Orberg, Familia Romana

Latin Learning Latin
1

Hi guys,

I’d just like to try and confirm my understanding of the words in this sentence i’m reading, and find out exactly what root their root form is. The sentences are from Orberg’s ‘Familia Romana’ book ‘Lingua Latina’.

The words:

delectant
Verba

from: page 35, section VILLA ET HORTVS

Iulia: “Vide, mater! Vedete, pueri! Videte rosas meas!” Iulia laeta est, rosae eam delectant.
Aemilia: “Ecce puella pulchra cum rosis pulchris!”
Verba Aemiliae Iuliam delectant.
Marcus: “Rosae pulchrae sunt; puella sine rosis pulchra non est!”
Verba Marci Iuliam non delectant!


delectant would mean ‘pleases’ ?
Verba would mean ‘the words’ (or, what he/she says).

So the sentences would mean;

Julia: “Look mother! Look boys! Look at my roses!”, Julia is happy, as the roses delight/please her.
Emily: “Look, a/the pretty girl with beautify roses”
What Emily says pleases Julia.
Marcus: “Roses are beautiful; A girl without roses isn’t beautiful”.
What Marcus says doesn’t please Julia.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good dictionary? Or maybe the problem is I don’t know how to use one correctly.
Finding the form ‘delectant’ in my current Latin/English dictionary is not possible. Verba also not.
Usually you can understand from the context, but sometimes I just need a little confirmation. And my dictionary wasn’t able to give it!

thanks for all replies.

sean

2

“verba delectant” “the words please”. What you wrote is good, too. Quod scripsisti bonum quidem est.

The best dictionaries (optima sunt): Oxford Latin Dictionary, and Lewis & Short. Pretty good dictionary (melius): Cassell’s. Also Whitaker’s Words program from this site http://users.erols.com/whitaker/words.htm

3

Any dictionary will have these words. You have to look up the right form, though. Verbum is the nominiatve (it is neuter). The trans. will be under this. The same goes for delecto. Verbs are always listed by their 1st person indicative present.

4

hmm…

ok. So my first problem is to be able to recognize a verb from a noun. Second, is to know what the 1st person indicative present form takes with verbs.
I will have to have a look at wheellock again i think…

5

Don’t forget to know the nominative form! Or you can download that morphological/dictionary tool that adrianus mentioned. Fits on a flash drive and can open off of a flash drive. Nice eh :wink: .

6

Delectant means delight, and verba means verb.