Building an extensive vocabulary

Latin Learning Latin
1

Hey,

I am a senior in college hopefully on my way to a grad program in medieval history. This is my third year studying Latin, and while I have made significant progress, the extensive and at times heterogeneous nature of medieval Latin vocabulary is becoming a bit of a stumbling block. Is this an issue that eventually resolves itself through more reading and experience or are there any specific methods to address this issue more methodologically (I use quizlet and memrise as virtual flash card apps and try to read 60 lines of Cicero a day along with the medieval Latin sources I work with for school)?

Thanks

2

Vocabulary is built best by seeing words in context. Read, but read slowly. Play with the words and concepts in your mind. Create an imaginary dialogue with the words and you will be practicing both the vocabulary and becoming more facile with the structures of the language.

3

Comenius might help. See this writeup by a fellow Textkitter. Evan der Millner has recorded the Orbis Pictus in English and Latin. But as for the peculiarly medieval usages, there’s no other way than lots of reading, as Σαῦλος said. A medieval dictionary might come in handy: https://vivariumnovum.it/risorse-didattiche/propria-formazione/classici-latini-edizione-monolingue.