18.05.26: clothes washing [3]: derivatives and Neo-Latin (2) the word with its very own soap opera

Referring to:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/05/180526-clothes-washing-1-transcription.html

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3452819201540306

Every word has its own story, its origins, and its ‘journey’ through multiple languages.

(1) sāpō, sāpōnis [3/m]: soap

(2) māchina, -ae [1/f]: machine

Unless people really have nothing better to do with their time, I doubt anybody wishes to know how the Ancient Egyptians would have expressed washing machine in hieroglyphics. We do, however, want to know how it may be expressed in Latin.

This has been mentioned several times before: Latin is a language still studied by thousands of people, and one way of reinforcing concepts is actively to speak and use it. Magister Andrews is not discussing the Battle of Cannae, but washing clothes; in other words, he personalises the language and relates it to the modern world.

When practising the language in this way — and many posts in the group do precisely that — we move into the realm of Neo-Latin: using Latin to express concepts that did not exist in the ancient world.

For centuries - long after it was the exclusive property of the Romans – Latin continued expanding its vocabulary, and it did so in a variety of ways.

(1) sāpō, sāpōnis [3/m]

Soap: a word that made its way as far as Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula – sabun, possibly via Arabic [ṣābūn] or Portuguese [sabão]; the latter is feasible since the town of Melaka in Southern Malaysia was a Portuguese colony. However, the etymology ‘gurus’ state that it is ‘ultimately from Latin sāpō’. Well, yes, but not quite: the Latin noun sāpō was itself a borrowing from Germanic.

“…though it denoted not a detergent, but a sort of pomade used for colouring the hair a light brown. It was made with goat's tallow and ashes, and was sold in balls, in which form it was imported by the Romans from Germany and Gaul, and used to bleach the hair.” (Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities)

Eventually, of course, the word acquired the meaning we understand today. Here is an Old English example; Monks sworn to vows of silence were given guides to sign language:

Ðonne þu sapan abban wille þonne gnid þu þinne handa to gædere

When you want soap, rub your hands together.

Thus, in Neo-Latin, we see semantic shift: the word acquires a new and broader meaning.

10.06.25: blunt razors, blood-letting and glowing walnut shells; Comenius LXXVI; at the barber’s shop [5]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/03/100625-blunt-razors-blood-letting-and.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/808719628405974

(2) māchina, -ae [1/f]: machine

“A machine, i.e. any artificial contrivance for performing work; an engine, fabric, frame, scaffolding, staging, easel, warlike engine, military machine, etc.” (Lewis & Short). Therefore, it is a perfectly legitimate word to refer to any form of machine.

Image #1 shows part of an illustration reconstructing the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. [T] is the hut containing the “machine” used to lower gods onto the stage, from which the term deus ex machinā is derived i.e. the plot device whereby a seemingly hopeless crisis is suddenly resolved by, for example, the unexpected intervention of a god or a convenient (although unlikely) event.

Although Magister Andrews does not use it, there is a specific Neo-Latin term for ‘washing machine’:

māchina lavātōria

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/washing_machine/

Image #2: also listed in ‘First Thousand Words in Latin’ (Usborne)

The adjective lavātōrius, -a, -um is itself a coinage: it did not exist in Classical Latin, but was logically created from Mediaeval / Late Latin lavātōrium, -ī [2/n]: washroom.

The Neo-Latin Lexicon provides an extensive list of Neo-Latin vocabulary, though one should bear in mind that there may be multiple ways of expressing a concept, some of which may not be universally accepted or entirely accurate.

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/

18.05.26: clothes washing [2]: derivatives and Neo-Latin (1) sordid vestments

Referring to:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/05/180526-clothes-washing-1-transcription.html

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3452819201540306

Magister Andrews’ video is a short but excellent example of the ‘pitfalls’ of derivatives.

I once read somewhere — though I shall not disclose where — the unshakeable belief that Latin can be understood purely by looking at words and ‘working them out’ through English derivatives. That is partially true: derivatives can help, but their meanings are often far narrower than the original Latin and not always as obvious as some make them out to be.

[i] A large number of English derivatives are not directly from Latin, but entered English through French, usually after the Norman Conquest of 1066:

La. fundō, fundere [3]: to pour. However, the original verb has a whole range of meanings, one of which can extend to ‘make by melting; to melt, cast, found’.

Fr. fonderie; Engl. foundry

[ii] Some English nouns are direct borrowings, with no spelling changes, from French rather than Latin:

fondant cream < Fr. fondant

[iii] La. sordidus, -a, -um: dirty; filthy

English ‘sordid’ is a Mediaeval borrowing directly from Latin, although it also exists in French: sordide.

