NOTE: the topic can be used simply to make a list of vocabulary and the basic translations. However, to illustrate the vocabulary a large number of excerpts from original literature are used.
Here, and in the next posts, we look at animals as a means of
transporting either goods or people, pulling some form of vehicle or farming
equipment, as well as their use in war.
[1] One of the first words you would encounter when learning
Latin is equus and it is by far the most common. There are, however,
some other terms which should be noted even if they rarely occur.
[i] equus, -ī [2/m]: horse
Note: vehō, -ere, vēxī, vectus [3]: convey; commonly used when
referring to how somebody was transported:
Alexander equō [ablative] vehebātur (Quintus Curtius Rufus)
literally: Alexander was conveyed by
a horse, i.e. Alexander travelled by horse / rode on horseback
[ii] equa, -ae [1/f]: mare
[iii] caballus, -ī [2/m]: pack-horse; nag; workhorse
The term refers to an inferior horse; in CL caballus
is found in poetic works, but its use is evident in prose from the Late Latin
period, hence the derivatives cheval in French and caballo in
Spanish.
Old English already had firmly established vocabulary for
domestic animals: hors; mīere. However, the Latin words are
evident in English derivatives e.g. equine and, via French, cavalier and chevalier
< Late Latin: caballārius, -ī [2/m]: horseman; rider
[iv] canthērius, -ī [2/m]: a gelding i.e. a
castrated horse; in a transferred sense,
it can refer to an impotent old man
Three quotations from Plautus, none of which present the horse
(or its human equivalent!) in a positive light:
(1) This first quotation from Plautus emphasises their low
value:
ego faxim mūlī, pretiō quī superant equōs,
sint vīliōrēs Gallicīs canthēriīs
- I’d see to it that the mules that cost more than horses, would be cheaper than Gallic geldings.
(2) Likewise, the horses are associated with the negative portrayal
of fish-sellers:
Tum piscātōrēs quī praebent populō piscēs
foetidōs, quī advehuntur quadrupedantī cruciantī canthēriō, …
- Then the fishermen that offer the people stinking fish, that are carried around on a trotting, jolting [lit: torturing] gelding, …
(3) He may be an old lecher, but he still thinks he’s in with
a chance …
quamquam vetus canthērius sum, etiam
nunc, ut ego opīnor, adhinnīre equolam* possum ego hanc, …
- Although I’m an old gelding, even now, I think, I can still whinny at this little mare / little filly, …
*Plautine spelling: equulus, -ī [2/m]:
foal; equula, -ae [1/f]: a little mare / filly
[v] verēdus, -ī [2/m]: a fast or light breed of horse;
courier’s horse; hunting-horse
From Martial:
l1: Pārcius ūtārīs, moneō, rapiente verēdō,
| You should use more sparingly, I advise you, the rushing hunting-horse,
l2: Prīsce, nec in leporēs tām violentus eās. |
and you should not, Priscus, go so furiously after the hares,
ll3-4: Saepe satisfēcit praedae vēnātor, et ācrī
/ Dēcidit excussus, nec reditūrus, equō. | The hunter has often made amends to
the prey, and, shaken off, has fallen – never to return - from the fierce horse.
[2]
[i] asinus, -ī [2/m]: donkey; ass
[ii] asellus, -ī [2/m]: small donkey
[iii] asina, -ae [1/f]: female donkey; she-ass
[iv] mūlus, -ī [2/m]: mule
[v] pullus, -ī [2/m]: although the noun can refer to a
chicken or any young fowl, its meaning encompasses any young animal e.g. a foal
(1) Īte in castellum, quod contrā vōs est, et
statim introeuntēs illūc, inveniētis pullum ligātum, super quem nēmō
adhūc hominum sēdit: solvite illum, et addūcite. (Vulgate)
- “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”
(2) ecce rēx tuus veniet tibi iūstus et salvātor ipse pauper et ascendēns super asinum et super pullum fīlium asinae (Vulgate)
- Behold, your king comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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