04.08.26: the £2000 question - ocular

[The original video posted elsewhere on FB was poor quality and difficult to read].

She thought she knew the answer, but went 50-50 – and got it right.

The host then followed up by stating that the word is derived from Latin, but they all are.

auris, -is [3/f]: ear > English derivative: aural test, i.e. a test of listening skills

nāsus, -ī [2/m]: nose > Engl. deriv: nasal spray

ōs, ōris [3/n]: mouth > Engl. deriv: oral hygiene

oculus, -ī [2/m]: eye

We’re more used to seeing words such as:

[i] ophthalmology; ophthalmolgist < Anc. Greek ὀφθαλμός [ophthalmós: eye]

[ii] optometry; optical < Anc. Greek ὀπτός [optós: sight, seen, visible]

However, the Latin root is found in words such as:

ocular: referring to the eye < La: oculāris < oculus

ocular side-effects

oculist: eye doctor

The noun oculus itself is a borrowing in English, and is an architectural term referring to any opening e.g. a window that is circular or oval. The Pantheon in Rome has a famous example.

08.03.27: Topic / Level 4; animals at work (3); Varro’s nine part matrix

[6] Two nouns that are very similar to one another:

[i] pecus, pecoris [3/n]: collective noun referring to large domestic animals e.g. livestock; a herd of cattle etc.

The meaning may be extended to refer to any group of animals, including a flock of birds:

volātile pecus (Columella) | ‘winged / flying livestock’, i.e. flock of birds

[ii] pecus, pecudis [3/f]: a single head of cattle

Varro (Dē Rē Rūsticā) divides animal husbandry into a nine part matrix under three headings, each category comprising three specific types:

[1] smaller livestock: sheep, goats, pigs

[2] larger livestock: cattle / oxen; donkeys; horses

[3] animals – and people – not kept for direct profit but rather on account of the livestock e.g. dogs / shepherds to protect them) or derived from the livestock e.g. mules

est scientia pecoris parandī ac pāscendī | there is a knowledge of tending and feeding livestock 

ut frūctūs quam possint maximī capiantur ex eō  | ... so that the greatest profits are obtained from it..

Ea partēs habet novem, | It has nine divisions,

discrētās ter ternās, | separated into three groups of three,

ut sit ūna dē minōribus pecudibus | so that one is concerned with smaller livestock,

cuius genera tria ovēs, capra, sūs, | whose three kinds are the sheep, goat, and pig, 

altera dē pecore maiōre, | the other with larger livestock

in quō sunt item ad trēs speciēs nātūrā discrētī: | in which there are likewise three species divided by their nature:

bovēs, asinī, equī. | cattle, donkeys, and horses.

Tertia pars est in pecuāriā quae nōn parantur | The third part consists of those animals in cattle-raising which are not kept

ut ex iīs capiātur frūctus, |  so that profit may be obtained from them,

sed propter eam aut ex eā. | but [are kept] on account of it or as a result of it.

Sunt mūlī, canēs, pāstōrēs. | They are mules, dogs, and shepherds.

• caper, caprī [2/m]: goat
• capra, -ae [1/f]: she-goat
• canis, -is [3 m/f]: dog
• sūs, suis [3 m/f]: pig, swine
• ovis, -is [3/f]: sheep
• genus, generis [3/n]: kind, race, type
• species, -ēī [5/f]: appearance, form, kind, species