Here, in the derivative, we see a gradual shift from referring to something physically dirty to an abstract sense of moral ‘dirtiness’. Consequently, two words coexist in English with different nuances:

You can read dirty or sordid little stories in a tabloid newspaper.

Magister Andrews’ clothes, however, are good old Germanic dirty — not sordid!

[iv] La. vestīmentum, -ī [2/n]: article of clothing

Old Fr. vestement: clothing; clothes

Engl. vestment: an article of clothing worn by the clergy

However, the Old English noun was retained:

OE clāþ [klāth]: cloth; clāþas [klāthas]: clothes

And so, again, we see the coexistence of two nouns, one Germanic and the other indirectly from Latin but with a highly specialised meaning:

After the service, the priest removed his vestments, put on his old clothes, and went to work in his garden.

18.05.26: clothes washing [1]: transcription / translation / language notes

Referring to:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3452819201540306

Another great little video from Magister Andrews: one minute in length but, depending on your aim, has lots to explore.

Salvēte. | Hello.

Vestīmenta mea sunt* sordida. | My clothes are dirty.

Ergō, necesse est mihi lavāre vestīmenta. | Therefore, it is necessary for me to wash the clothes.

Vestīmenta lavō māchinā. | I wash the clothes with / by means of a machine.

Ecce māchina. | Here’s the machine / Look, the machine.

Prīmō sāpōnem** in māchinā fundō, … | First, I pour soap into the machine, …

Et deinde vestīmenta in māchinā pōnō. | And then I put the clothes into the machine.

Pōnō vestīmenta in māchinā. | I put the clothes into the machine.

Tandem nummōs, … | Finally, the coins, …

… ecce nummōs … | … here are the coins …

… in māchinā pōnō, et … | … I put them into the machine, and …

… operculum claudō. | … I close the lid.

Et iam vestīmenta mea lavantur. | And now my clothes are being washed.

Valēte! | Goodbye!

*Magister A makes a small mistake to which he refers at the end of the video. He says ‘est’ but it should be sunt because his clothes are dirty.

** If you took your toga to the laundry in Ancient Rome, they didn’t use soap as we understand it today. The laundry workers (fullōnēs) filled the tubs with a mixture of water and alkaline chemicals – sometimes including ammonia derived from urine – and trampled, scrubbed and wrung out the cloth.

[i]

nummus, -ī [2/m]: coin

operculum, -ī [2/n]: cover; lid

vestīmentum, -ī [2/n]: (sg.) article of clothing; (pl.) clothes

fundō, -ere [3]: pour (out)

lavō, -āre [1]: wash

pōnō, -ere [3]: put

[ii]

[a] Vestīmenta lavō māchinā. | I wash the clothes by means of a machine.

Latin uses the ablative case alone to describe the means or, here, the instrument by which an action is performed.

Rēx gladiō interfectus est. | The king was killed by a sword.

24.05.25: Level 3; summary of the uses of the ablative case [7]: the ablative of means / instrument

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/240525-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/773231668621437

When the person by whom an action is performed is expressed, the preposition ā / ab + the ablative is used. This is known in grammar as the ablative of agent.

Rēx ab inimīcō interfectus est. | The king was killed by an enemy.

24.05.25: Level 3; summary of the uses of the ablative case [8]: the ablative of agent

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/240525-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of_26.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/773232508621353

[b]

vestīmenta in māchinā [ablative] pōnō | I put the clothes into the machine

sāpōnem in māchinā fundō | I pour the soap into the machine

The English ‘into’ specifically conveys movement from one place to another.

Latin, like some other languages such as German and Russian, distinguishes between the ideas of (1) no movement: the money is in the drawer, and movement from one place to another: she threw the money into the drawer.

(1) in + ablative: in / on (no movement)

in hortō: in the garden; in mēnsā: on the table; in equō: on a horse

(2) in + accusative: in(to) / on(to) i.e. movement from A to B

et cocum … in culīnam [accusative] … dūxit (Petronius) | And he led the cook into the kitchen.

in flūmen [accusative] sē praecipitāverant (Quintus Curtius Rufus) | They had hurled themselves into the river.

However, in the phrases used by Magister Andrews, the focus is not on movement, but on the location where the action takes place and so the ablative is used despite the English translation.

Sacculum suum in mēnsā [ablative] pōnit | He puts his bag on the table.

cūstōdiās vigiliāsque in turribus mūrōque disposuit (Caesar) | He stationed guards and watches on the towers and on the wall.

28.11.26: Comenius (1658) LXXV; the Bath [3] vocabulary (2)

[vi]

Balneātor scarificat scalprō & applicandō cucurbitās extrahit sanguinem subcutāneum, quem abstergit spongiā.

