Thursday, 29 August 2013

Schola

Schola, scholae (f)  is an even better example than pons, pontis of a word in Latin being the source of cognate words in several modern languages.  Here are words for school in various European languages including English and German, which are, of course, not Romance languages:

English  school
French  l'ecole (f) [the acute accent on the first e has been omitted]
German  die Schule (f)
Italian scuola (f)
Portuguese  escola (f)
Spanish  escuela (f)


Sunday, 25 August 2013

Nisi dominus frustra

Nisi dominus frustra is the motto of the City of Edinburgh.  It means unless the Lord in vain, which is a contraction of 127th Psalm:

Except the Lord build the house, They labour in vain that build it
Except the Lord keep the city, The watchman waketh but in vain.

Nisi is a conjunction meaning unless,  dominus, -i means lord, master, and frustra is an adverb meaning in vain.

Thursday, 22 August 2013

Pons, pontis

Pons, pontis (m), as every schoolboy should know, means bridge.  Pons is a good example of how Latin is the source of so many words especially in  the Romance languages.  Below are the words for bridge in several languages:

French  le pont (m)
Italian  il ponte (m)
Portuguese ponte (f)
Spanish el puente (m)
Welsh  pont (f)

Pons is also the source of various places name in Britain.  For example, Pontypool in South Wales and Pontefract, which means broken bridge, in Yorkshire.

Friday, 16 August 2013

Arca, arcus & arx

The three nouns arca, arcus and arx make an interesting little set of partial homophones.  Arca, ae (f) is first declension and means: box, moneybox / purse.  Arcus, -us (m) is fourth declension and means: bow, rainbow, arch, arc.  Arx, arcis (f) is third declension and means: stronghold, summit.  We have several English words from arca and arcus: arc, arch, ark (as in Noah's Ark and Ark of the Covenant).

Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Ferrum est quod amant

This is Juvenal's cutting comment in his sixth satire about women such as Eppia, the senator's wife who ran away to Egypt with her gladiator-lover.

Ferrum, -i (n) means: iron, a sword, a metal tool.  One translation might be: "It is the weapon that they love" with weapon meaning both the fighting man and his male member.

Sunday, 11 August 2013

Anno Decimo ...

The inscription on Admiralty Arch close to Trafalgar Square in London reads: "Anno decimo Edwardi Septimi Regis Victoriae Reginae cives gratissimi MDCCCCX."

Anno decimo Edwardi Septimi Regis means in the tenth year of King Edward the seventh.  Cives gratissimi means the most grateful citizens.  Victoriae Reginae is in the dative and means to or for Queen Victoria.

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Tempus fugit irreparablile


Amici fures temporum is far from being the only Latin proverb about time.  Perhaps the best known one of all is tempus fugit irreparabile, which means time flees irretrievably.

Tempus fugit irreparabile and similar sentiments are often inscribed in Latin on sundials.