29.08.25: topic; Dialogī puerīlēs (Simon Roeth: 1556) [1] dē tempore (ii) vocabulary, notes, exercises

[1] Vocabulary: nouns

[a] clock time

hōra, -ae [1/f]: hour

sēmihōra, -ae [1/f]: half an hour

sēsquihōra, -ae [1/f]: hour and a half

[b] day; parts of the day

aurōra, -ae [1/f]: dawn; sunrise

dīlūculum, -ī [2/n]: dawn; daybreak

merīdiēs, -ēī [5/m]: midday

vesper, -ī [2/m], or vesper, -is [3/m]: evening

nox, noctis [3/f]: night

diēs, -ēī [5 m/f]: day

hebdomas, hebdomadis [3/f]: week; the most common word in Latin for ‘seven’ is septem although this word could have that meaning, but it generally refers to a period of seven days i.e. a week (Late Latin: septimāna, -ae [1/f]). We can ‘dig’ a little because the word is originally from Anc. Gk. ἑβδομάς [hebdomás] ‘a group of seven’ (including days) < ἕβδομος [hébdomos] ‘seventh’ and ultimately from ἑπτά [heptá] ‘seven’ as in the Engl. deriv. heptagon

[c] seasons

vēr, -is [3/n]: spring

aetās, aetātis [3/f]: summer

autumnus, -ī [2/m]: autumn

hiems, -is [3/f]: winter

[d] months

[i] mēnsis, -is [3/m]: month

[i] -ius e.g. Iānuārius, -ī [2/m]

[ii] -er e.g. September, Septembris [3/m]

[iii] Aprīlis, -is [3/m]

[e] years

annus, -ī [2/m]: year

saeculum, -ī [2/n]: century

decennium, -ī [2/n]: decade (similarly quīnquennium, triennium, biennium)

Notes:

nudius tertius │ the day before yesterday; note the use of the ordinal number tertius (third)

The literal meaning of nudius is: ‘It is now the Xth day since ….’  i.e. Latin includes today in the calculation:

[1] today │ hodiē > [2] yesterday │ heri > [3] day before yesterday │ nudius tertius [it is now the third day]

This concept can be extended:

Hēia, nūdius quīntus nātus ille quidem est (Plautus) │ Why, indeed it is now the fifth day since he was born.

nam [i] heri et [ii] nudius tertius, ¦ quārtus, quīntus, sextus … (Plautus) │ for [i] yesterday and [ii] the day before yesterday, ¦ (and) the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that

[2] Vocabulary: match the English words and expressions with the Latin in the word cloud

• autumn
• century
• dawn
• day
• day after tomorrow
• day before yesterday
• daybreak
• evening
• every day
• half an hour
• hour
• hour and a half
• midday
• month
• night
• only just
• recently
• spring
• summer
• today
• tomorrow
• week
• winter
• year
• yesterday

aetās; annus; aurōra; autumnus; cotīdiē; crās; diēs; dīlūculum; hebdomas; heri; hiems; hodiē; hōra; iam prīmum; mēnsis; merīdiēs; nox; nudius tertius; nūper; perendiē; saeculum; sēmihōra; sēsquihōra; vēr; vesper

[2] Phrases

Loquāmur dē [+ ablative] │ Let’s talk about …

Quid est …? │ What is …?

Quot sunt annī partēs? │ How many (parts of the year) are there?

Quandō fuistī in scholā? │ When were you in school?

Tempus quōmodo dīviditur? │ How is time divided?

Ēnumerā (mihi) … │ Count (for me) …

Recēnsē (mihi) … │ Go over / review / revise (for me) …

Recēnsē ōrdine. │ Go over (them) in order.

Fac igitur. │ Do it, then / Therefore, do (it)

Dīc minōrēs annī partēs. │ Say (the smaller parts of the year)

Perge dīcere. │ Continue / carry on saying (them).

Quattuor sciō. │ I know four.

[3] Questions: can you answer the questions of a 16^th century school teacher? You can see that the author designed them to provide one word or short phrase answers.