The bath-keeper lances with a lancet and by applying cupping-glasses he draws the blood between the skin and the flesh, which he wipes away with a sponge.

[i] image #1: cucurbita, -ae [1/f]: [i] gourd, squash, (Neo-Latin) pumpkin; [ii] cupping-glass, used in the operation of drawing blood; the term conveys the shape of the glass

[ii] scalprum, -ī [2/n]: lancet; knife > (diminutive) scalpellum, -ī [2/n]: a small surgical knife > Engl. scalpel

image #2: bronze lancet found at Ephesus (Science Museum, UK)

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/03/100625-blunt-razors-blood-letting-and_6.html

Bloodletting and lancing were normally associated with barber-surgeons who, alongside cutting hair and shaving, would perform minor surgery, for example tooth extraction and the treatment of wounds. Here, Comenius refers to the practice being carried out by bath attendants.

The same medical practices took place in Ancient Rome although whether minor surgical procedures were performed at the actual location of the baths is less certain. However, the medicinal benefits of bathing are referred to by, for example, Celsus.

Images #3 and #4: bloodletting in Ancient Greece and the Middle Ages

02.11.26: topic; architecture [15]; describing a modern house (Traupman); dialogue (2) [ii] an interesting discussion

The odd omission from the Traupman dialogue is how Latin would express ‘living room’ because the Romans did not have a single room in the way we understand its modern function. However, given that one of the aims of this topic is to facilitate spoken Latin in a contemporary way, it needs to be included.

To begin, I shall quote some extracts from a discussion a decade ago:

https://latin.stackexchange.com/questions/2272/what-is-living-room-in-latin

“I would like to find a good Latin word for "living room". I know some options, but my list might not be complete and I am not sure what is the best choice. It may well be that different words are needed for different kinds of living rooms.”

This is certainly true in the ancient world although we will not find the “answer” from the poorer classes of Rome since most of them lived in single rooms in large, cramped and poorly constructed apartment blocks called insulae. They had neither washing nor cooking facilities, hence the proliferation of thermae (public bath houses), street fountains, and “fast food” outlets known as thermopolia.

In the large, wealthy Roman town houses and in the sprawling country villas, there were different rooms where the type of activity took place that we would associate with our living rooms – but none of them encompass a unified concept.

One response to the initial question was:

“Have you tried looking at modern Latin dictionaries already?”

That the original writer had provided a list of possibilities suggests this process had already been done, but it had not resolved the issue. The link below gives eight different Neo-Latin definitions for the same word:

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/living_room/

The problem is compounded by different writers inconsistently employing vocabulary.

[1] Traupman (Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency) lists two – but does not use them in his text :

[i] sessōrium, -ī [2/n]; Amery (First Thousand Words in Latin) also chooses this noun.

[ii] synoecium, -ī [2/n]

[2] Wilkes (Latin for Beginners) lists mediānum, -ī [2/n]

[3] ātrium, -ī [2/n] is listed at:

https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Latin_II/Household_Lesson_1#

This is also given as “lounge” at:

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/lounge/

Question: does it matter? Not really, if you are only focussing on the Classical world because the language has a wide range of vocabulary to denote the rooms in Roman houses, the functions generally well defined. In a contemporary sense, however, it is an interesting task to question and / or challenge what is presented as being “correct”.

This can be done in a number of ways, one of which is to check the frequency with which a word was used in Classical Latin and whether it at least partially conveyed the meaning.

[1] https://logeion.uchicago.edu/sessorium

Lewis & Short: [i] stool, chair; [ii] a place of residence, dwelling, habitation

The noun occurs once. In the Satyricon (Petronius), Trimalchio describes his vast property:

Habet quattuor cēnātiōnēs, | It has 4 dining rooms,

cubicula vīgintī, | 20 bedrooms,

porticūs marmorātōs duōs | two marble halls,

sū(r)sum cellātiōnem, | a series of storerooms upstairs

cubiculum in quō ipse dormiō, | a bedroom in which I myself sleep,

** vīperae huius sessōrium.... | a chamber for this viper, ** [i.e. a place where the viper ‘lives’ / ‘sits’ / ‘resides’]

ōstiāriī cellam perbonam; | the porter’s excellent room;

hospitium hospitēs capit. | the guest room receives guests.

[2] https://logeion.uchicago.edu/synoecium

Lewis & Short: a room where several persons dwell together

From a German definition: das gemeinsame Wohnzimmer | the shared / common living room

The noun occurs only once, and also from the Satyricon:

Nam sī aliquis ex īs, quī in eōdem synoeciō pōtant, ... | For if any one of those who drink in the same tenement / lodging…

I suspect that Traupman has tried to find an all-embracing noun, but neither of these were in common use, nor does he consider other nouns that are functionally closer.

