Latin's Borrowings

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
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Michaelyus
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Latin's Borrowings

Post by Michaelyus »

SALVETE OMNES

I was wondering if some of Latin's vocabulary is derived from another language, apart from Greek. Perhaps from something like Hebrew or Ancient Egyptian?

Pete
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Post by Pete »

Yeah the Latin word "vanitas" comes from our English word "vanity."

ingrid70
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Post by ingrid70 »

Pete wrote:Yeah the Latin word "vanitas" comes from our English word "vanity."
Now that's what I'd call vanity :wink: .

Ingrid.

PS: there was centuries ago a (mad :)) Dutchman who argued that Dutch was the oldest language in the world, spoken by Adam and Eve in paradise...

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benissimus
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Re: Latin's Borrowings

Post by benissimus »

Michaelyus wrote:SALVETE OMNES

I was wondering if some of Latin's vocabulary is derived from another language, apart from Greek. Perhaps from something like Hebrew or Ancient Egyptian?
There are many Latin borrowings from Etruscan, Germanic languages, Gaulish, Hebrew, and other languages. Latin absorbed a great deal of words from the places the Roman Empire conquered and visited. When the Romance languages began to develop, Latin even borrowed some words from its own offspring! I don't know about any loanwords from Modern English as that sounds highly suspicious :evil:

For example, the Latin word catamitus is supposed to have come from Etruscan, ultimately from the Greek name Ganymedes. The Latin word carrus, from which we borrowed the word "car" is of Gaulic origin.

There are too many others to count. I can't think of very many examples, but I will look for more.
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

Pete
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Post by Pete »

Actually, to be serious now, I think there's something about the word "basium": I think "osculum" was the Latin word, and then Catullus introduced "basium" from some Celtic language or something. His native language. It was in a lecture in a literature survey course two years ago, so I can't remember exactly since it seemed almost off-topic in the course. But Benissimus here already has his OLD, so maybe he can tell.

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benissimus
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Post by benissimus »

I looked it up and of course it said it was of dubious origin. My teacher said Catullus introduced it from his own dialect which I assumed was a dialect of Latin and not another language altogether. He was apparently the first person reported to have used this word, and then was imitated by other authors later on such as Martial and Juvenal.
Last edited by benissimus on Sat May 29, 2004 12:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

Michaelyus
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Post by Michaelyus »

On the subject of basium, I went looking for it on the Internet and from one source, basium is derived from Umbrian. I'm not sure though, the Internet can be very dubious... :?

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