[i] Recēnsē mihi quāsdam speciēs temporis.

[ii] Quot sunt annī partēs? Ēnumerā mihi.

[iii] Annus quot mēnsēs habet? Recēnsē ōrdine.

[iv] Dīc minōrēs annī partēs.

[v] Quandō fuistī in scholā? │ When were you in school? > Fuī … │ I was …

[vi] Quandō [i] mē [ii] tēcum dūcēs? │ When will you take [i] me [ii] with you? > [i] Tē [ii] mēcum dūcam … │ I will take [i] you [ii] with me …

29.08.25: topic; Dialogī puerīlēs (Simon Roeth: 1556) [1] dē tempore (i) text and translation

If, for example, we were learning French, it’s highly unlikely we would use a book written in the 16^th century. Even in Latin we may be wary of considering anything written in the style that the images show. However, the Latin used in these dialogues contains a wide range of vocabulary and phrases, and when we see them presented in a more contemporary way, it becomes obvious that the 16^th century kids are learning to speak Latin. The dialogues are topic based, Roeth providing specific questions and options in terms of answers. 

The original text is in Latin and German, and so the image is only for quick reference. The English translations and macrons are mine. Features of spelling influenced by, for example, the (Late) Middle Ages e.g. seculum rather than saeculum, hyems instead of hiems, preciosissimus instead of pretiosissimus I have changed.

The book itself (the only online copy I could find) is available at:

https://books.google.co.th/books?id=6Bp63CiwqSEC&pg=PP5&hl=th&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

DIALOGUS QUĀRTUS dē tempore │ FOURTH DIALOGUE concerning the time

A: Loquāmur dē tempore. │Let’s talk about time.

B: Lubēns hoc faciō. │ I like doing that. [ = literally:  I do that willingly]

A: Quid est tempus? │ What is time?

B: Pretiōsissimus thēsaurus. │ A very precious treasure.

A: Tempus quōmodo dīviditur?  │ How is time divided?

B: In variās speciēs. │ Into various kinds.

A: Recēnsē mihi quāsdam. │ Go over some for me.

B: Saeculum, decennium, quīnquennium, triennium, biennium, annus │ century, decade, a period of five years, a period of three years (triennium), a period of two years, year

A: Quot sunt annī partēs? │ How many parts of the year are there?

B: Quattuor sciō. │ I know four.

A: Ēnumerā mihi. │ Count (them) for me.

B: Vēr, aetās, autumnus, hiems │ Spring, summer, autumn, winter

A: Annus quot mēnsēs habet? │ How many months does a year have?

B: Duodecim. │ Twelve.

A: Recēnsē ōrdine. │ Review (them) in order.

B: Faciam perīculum. │ I’ll try. [ = literally: I’ll make an attempt / I’ll take a risk]

A: Fac igitur. │ Do it then / so, do it [= literally:  therefore do (it)]

B: Iānuārius, Februārius, Mārtius, Aprīlis, Maius, Iūnius, Iūlius, Augustus, September, Octōber, November, December │ January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

A: Dīc minōrēs annī partēs. │ Say the smaller parts of the year.

B: Hebdomas, diēs, nox, aurōra │ Week, day, night, dawn

A: Haec apta studiīs. Perge dīcere. │These (are) suitable for study. Carry on saying (them).

B: Hōra, sēmihōra, sēsquihōra, dīlūculum, merīdiēs, vesper, nudius tertius │hour, half an hour, hour and a half, daybreak, midday, evening, day before yesterday

A: Quandō fuistī in scholā? │ When were you in school?

B: Heri, hodiē, nūper, iam prīmum │ Yesterday, today, recently, just now

A: Quandō mē tēcum dūcēs? │When will you take me with you?

B: Crās, perendiē, cotīdiē, aut quandō lubet. │ Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, every day, or when you want [= literally:  when it pleases].

A: Grātum mihi erit. │I’ll like that [= literally:  it will be pleasing to me]