Verbum Hodiernum: HOMO

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HOMO Dictionary Entry

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Today's word is HOMO, which is a third-declension masculine noun, genitive: hominis.

Latin meaning and usage: The basic meaning of the Latin word is a "person," a "man" in the generic sense of a human being (as opposed to vir, a "manly man," as it were, as opposed to a woman, femina or mulier).

Latin word formation: You can see the word homo lurking in the word nemo, which is a contraction of ne+homo (a contraction easier to understand if you think about the "h" as just a breathing in Latin, not an actual consonant).

English cognates and derivatives: You can see the Latin word in our species name: "homo sapiens" - and compare also the adjective "hominid." A "homicide" is the killing (or killer) of another person. Note also the word "bonhomie," via French bonhomme.

Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more examples, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which also contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below:

Non est bonum esse hominem solum.

Qui nihil amat, quid ei homini opus vita est?

Alii homines, alii mores.

Homines sunt eiusdem generis.

In hominum vita nihil est certi.

Fortuna hominibus plus quam consilium valet.

Placeat homini quidquid deo placuit.

Non semper homo talis est, qualis dicitur.

Homo, diu vivendo, multa, quae non vult, videt.

Nihil agendo, homines male agere discunt.

Homo a suo socio cognoscitur.

Nolite fieri servi hominum.

Hominum mentes variae.

Nescit homo finem suum.

Fata regunt homines.

Vires hominis breves sunt.

Brevis hominum vita.

Hoc facias homini quod cupis esse tibi.

Vita hominis cursus est ad mortem.

Mors omnes homines manet, divites et pauperes.

Verbum Hodiernum: SUUS

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SUUS Dictionary Entry

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Today's word is SUUS, which is a first-second declension adjective.

Latin meaning and usage: This is the reflexive possessive adjective, indicating that something belongs to the subject of the main verb of the sentence. As a result of referring back to the subject of the sentence, you will usually see this adjective in cases other than the nominative, but you can also see the nominative form referring to the logical subject of the sentence, as in this example: Suus est mos cuique genti, "To each people there is their own custom" = "Each people has their own custom." Note that suus is used for third-person forms (his, her, its, their) only; for first- and second-person forms, you have other possessive adjectives: meus, tuus, noster, vester.

Latin word formation: Just as with mei, tui, nostri and vestri, the genitive sui can be used to express an objective form, e.g. amor sui, "love of yourself." There are also emphatic forms of the pronoun formed with -met (e.g., suamet as an emphatic form of sua) and with -pte (e.g., suopte as an emphatic form of suo).

English cognates and derivatives: The Latin phrase sui generis is one that is freely used in written English. The ancient Romans did not use the word "suicide," but it is formed from Latin roots; compare the similar words "homicide," "patricide," etc. which you can find in Latin as homicida and patricida.

Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more examples, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which also contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below:

Omnis est rex in domo sua.

Suo quaeque tempore facienda.

Cuique suum.

Sibi quisque habeat quod suum est.

Sua tenenda cuique.

Omnes quae sua sunt, quaerunt.

Suus cuique mos.

Accipe quod tuum alterique da suum.

Alterius ne sit, qui suus esse potest.

Stat sua cuique dies.

Suus est mos cuique genti.

Sua cuique natura est ad vivendum dux.

Sibi habeat suam Fortunam.

Habet et bellum suas leges.

Sua quemque sequuntur fata.

Agunt opus suum fata.

Redde cuique quod suum est.

Multi ad fatum venere suum, dum fata timent.

Fortunam suam sibi quisque ipse parat.

Sua cuique hora.

Verbum Hodiernum: VITA

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VITA Dictionary Entry

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Today's word is VITA, which is a first-declension feminine noun.

Latin meaning and usage: The Latin word covers much the same range as the English word "life" and also the English noun "living" (as in a way of life, subsistence), as well as the English word "lifetime."

Latin word formation: This Latin root gives rise to adjectives like vitalis, vitabundus, etc. - and to the abstract noun vitalitas.

English cognates and derivatives: From the Latin we get "vital" and "vitality," and via the French vie, we get English "viable." The English word "vitamin" is a modern coinage, dating to the year 1920.

Here are some examples of today's word in Latin sayings and proverbs; for more examples, see the page at the Scala Sapientiae, which also contains notes on some of the proverbs cited below:

Ita vita.

Qui nihil amat, quid ei homini opus vita est?

In hominum vita nihil est certi.

Non vivere, sed valere vera vita est.

Mors sequitur; vita fugit.

Vita sine litteris mors est.

Sicut vita, finis ita.

Dux vitae ratio.

Quam bene valere, melius in vita nihil.

Longa est vita, si plena est.

Tempus est vitae magister.

Qualis vita, mors est ita.

Qualis vita, finis ita.

Ventus est vita mea.

Vita beatior non fit, si longior.

In corde spes, vis et vita.

Varia vita est.

Vita data est utenda.

Brevis ipsa vita est, sed malis fit longior.

O vita misero longa, felici brevis!