Cum sancto sanctus eris, cum perverso perverteris is a wise proverb. It means roughly - with the holy man you will be holy, with the wicked man you will be wicked. Thanks to Laura Gibbs, on whose Bestiaria Latina Blog I found this proverb. Laura attributes it to Polydorus, however a quick search on Google shows that it comes from 2 Samuel, chapter 22, verses 26 and 27, which in the Latin Vulgate reads:
26.
cum sancto sanctus eris et cum robusto perfectus
27.
cum electo electus eris et cum perverso perverteris
Monday, 23 September 2013
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Sopor Aeternus & Saltatio Mortis
Sopor Aeternus, which means eternal sleep, is the apt name of a German dark wave musical project. Saltatio Mortis, which means dance of death, is a German medieval metal band.
sopor, soporis (m) sleep; apathy
aeternus adj. eternal; immortal
saltatio, -onis (f) dance
mors, mortis (f) death; corpse.
English words from mors, mortis and from aeternus are not hard to find. The adjective soporific comes, of course, from sopor, soporis.
sopor, soporis (m) sleep; apathy
aeternus adj. eternal; immortal
saltatio, -onis (f) dance
mors, mortis (f) death; corpse.
English words from mors, mortis and from aeternus are not hard to find. The adjective soporific comes, of course, from sopor, soporis.
Sunday, 1 September 2013
Fenestra
Fenestra, -ae (f) meaning window is another Latin word which has passed in to various languages.
Dutch venster
French la fenetre (f) [the circumflex on the middle e has been omitted]
German das Fenster (n)
Italian finestra (f)
Welsh ffenestr (f)
The English noun window is, of course, unrelated, however we do have a very specific verb from fenestra - defenestrate, which means to throw a person out of a window.
Dutch venster
French la fenetre (f) [the circumflex on the middle e has been omitted]
German das Fenster (n)
Italian finestra (f)
Welsh ffenestr (f)
The English noun window is, of course, unrelated, however we do have a very specific verb from fenestra - defenestrate, which means to throw a person out of a window.
Friday, 30 August 2013
Amor populi praesidium reginae
Amor populi praesidium reginae is the apt legend on certain of Queen Elizabeth II's coins. It means: the love of the people is the queen's protection.
Praesidium, -i (n) is a second declension noun, which means garrison or protection.
Praesidium, -i (n) is a second declension noun, which means garrison or protection.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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