There is a huge range of vocabulary related to crime, killing, punishment and immoral behaviour and so we’ll look at this over a number of posts.
There are several words used to describe a crime in
general. Here are a few:
facinus, facinoris [3/n]: crime
scelus, sceleris [3/m]: crime; sin; evil deed
vitium, -ī [2/n]: crime; sin; vice
iniūria, -ae [1/f]: ‘injury’ in the sense of a wrongdoing,
offence, insult hence the term ‘injured party’ in law referring to somebody who
has suffered an injustice; the Latin term can also refer to slander
iniūria nōn excūsat iniūriam │ an injury does not excuse an
injury i.e. one wrong does not justify another
specific crimes
[1] furtum, -ī [2/n]; latrōcinium, -ī [2/n]: theft; spoliātiō,
spoliātiōnis [3/f]: plundering; robbery
[2] venēficium, -ī [2/n] poisoning; also: witchcraft;
sorcery; the noun can refer to a poisoned substance
[3] Whether we like it or not, killing (mainly
intentionally) features a lot in the literature and there are many words to
describe it, some of which are general and some of which, while not common in
Classical Latin or which appear in Mediaeval Latin, refer to specific types of
murder; many of those words have entered legal terminology in English.
[a] The first six words listed below all refer to forms of
violent death and, depending on context, may be translated as murder, killing,
slaughter, massacre; caedēs and trucīdātiō often refer to
‘carnage’ or ‘massacre’ i.e. groups are involved, for example in battles or
military campaigns, either as perpetrators or victims.
- iugulum, -ī [2/n]
- lētum, -ī [2/n]
- nex, necis [3/f]
- occīsiō, occīsiōnis [3/f]
- caedēs, -is [3/f]: slaughter; carnage
- trucīdātiō, trucidātiōnis [3/f]: slaughtering; massacring
[b] -cīdium is a suffix which refers to an act of killing
and can form nouns which specify the person(s) being killed:
homō (person) + cīdium > homi¦cidium, -iī [2/n]:
homi¦cide; manslaughter
frāter (brother)
+ cīdium > frātricīdium: fratricide, the killing of a brother
soror (sister) + cīdium > sorōricīdium: sororicide, the killing of a sister
(g)nātus (son) + cīdium > (g)nāticīdium: murdering
of one’s son / child
parricidium, -ī [2/n] from pār (even; equal) refers
to the murder of one’s father or parents but also the murder of a near relative
and assassination (of the head of state); “any horrible crime” (Lewis and
Short); parricide
Who has been killed?
- īnfanticīdium
- mātricīdium
- patricīdium
- suīcīdium (New Latin)
- uxōricīdium
[4] coniūrātiō, coniūrātiōnis [3/f]: conspiracy
[5] adulterium, -ī [2/n]; stuprum, -ī [2/n]: adultery; stuprum
can refer more generally to debauchery, defilement, “criminal fornication”; term
not used in dealing with prostitutes
Sejanus, the prefect of the Praetorian guard under Tiberius
was, according to Tacitus, guilty of stuprum:
nōn sine rūmōre Apīciō dīvitī et prōdigō stuprum vēnō dedisse │ not
without a rumour that he had disposed of his virtue at a price
to Apicius, a rich man and a spendthrift
In this context Tacitus alleges that Sejanus committed
sexual acts for money and with a male, the use of stuprum suggesting
that Sejanus performed the “woman’s role” in this financial relationship; for
the Romans that was the lowest of the low.
[6] raptiō, raptiōnis [3/f]: abduction; rape
plagium, -ī [2/n]: the term is used in Scots law to refer to
the abduction of a child although its original meaning is kidnapping, stealing
slaves:
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=plagium-harpers
No comments:
Post a Comment