about a meaning of "mensura"

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Junya
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about a meaning of "mensura"

Post by Junya »

L&S for mensura,
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... %3Dmensura
B. Trop., measure, quantity, proportion, capacity, power, extent, degree, etc.:
sui, one's own measure, i. e. capacity, Juv. 11, 35:
“submittere se ad mensuram discentis,” to accommodate one's self to the capacity of the learner, Quint. 2, 3, 7:

Can the meaning "power" or "capacity" in mensura be used in any context, or only in limited contexts as in the sample sentences above ?
In the samples above, this "power" or "capacity" is an extension of the idea of "size".
So I wondered if mensura in this meaning ("power" or "capacity") can be used when one makes a Latin composition and does not mean it as an extension of the idea of "size".


To generalize my question, I'm asking whether a meaning listed in the dictionary for a Latin word can be taken as relevant in all context or only in some limited particular context.

adrianus
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Re: about a meaning of "mensura"

Post by adrianus »

In your example, I believe L&S mean "when mensura is used in a figurative sense in the manner of this example, rather than in a literal sense, one of these words might translate it appropriately, given the context in an English sentence"

Tropico sensu non subtile, sicut monstrat exemplum datum, aptum anglicè est ullum verbum inter sequentia secundum contextum anglicum.
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

Junya
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Re: about a meaning of "mensura"

Post by Junya »

Hi. :)
Somehow your explanation is not enough to me.
Your saying and my saying above seem to be spoken from different aspects of the matter, though I don't know exactly how different they are...
I will ask again when I get stuck with the same question.
Thank you.

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