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#9271 - 10/29/00 09:13 AM Latin derivation
tsuwm Offline
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Registered: 04/03/00
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Loc: this too shall pass
verbicides,

>"avuncular" is to uncle as "???" is to aunt?

I know, I know!! (oh, I get so excited when I can answer one of these first! *<8^)

materteral - Characteristic of an aunt

it's from the Latin word for maternal aunt, but has been extended.

can you think of other Latin words that have evolved into more generalized English?




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#9272 - 10/29/00 12:01 PM Re: Latin derivation
Jackie Offline
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Registered: 03/15/00
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Loc: Louisville, Kentucky
I know, I know!! (oh, I get so excited when I can answer one of these first! *<8^)

ALL RIGHT, WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH TSUWM??

Whoever you are, I think I'm safe in saying that ego has been carried over.
--------------------------------------------------------
This is an EDIT, the author(ess) having read Anna's post:
ego was not intended as a personal reference to tsuwm--
I really was just trying to think of a word that I could feel sure fit the category!



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#9273 - 10/29/00 06:49 PM Re: Latin derivation
AnnaStrophic Offline
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Thank you, tsuwm! And when I stop laughing at Jackie's post, I'll try to come up with some other examples


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#9274 - 10/30/00 02:15 PM Re: Latin derivation
tsuwm Offline
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one that comes to mind is 'decimate'; originally to select by lot and kill every tenth man; now broadly to destroy a large part of. (YART! -- so what is the trick for shortening local links?)


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#9275 - 10/30/00 08:37 PM Re: Latin derivation
Jackie Offline
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What about decibel? Ten belMarduks? Wow, the Board would really sizzle then!

Probate/approbate/opprobrium?
Centurion, certainly.


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#9276 - 10/30/00 08:50 PM Re: Latin derivation
belMarduk Offline
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I am told that one of me is more than enough . Hmmmm.




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#9277 - 10/31/00 11:30 AM Re: Latin derivation
RhubarbCommando Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/23/00
Posts: 2204
I guess that a large proportion of English is taken from Latin, but there are one or two Latin phrases that have become standard English usage, such as "status quo" - so much so that one does not even think of italicising the word to show its "foreign" provenance. "Via" is another one (although I must confess that I often do italicse that one - but that's just me being a show-off.)


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#9278 - 10/31/00 12:24 PM Re: Latin derivation
tsuwm Offline
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Registered: 04/03/00
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>a large proportion of English is taken from Latin

but of(f) course; and my question was regarding words which have gone beyond a rather specific meaning in Latin. (just trying to steer back on course, momentarily :)


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#9279 - 10/31/00 12:32 PM Re: Latin derivation
tsuwm Offline
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Registered: 04/03/00
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>Centurion, certainly.

is this word used at all except in a historical context?


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#9280 - 10/31/00 02:32 PM Re: Latin derivation
shanks Offline
old hand

Registered: 03/16/00
Posts: 1004
Loc: London, UK
I would have assumed that you would jump upon 'via' itself. I don't know much Latin, but Ithought that via (as in the famous Via Appia) meant 'roadway'. That we, in English, tend to use it metaphorically as a stopping point in any journey (ideas, roadtrips, musical discoveries etc), is surely an extended use?

cheer

the sunshine warrior


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