[3] Wilkes’ suggestion of mediānum, -ī [2/n] is distinctly odd since, in Classical Latin, it had no suggestion of any form of living space; as a noun, it referred to the middle part.

https://logeion.uchicago.edu/medianus

[4] There are, however, potential “candidates”.

[i] exedra, -ae [1/f] “In private houses the exedra was a room intended for conversation” (Thurston Peck)

[ii] ex(h)edrium, -ī [2/n]: Lewis & Short define this word as a “sitting room, parlour” and is referred to by Cicero:

Exhedria quaedam mihi nova sunt īnstitūta in porticulā Tusculānī.

“Certain new sitting-rooms have been set up for me in the little portico of the Tusculan villa.”

In architectural terms, they may have been little more than ‘side rooms’ or a semi-circular seating area opening out to, for example, the peristylium (garden with colonnades). While neither of them would precisely render the concept of a living room, both refer to areas of a Roman house where people would withdraw for conversation and social interaction. To that extent, the rather formal English term “drawing room”, a shortened version of “withdrawing room”, reflects a similar concept.

[iii] ātrium, -ī [2/n]

05.10.26: topic: architecture [6]; The Roman House [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/04/051026-topic-architecture-6-roman-house.htmll

However, since it was a location for receiving visitors – the term “reception rooms” is used today by, for example, estate agents – then it is a reasonable rendering of “living room”. Moreover, in social terms, the ātrium was the largest – and most impressive – area of a Roman house, designed to convey the wealth and influence of the owner. In many houses in England built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the “living room” was often described as the “best room” i.e. the one that was the most elaborately furnished and conventionally used for visitors.

The writer of the original post makes the following observation:

“Atrium: Has the meaning of "main room", but also the tone of "entrance". If many other rooms are accessed through the living room, I would be tempted to use this word.”

And so would I.

05.11.26: topic; architecture [16]; describing a Roman house (Traupman); dialogue (3)

Read the dialogue and match the words and phrases in bold with the images. The images are not in the same order as the text references.

A: Habitāsne in aedibus an in īnsulā?

B: In aedibus habitō. Magnam vērō domum habeō.

A: Itane? Quot conclāvia domus habet?

B: Atrium, tablīnum, trīclīnium, culīnam, balneum, sex cubicula, peristȳlium cum bellō hortō.

A: Suntne cubicula omnia in pedeplānīs?

B: Quattuor cubicula in pedeplānīs sunt; cētera in tabulātō secundō sunt. Servī et ancillae in tabulātō secundō dormiunt.

A: Siquidem marītus tuus cōnsul est, conveniuntne multī clientēs domī tuae ad officium?

B: Ita, nam sīc est mōs. Bene manē clientēs frequentant nōn sōlum vestibulum sed etiam ātrium. Deinde clientēs marītum meum in forum dēdūcunt.

A: Mānēsne in ātriō inter officium?

B: Minimē vērō, eō tempore ego satagō* in culīnā aut in peristȳliō.

A: Quid facis in peristȳliō?

B: Ego cūrō rosās et aliās plantās in hortō.

A: Quid facis in culīnā?

B: Cēnam coquō, quia marītus meus saepe vocat clientēs ad cēnam. Ego ipsa cibum adpōnō in trīclīniō.

A: Sit dīs grātia, ego in vīllulā rūrī habitō! Vīta est tam simplex ibi!

*satagō, -ere [3]: [i] fuss, busy about; [ii] have one’s hands full; can also be written as two separate words i.e. satis agō, literally to be doing enough.

[1]

pedeplāna, -ōrum [2/n/pl]: (post-Classical) ground floor; rooms on the ground floor

tabulātum, -ī [2/n]: storey

in summō tabulātō: on the upper floor

in tabulātō secundō: on the second floor

[2] Not included in the dialogue, but appropriate to the topic of describing a modern house:

(1) attic

[i] the term cēnaculum, -ī [2/n] which can describe an upstairs dining room, has an extended meaning of ‘garret’ or ‘attic’ and is associated with poorer living quarters

[ii] cella, -ae [1/f] subtegulānea: a Neo-Latin construction that literally describes a small room or storeroom (cella) situated under the roof (subtegulānea)

(2) cellar; basement

The phrase subterrāneum ergastulum, referred to by Columella, describes the physical structure of a slave prison, in this case located underground (subterrāneus, -a, -um). By extension, the Neo-Latin coinage of cella subterrānea i.e. an underground storeroom would convey the same contemporary idea of a cellar.

