{"id":969,"date":"2011-04-11T15:01:45","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T15:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/?p=969"},"modified":"2011-04-11T15:01:45","modified_gmt":"2011-04-11T15:01:45","slug":"ancient-roman-idioms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/latin\/ancient-roman-idioms\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Roman Idioms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like with any language, Latin contains idioms that don\u2019t make sense at first glance. Take for instance \u201cad calendas Graecas<\/strong>\u201d which literally means \u201cOn the Greek day of the calends\u201d. To understand the meaning of this idiom, the word calends has to be translated first. The ancient Romans used to label the first of every month as the calends. Since this naming convention was not Greek, but unique to the Romans, it meant that the Greeks would never have the calends. In other words, \u201cad kalendas Graecas\u201d refers to something that will never happen or materialize.<\/p>\n

Another idiom is \u201cfides punica<\/strong>\u201d, which translates to \u201cPunic trust\u201d or \u201cPunic faith\u201d. The ancient Romans called the Carthaginian language \u201cPunic\u201d. Although the term \u201cPunic\u201d refers to the Carthaginian language, the ancient Romans had equated the term \u201cPunic\u201d as someone being treacherous or faithless. The ancient Romans waged three large wars against the Carthaginians, called the Punic Wars. Carthage was a formidable enemy, and as a result, the word \u201cPunic\u201d became a negatively associated word. Therefore \u201cfides punica\u201d was used by the ancient Romans to express any treachery or betrayal.<\/p>\n

\u201cNuces relinquere<\/strong>\u201d is actually an interesting idiom.\u201d It literally means \u201cto relinquish the nuts\u201d. The reference to nuts is essential to understanding this idiom. Since there were very few toys that lower class parents could afford, ancient Roman children played with nuts. Therefore \u201cto relinquish the nuts\u201d meant that someone was no longer a child. In other words, only children played with nuts, so to give up one\u2019s nuts meant that one\u2019s childish ways were abandoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cProximus egomet mihi<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cthe closest one to me is me, myself\u201d. \u201cProximus\u201d means \u201cclosest\u201d or \u201cnearest\u201d while \u201cegomet\u201d means \u201cmyself\u201d and \u201cmihi\u201d means \u201cto me\u201d. To put it another way, it means, \u201cI am the one with the closest affinity to myself\u201d. This proverb was used to justify situations where an individual needed to save or protect oneself over the welfare of others. It\u2019s similar to the English phrase, \u201cEvery man for himself\u201d.<\/p>\n

Word for word \u201cRem acu tetigisti<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cYou have touched the matter with a needle\u201d. It\u2019s equivalent to the English idiom, \u201cto hit the nail on the head\u201d, which is used in a situation where something is done, identified or said exactly right. \u201cRes\u201d means \u201cissue\u201d or \u201cmatter\u201d. The accusative of \u201cres\u201d is \u201crem\u201d. \u201cAcus\u201d = needle, and the ablative of \u201cacus\u201d is \u201cacu\u201d or \u201cwith needle\u201d. \u201cTetigisti\u201d means \u201cyou have touched\u201d and is the perfect active of \u201ctangere\u201d or \u201cto touch\u201d. Note that \u201ctangere\u201d could also mean \u201cto arrive\u201d or \u201cto move\u201d and even \u201cto attain to\u201d. However in the context of this idiom it means \u201cto touch\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Like with any language, Latin contains idioms that don\u2019t make sense at first glance. Take for instance \u201cad calendas Graecas\u201d which literally means \u201cOn the Greek day of the calends\u201d. To understand the meaning of this idiom, the word calends has to be translated first. The ancient Romans used to label the first of every…<\/p>\n

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