Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: AT
Today's word is the conjunction AT. As a conjunction, at conveys the idea both of addition and also qualification or contrast, which can be translated with English "moreover" or "but," although it is hard to find an exact English equivalent for the Latin. The best way to get familiar with Latin at is to study the context each time you find the word, seeing how it is used to introduce the new, contrasting, surprising, qualifying idea that builds on the previous statement.
Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs:
At spes non fracta.
Non verbis, at factis opus est.
Terra corpus est, at mens ignis est.
Loqui nescit, at tacere non potest.
Dicendo ineptus, at silere non potest.
Mederis aliis, ipse at ulceribus scates.
Loquere quidem, at ne tangito.
Poscunt fidem secunda, at adversa exigunt.
Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo.
Est lingua quibusdam, molares at aliis.
Omnes cupimus, at non licet ditescere.
Ditescere omnes volumus, at non possumus.
Bene vivere omnes volumus, at non possumus.
Ficus avibus gratae, at plantare nolunt.
Non vivimus ut expetimus, at ut possumus.
Robur confirmat labor, at longa otia solvunt.
Dum umbra fugit, homo transit, at Deus est.
Mons monti non miscetur, at vero homo homini.
Propositum mutat sapiens, at stultus inhaeret.
Honores mutant mores, at non saepe in meliores.
Clitellam plectis, at fuerat plectendus asellus.
Asino quis fabulam narrabat: at ille movebat aures.
Tenacissima iniuriae memoria, at beneficii brevissima.
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Verbum Hodiernum: ALIUS
Today's word is ALIUS, one of the sneakier adjectival pronouns in Latin. It is important to note some of the irregularities in its declension, such as the neuter singular nominative and accusative aliud and the dative singular for all genders alii, plus the fact the the genitive singular is alterius, from a different Latin adjective, alter. You can see a complete declension at the Wiktionary. In general, alius is used to mean "the other, another" from among many, while alter usually refers to the other of just two.
The same root as in alius appears in the Latin adverbs alias and also in alibi, both of which have been adopted as English words. Latin alias means "in another time, in another place," and in English it has come to mean specifically "by another name." Latin alibi means "somewhere else, in another place," and in English it means the legal plea that you were elsewhere when some event took place, making you innocent of any direct involvement. You can also see the word alius in the Latin abbreviation used in English: et al., which stands for "and others" (et alii or et alia).
There are many idiomatic uses of the word alius in Latin. Combined with atque or ac, the word can mean "other than," as in this say, Alia dicis ac sentis, "You say one thing and think another." You can also see it used with quam or nisi to mean "other than," as in the phrase nihil aliud quam, "nothing other than..." The word alius is also frequently used in distributive clauses, where we would say "one... another..." in English, or "some... others..." in the plural. For example, consider this proverb Alius alio nequior, "One is more wicked than the other." Here is an example in the plural: Alia aliis placent, "Some people like some things, other people like other things" - although the Latin sure is more economical in that last example!
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:
Dis aliter visum.Non sibi, sed aliis.
Alia dicunt, alia faciunt.
Aliud est velle, aliud posse.
Alii alio modo.
Bonus esse non potest aliis malus sibi.
Aliter cum aliis agendum.
Aliter enim cum alio agendum.
Tanti eris aliis, quanti tibi fueris.
Alii homines, alii mores.
Alia tempora, alii mores.
Artes aliis aliae.
Virtute - non aliter.
Fac aliis sicut tibi.
Oculus videns alia, seipsum non videt.
Aliud legunt pueri, aliud viri, aliud senes.
Aetas alia ex alia oritur.
Alia ex aliis mala oriuntur.
Aliis si licet, tibi non licet.
Alia aliis placent.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Verbum Hodiernum: OLEUM
Today's word is OLEUM, which is a second-declension neuter noun.
Latin meaning and usage: The word oleum means "oil," especially "olive oil." We are used to the importance of olive oil in the kitchen, but for the ancient Romans, oil was also an important part of the bath ritual and oil was also used to anoint the bodies of wrestlers - as if wrestling were not a difficult enough sport already! Recall also that oil was used for lamps in the ancient world.
Latin word formation: Compare the Latin word for oliva, olea.
English cognates and derivatives: Most obviously, we get the English word "oil" from this Latin word, but there are some other interesting words that come to us from Latin oleum. For example, there is English "linoleum," a compound of linum, "flax, linen" and oleum; originally, "linoleum" referred to a linseed oil preparation that was used to manufacture floor coatings, and only later did it come to refer to the actual floor covering material that we know today as "linoleum." In chemistry, the -ol suffix usually refers to alcohols, but it can also come oleum as most famously in "petroleum" or, in British English, "petrol." Compare also "lanolin," a word that is a combination of Latin lana, "wool" and the -ol suffix from oleum. So too "menthol," which is mint oil. The -ol in English "gasoline" also derives from oleum. You may also have heard the term "oleo" or "oleomargarine" in English, although now we usually just say "margarine."
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:Oleum in ignem.
Oleum camino addis.
Since I don't have many proverbs to offer, let me share this fable of Mercury and the dog, which involves oleum (fable source):
789. Mercurius et Canis. Stabat in via Mercurius quadrangularis, imus cui subiacebat lapidum acervus. Accedens canis “Primum, salve,” inquit, “Mercuri; tum inungere te volo, nec sic Deum praeterire eumque palaestritam.” Cui Deus, “Si mihi hocce, quod adpositum est, non linges oleum, nec imminxeris mihi, gratiam habebo tibi. Neque me amplius honorare velis.”
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