____________________

02.11.26: topic; architecture [14]; describing a modern house (Traupman); dialogue (2) [i]

Read the dialogue and match the words and phrases in bold with the images. The images are not in the same order as the text references.

A: Mōnstrā mihi, quaesō, partem interiōrem huius domūs.

B: Libenter. Est vērō domus ēlegāns. Sunt pictūrae in quōque pariete.

A: Quot cubicula sunt in hāc domō?

B: Omnīnō quattuor cubicula.

A: Quid est in quōque cubiculō?

B: Bīnī lectī et bīnae cathedrae et vestiārium.

A: Estne tablīnum in hāc domō?

B: Etiam. Est profectō magna mēnsa scrīptōria rōborea ibi; atque sunt pluteī circā parietēs omnēs.

A: Habetne domus amplam culīnam?

B: Ita; est magnus camīnus in culīnā atque fūsōrium.

A: Ubi est trīclīnium?

B: Trīclīnium situm est inter culīnam et balneum. Prope balneum est lātrīna. In balneō est solium magnum.

[1]

[i] domus, -ūs [4/f]: house

[ii] pariēs, pariētis [3/m]: (interior) wall

[iii] pars, partis [3/f]: part

[iv] pictūra, -ae [1/f]: picture, painting

[2]

[i] trīclīnium, -ī [2/n]: dining room

also:

(1) cēnāculum, -ī [2/n]: [i] dining room < cēnō (dine) + -culum; [ii] the location of the cēnaculum was often in an upper storey and has the additional and more general meaning of ‘upper room’ or ‘attic’; the noun could be associated with the dwellings of the poorer classes of Roman society

(2) cēnātiō, -nis [3/f]: dining room; dining hall

[ii] culīna, -ae [1/f]: kitchen

[iii] fūsōrium, -ī [2/n]: sink / basin (Neo-Latin); listed in various sources

https://logeion.uchicago.edu/fusorium

https://latinlexicon.org/definition.php?p1=4001082&p2=f

[iv] The general term for a ‘cooker’ has various equivalents in Neo-Latin. Traupman (in Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency) lists:

foculus, -ī [2/m]: in Classical Latin, this can refer to a ‘brazier’ i.e. portable container to hold burning coals or charcoal, and used for heating or cooking

foculus ēlectricus: electric cooker 

caminus, -ī [2/m]: (CL) fireplace; (Neo-Latin) stove

[v] CL has several words for an ‘oven’:

caminus, -ī [2/m]

clībanus, -ī [2/m]

fornāx, fornācis [3/f]

furnus, -ī [2/m]

Although Lewis & Short list them all as synonyms, some of them may refer to large ovens i.e. a furnace or a pottery kiln: “The furnus of the ancients was a massive oven, similar to our pizza ovens; the clibanus was in contrast a small, portable oven (most often, but not always, used for bread)” (Neo-Latin Lexicon)

[3]

[i] cubiculum, -ī [2/n]: bedroom

also: dormītōrium, -ī [2/n]: bedroom

[ii] lectus, -ī [2/m]: bed

also: cubīle, -is [3/n]: bed

[iii] cathedra, -ae [1/f]: armchair

also: sella, -ae [1/f]: seat; chair

vestiārium, -ī [2/n]: wardrobe; cloakroom < vestis (clothing) +‎ -ārium (used to express where things are kept); some writers also use this noun to refer to a chest of drawers

also: armārium, -ī [2/n]: closet; cupboard < arma (weapons; tools) + -ārium, i.e. not necessarily for clothes

[4]

[i] tablīnum, -ī [2/n]: study / office

[ii] mēnsa, -ae [1/f]: table

mēnsa scrīptōria: writing desk

[iii] plūteus, -ī [2/m]: shelf / bookcase

also: librārium, -ī [2/n]: bookcase

[5]

[i] balneum, -ī [2/n]: bath / bathroom

[ii] latrīna, -ae [1/f]: toilet / lavatory

[iii] solium, -ī [2/n]: bathtub / bath

also:

alveus, -ī [2/m]: bath tub

lābrum, -ī [2/n]: bath tub

> lābellum, -ī [2/n]: CL a small basin > basin for washing hands

____________________

30.10.26: topic; architecture [13]; describing a modern house (Traupman); dialogue (1)

A standard UK GCSE examination (for 16-year-olds) in, for example, French would explore this topic by asking the candidate to say:

[1] whether (s)he lives in, for example, a house or an apartment;

[2] how many rooms – or specifically named rooms – there are e.g. the number of bedrooms;

[3] where rooms are located either on which floor or in relation to each other;

[4] what items of furniture or equipment are in particular rooms; 3 or 4 items would be expected; the kitchen is often questioned because it has less common vocabulary (e.g. cooker, fridge etc);

[5] what activities take place in a particular room.

