Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 4 of 5 1 2 3 4 5
#5644 08/28/00 07:16 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
M
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409

#5645 08/28/00 08:26 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
max,

this exegesis (what a friend) is not going to be worth the disk space it eats up, but you did ask it as a favor, so what the heck. first, as a disclaimer, I never ever spell color with an 'e' or an 'a' (or with a supererogatory 'u' for that matter). now, here is my theory. it was either a typo or a brain-disconnect (it's a fine point). that's my theory.

-anne elk

p.s. - so which of us is supposed to feel spectacularly stapled at this point??




#5646 08/28/00 08:45 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
J
old hand
Offline
old hand
J
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
My pet peeve is that it is impossible to find Latin being taught at the high school level. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

This, I believe, is more true with public schools. Cincinnati, with more than it's fair share of catholic schools, has a few that offer Latin. A good friend of mine took Latin. Unfortunately, the public school that I attend, though it is a very good one, does not offer Latin. I probably would have taken it were I given the choice, but due to the lack I went with German.


#5647 08/28/00 10:09 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
M
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409

#5648 08/28/00 10:36 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>a subjective definion...

I am fit to be tied -- "definion" is *way too anglicized for this poor yank!


#5649 08/28/00 10:49 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
M
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409

#5650 08/29/00 02:49 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>caused by poor hand-eye coordination

yes, it's truly amazing how often this particular mis-spell manifests itself! I often type it as defintion.



#5651 08/29/00 03:16 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511

>>>the great vowel movement

>> US Plans to Deploy Over 75,000 Vowels:
Cities of Sjlbvdnzv, Grzny to Be First recipients.


OK, tsuwm, *squaring off* where'd you find that? It's hilarious (taking no faint pride, however, in my pun being original, pre-dating this shameless plagiarism by 20 years )!


#5652 08/29/00 05:07 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
>virus is by Latin definition a masculine noun<

Hi Ted,
Since the teaching of Latin is not so widespread anymore, it might not be superfluous to recall that in spite of its relative regularity, even Latin has its fair share of exceptions to formal rules. Those are probably mostly taught in the third and following years (-: ... But I have scanned the Web in the meantime, and "virus" seems to be a somewhat contentious case, not concerning its gender, which is recognized throughout as neuter, but with respect to its declension. There are no instances of its plural in the old literature.


#5653 08/29/00 11:48 AM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
>But I have scanned the Web in the meantime, and "virus" seems to be a somewhat contentious case, not concerning its gender, which is recognized throughout as neuter, but with respect to its declension. There are no instances of its plural in the old literature.

ws:

My point is that virus (unless it is a very irregular noun) would take a masculine declension, even though it is considered to be neuter in gender. Nauta (sailor) and agricola (farmer) are feminine in declension but are considered masculine in gender. Their plurals are nautae and agricolae, not nauti and agricoli. I'm not familiar enough with Latin any more to be certain, but I do not remember any words with a singular -us ending in the nominate singular which became -a in the nominative plural.

Being neuter in gender, virus would take a neuter adjective. Virus malum (bad poison, which is a bit of a redundancy of course) would be viri mala in the plural. Bottom line: I believe that the plural of virus is going to be viri not vira (at least in classical Latin).

Now where IS that Bill Buckley fellow when we need him?

Ted



TEd
Page 4 of 5 1 2 3 4 5

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 674 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5