun VESPER, which means the evening; vespere means in the evening. There is also an adverbial form, vesperi. Although this is a third-declension noun, you can find vesperum sometimes used as the accusative form. In addition to this third-declension noun form, you can also find a first-declension noun form - vespera - used to mean the same thing.
Because the sun sets in the west, vesper can also be used to refer to the west. The Latin word is cognate with the Greek word you can see in the mythological Hesperides, the "daughters of the evening," who are nymphs that live in a beautiful garden at the western edge of the world.
In English, we get the word "vespers" from this Latin word, referring to the "even-song" of the church. As a big fan of James Bond movies in general, and of Daniel Craig in particular, I also feel obliged to mention here the Bond heroine of Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd, who also gives her name to a cocktail called the "Vesper" - the recipe and history of the drink are at Wikipedia.
Meanwhile, here are some Latin sayings and phrases that use today's word:
A mane ad vesperum.
Vespere laudatur dies.
Laus in fine canitur et vespere laudatur dies.
Gaudebis semper vespere, si diem expendas fructuose.
Mane semina semen tuum, et vespere ne cesset manus tua.
Vespere flet crebro qui risit mane sereno.
Mane aliqui rident, qui facto vespere lugent.
Non omnes qui mane micant sub vespere lucent.
Mane petas montes, medio nemus, vespere fontes.
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