It is perfectly possible to do this in Latin. By applying that suggested structure, you can practise speaking the language, and talking about your own surroundings while reinforcing vocabulary and grammar.

For the most part, Classical Latin has the vocabulary required although there are a few instances where Neo-Latin is needed. However, different sources may use different words for the same modern concept, and this is referred to in the vocabulary lists. I find certain Neo-Latin words dubious, but where the word is rooted in the original CL idea – and its use can be justified – I have included it and given an explanation.

[1]

A: Gloria, potesne venire domum meam? | Gloria, can you come to my house?

B: Quid poterimus facere ibi? | What can we do there?

A: Poterimus librōs legere in cubiculō meō. | We can read books in my bedroom.

B: Benignē. Ego multōs librōs domī habeō. | No, thank you. I have many books at home

A: Fortasse poterimus coquere crūstula in culīnā nostrā. | Maybe we can bake cookies in our kitchen

B: Benignē. Ego saepe coquō crūstula in culīnā meā. | No, thank you. I often bake cookies in my kitchen.

A: Recēns ego comparāvī novum catulum. Vīsne lūdere cum meō novō catulō in peristyliō nostrō? | Recently I got a new puppy. Do you want to play with my new puppy in our courtyard?

B: Ō, ego prōrsus adorō catulōs! Eāmus illūc curriculō! | Oh, I absolutely adore puppies! Let’s go there on the double!

[2] Answer the questions:

[i] Ubi cum cane ludis?

[ii] Ubi dēambulās?

[iii] Ubi dentēs pūrgās?

[iv] Ubi dormīs?

[v] Ubi ientāculum sumis?

[vi] Ubi librōs legis?

[vii] Ubi mūsicam audīs?

[viii] Ubi prandium sumis?

[ix] Ubi tē lavās?

[x] Ubi vestīmenta mutās?

26.10.26: topic; architecture [12]; Comenius (1658) LXXIII; The Stove with the Bedroom.

The aim of the Comenius texts is to allow you to talk in Latin about things around you. As always, speaking the language reinforces vocabulary by putting it into context, but specifically contexts that apply to our world. We will work through Comenius’ 17^th century description of a bedroom and compare the vocabulary to its interpretation both in the ancient world and how it is specifically applied in Neo-Latin with links to the Neo-Latin Lexicon.

The Stove with the bedroom | Hypocaustum cum dormītōriō.

The stove, | Hypocaustum, (1)

is beautified | ornātur

with an arched roof, | laqueārī, (2)

and wainscoted walls | & tabulātīs parietibus (3).

It is enlightened | Īllūminātur

with windows | fenestrīs (4).

It is heated | Calefit

with an oven | fornāce (5).

Its utensils are | Eius ūtēnsilia sunt

benches, | scamna (6)

stools, | sellae (7)

tables, | mēnsae (8)

with tressels, | cum fulcrīs (9)

footstools, | ac scabellīs (10)

and cushions | & culcitrīs (11).

There are also tapestries | Appenduntur etiam

hanged | tapetēs (12).

For soft lodging | Prō levī cubātū,

in a sleeping-room, | in dormitōriō (13)

there is a bed, | est lectus (cubīle) (14)

spread on a bed-stead, | strātus in spondā (15)

upon a straw-pad, | super strāmentum (16)

with sheets, | cum lodicibus (17)

and cover-lids (coverlets) | & strāgulīs (18).

The bolster, | Cervīcāl (19)

is under one’s head | est sub capite.

The bed is covered | Lectus tegitur

with a canopy | canopeō (20).

A chamber-pot, | Matula (21)

is for making water in | est vesicae levandae.

[i]

dormītōrium, -ī [2/n]: sleeping room; dormitory

laquear, -āris [3/n]: panelled ceiling, but can also refer (as here) to an arched / vaulted ceiling

[ii]

supellex, supellectilis [3/f]: domestic utensils; furniture

ūtēnsilia, -ium [3/n/pl]: things for use e.g. utensils, supplies, equipment

[iii]

fornāx, -cis [3/f]: furnace; oven; kiln

hypocaustum, -ī [2/n]: “stove”, referring to a heated room; see “topic; architecture [10]; Comenius (1658) LXXII; partēs domūs (1)” 

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/04/191026-topic-architecture-10-comenius.html

[iv]

mēnsa, -ae [1/f]: table

scabellum, -ī [2/n]: footstool

scamnum, -ī [2/n]: bench; footstool; the noun can refer to a long bench e.g. a pew in a church

sella, -ae [1/f]: seat; chair

matula, -ae [1/f]: [i] a vessel for holding liquids; [ii] chamber pot

Note: the word was also a term of abuse, meaning “simpleton” or “idiot”

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Thesaurus:homo_stultus#Latin

[v]

cubīle, -is [2/n]: bed

lectus, -ī [2/m]: bed

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/bed/

sponda, -ae [1/f]: bed-stead

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/bed__bedstead/

[vi]

strāmentum, -ī [2/n]: in general, the word refers to anything that is spread on the ground, especially straw, but could also apply to bedding hence a straw mattress which the translator gives as “straw-pad”

culcita, or culcitra, -ae [1/f]:   pillow, cushion; mattress, bedding,

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/mattress/

[vii]

cervīcal(e), -ālis [3/n]: pillow, cushion, bolster < cervīx, -cis [3/f]: neck; nape of the neck

pulvīnus, -ī [2/m]: pillow, cushion, bolster < pulvis, pulveris [3/n]: dust; powder i.e. referring to the filling of the pillow

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/pillow/

[viii]

linteum, -ī [2/n]: bed sheet

lōdīx, -cis [3/f]: sheet; blanket; rug (as a bed covering)

strāgulum, -ī [2/n]: bedspread

all listed at: https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/bedcover__sheet/

[ix]

cōnōpēum, -ī [2/n]: [i] mosquito net; [ii] canopy

tapēte, -is [3/n]: cloth (decorative), used as a carpet, or (as in the text) for wall hangings; in another section of Comenius’ work, he uses the noun to refer to the cover for a banqueting table.

31.07.26: Level 3+; Comenius (1658) CXLIII; the besieging of a city [4] vocabulary and notes [iii]

This section examines some vocabulary used to express 17^th century warfare although the terms used are rooted in Classical Latin.

Vel mūrōs per scālās trānscendendō, aut diruendō arietibus, aut dēmoliendō tormentīs, vel dirumpendō portās exōstrā, vel ēiaculandō globōs tormentāriōs ē mortāriīs (ballistīs) in urbem …

[1]

mortārium, -ī [2/n]: mortar; in Classical Latin this denotes the bowl used for grinding or pounding substances. By extension, the English derivative refers to [i] the sand–lime/cement mixture prepared in such a vessel, and [ii] a short-barrelled artillery mortar, so named from its bowl-like shape rather than from any Roman military usage.

[2]

exōstra, -ae [1/f]: petard; Comenius uses this as a Neo-Latin term, applying a meaning that was not used in Classical Latin

Invented in 1579, the petard was a small bomb containing 2-3kg of gunpowder and used to blow up gates and walls.

“For ’tis the sport to have the engineer Hoist with his own petard (Shakespeare: Hamlet)”; the phrase referring in the play to being ‘lifted’ i.e. blown up by one’s own bomb has become an idiom for being foiled by one’s own plan or falling into one’s own trap.

The Ancient Romans did not have explosives and the noun exōstra had two meanings:

[i] (theatrical) a moveable piece of scenery to represent the interior of a room

[ii] (military) “… a peculiar kind of bridge, which was thrown from a tower of the besiegers upon the walls of a besieged town, and across which the assailants marched to attack those of the besieged who were stationed on the ramparts to defend the town” (Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities)

[3]

globus, -ī [2/m]: any small, round object

tormentārius, -a, -um: (Neo-Latin) relating to a firearm; the adjective is not attested in Classical Latin but obviously derived from tormentum.

____________________

The Gunpowder Plot, a foiled attempt to blow up the British Houses of Parliament on November 4^th 1605 made international headlines and reports were published throughout Europe in several languages including Latin. I have the impression the report was written quickly or incorrectly transcribed since there are errors (marked with asterisks):

… effigiēs septem Anglōrum quī Rēgem suum cum *paraecipuēs* [= praecipuōs] Statūs Anglicī Proceribus ad *Parlementum* [= Parlamentum] ut vocant convocātīs pulvere tormentāriō simul horrendō modō in ipsā domō *Parlemntī* [= Parlamentī] ēvertere voluērunt.

• … the images of the seven Englishmen who wanted to overthrow their king together with the noblemen as they call the leading men of the English State (who had been) summoned to Parliament at the same time in an horrific manner by means of gunpowder in the House of Parliament itself.

pulvis, pulveris [3/n]: powder

pulvis tormentārium: gunpowder i.e. the powder is used to propel the projectile

Similarly:

globus tormentārius: cannonball; “grenade”

There is a contemporary reference to both terms by Diego Collado, a Spanish Christian missionary (1587 – 1638):

Ego pulverem tormentārium cōnficiō: cum ergō ita sit: haereticīs et pyrātīs Holandīs vēndidī huiusmodī pulverem; illīs etiam ministrāvī quaerendō vīctū alia, sclopōs, et glandēs seu globōs tormentāriōs, et tormenta et alia īnstrūmenta bellica.

• I make the gunpowder, and as it is, I have sold it to the Dutch heretics and pirates. For obtaining my livelihood, I also procured other stuff for them: guns and bullets or cannon balls and cannons and other instruments of war.

glāns, glandis [3/f]: (Classical Latin) acorn; acorn-shaped nut e.g. chestnut, but the term was also used by the Romans to refer to a small ball of lead or clay hurled at the enemy from a sling; (Neo-Latin) bullet

The origin of the word sclopus - referring to a gun - is unclear, but its use here is not unique. Comenius uses it in the section of his book concerned with children’s games:

Sclopō vel arcū iaculantur │ They shoot with a “trunk” or a bow

The image from that section of the book shows the boy using some form of blow-pipe or pea-shooter, translated as “trunk” presumably since it’s wooden and cylindrical.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/10/080125-level-1-topic-school-18-sports.html

It appears to be related to: stloppus, -ī [2/m], a slap (the sound produced by striking upon the inflated cheek) [Lewis & Short]; also listed as scloppus in Gaffiot); variant forms appear in manuscripts including sclop- and scoph-, an onomatopoetic word conveying the sound; it is found in Italian: schioppo (gun) and scoppio (explosion) 

sclopētum, -ī [2/n]: (Neo-Latin) rifle

sclopetārius, -ī [2/m]: (Neo-Latin) rifleman

In the report on the Gunpowder Plot, the following statement is made:

Robertus Catesbī & Thomas Percī ictū sclopētī periēre 

• Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy perished from a gunshot

ictus,-ūs [4/m]: blow; strike; (Neo-Latin) referring to the shot from a gun

While this is of interest, words related to guns are not pertinent to the Ancient Romans since no such weaponry existed.

31.07.26: Level 3+; Comenius (1658) CXLIII; the besieging of a city [3] vocabulary and notes [ii]

Vel mūrōs per scālās trānscendendō, aut diruendō arietibus, aut dēmoliendō tormentīs, vel dirumpendō portās exōstrā, vel ēiaculandō globōs tormentāriōs ē mortāriīs (ballistīs) in urbem per ballistāriōs…

[1]

In Roman warfare:

[i] ballista, -ae [1/f]: ballista, a large free-standing catapult used for throwing stones or bolts

[ii] ballistārius, -ī [2/m]: the soldier who operated a ballista

Comenius equates the term with mortar although Roman ballistae were mechanically operated and did not employ gunpowder or explosive charges.

Ballista and other vocabulary referring to large-scale weaponry are often referred to as engines e.g. siege engines, hence the translator’s 17^th century use of engineers to describe the soldiers in charge of such devices.

[iii] tormentum, -ī [2/n]: any form of ‘engine’ for hurling missiles. We have in the text a Neo-Latin reworking of the word to refer to “big guns” i.e. cannons.

Two other devices similar to the ballista are:

[iv] onager, onagrī [2/m]: catapult for throwing stones

[v] scorpiō, scorpiōnis [3/m]: small catapult

scorpiōne ab latere dextrō trāiectus exanimātusque concidit (Caesar)

• He (was) pierced and killed on the right side by a scorpion and fell

Note also:

trāiciō, -ere, trāiēcī, trāiectus [3-iō]: pierce; stab

exanimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1]: kill

[2]

[i] ariēs, -etis [3/m]: literally means the animal i.e. a male sheep, but was also used by the Romans to refer to a battering ram

In this excerpt from the Vulgate, the translator combines two ideas:

et vīneās et arietēs temperābit in mūrōs tuōs

• He shall set his battering engines against your walls.

[ii] vīnea, -ae [1/f]: mantlet, the Mediaeval military term for a portable wall or shed to stop projectiles. In Roman warfare, the vīnea was a moveable shed of wickerwork used to approach the walls of a besieged city.

In other words, they’ll get right up to the walls – safely – and then break them down!

[iii] testūdō, -inis [3/f]: [i] tortoise, turtle; [ii] the same function as vīnea above, but also the arrangement of shields over soldiers’ heads to afford protection

[iv] turris, -is [3/f] (acc. -em or -im): tower, especially military either for defence or mobile (turrēs ambulātōriae) for siege purposes

Quibus fortiter resistentibus vīneās turrēsque ēgit (Caesar)

• Since they were resisting bravely, he pushed forward mantlets and towers.

The use of the verb agō, -ere [3]: drive, clearly indicates that these are moveable.

testūdō, -inis [3/f]