Playing cards in Latin and in your language

Latin Learning Latin
1

In different periods and places, the pictures on playing cards have changed, so certain translations in Latin sometimes will be meaningless to Latin speakers of another place or time. The English names come from French cards, elements of which were borrowed from Italian cards. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_card The English names of symbols on common cards today are in, in order: Ace (low), deuce/two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and four face cards, or Court cards: Jack or Knave, Queen, King, plus the Joker. Suits: of Hearts, of Diamonds, of Spades, of Clubs. [I need to check this but I think that possibly you used to say in English for the run of that number of cards, terce/tierce, tetrad, pentad, hexad, heptad, ogdoad, ennead, decad (and decade, which is still frequently pronounced ‘decad’). Ace from Latin monas and deuce from Latin dyas are still used, of course, and I don’t think the usage of terce is outside living memory in some places.]

Pexenfelder (Germany, 1670) says Chartulae pictae seu lusoriae: monas, dyas, trias/ternio, tetras/quaternio, pemptas/quinio, hectas/senio, hebdomas/septenarius, ogdoas/octonarius, enneas/nonarius, decas/decenarius. Tribus/factiones: Cordis, Nolae, Glandis, Frondis (of Heart, Bell, Acorn, Leaf). Note genitive singular case here. His face cards in each suit are only Kings, it seems: Reges (Cordatus, Nolanus, Quernus, Gramineus seu Frondarius) Videte http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/pexen/pexen1/s0794.html

Ainsworth (England, 1808) says Chartae lusoriae/pictae: monas, dyas, ternio, quaternio, pentas, senio, heptas, ogdoas, enneas. decas. Chartae imaginem humanam gerens: Miles/eques, Regina, Rex. Familia seu ) Cors, Rhombus, Trifolium (for Club), Macula Nigra (Spade).

If it’s no trouble, please, would you tell me the common names of these playing cards in your language of today, plus the literal English translations of their names?
Si tibi non molestum est, quaeso, dicasne mihi appellationes vulgares harum charularum pictarum tuâ linguâ nostro tempore, appellationibus etiam verbatim in Anglicum conversis?

For example, in French Exempli gratiâ, Francicé:

Cartes à Jouer (playing cards): l’as 1 (Ace), le deux 2, le trois 3, le quatre 4, le cinq 5, le six 6, le sept 7, le huit 8, le neuf 9, le dix 10. Cartes de face?? (Face cards): le valet (the servant), la Dame (the Lady), le Roi (the King), le Joker (the Joker). Suits: de pique (of Spade): de coeur (of Heart), de trèfle (of Clover), de carreau (of Square)

As a shortcut, just cut and paste the above text to edit. Pro compendiariâ, haec verba duplica et inice ut eos redigas.

2

In Danish:

The four colours are called
hjerter, hearts, means the same.
ruder, diamonds, the Danish word actually means windowglass, probably because of the shape.
spar, spades, the Danish word has an older spelling Spader and has the same etymology as the English word, probably from Spanish ‘espadas’.
klør, clubs, this word is actually the word kløver abbreviated in colloquial language, kløver means clover.

es, ace, this word can also mean the side of one on dice and comes from Latin as.
2-10, these are called by their respective number, e.g. spar tre, spades three

knægt is the same word as knave, i.e. either a soldier or simply a young man.
This card can also be called bonde, peasant.
dronning, queen. This card can also be called dame, lady.
konge, king.

3

Great, timeodanaos. Much appreciated.
Mirum est, timeodanaos. Maximam gratiam tibi habeo.
English ‘spade/spado (card mark)’ (OED, 1598) directly from Italian, spada spade (pl.), “broad sword”, or as you say Spanish, from latin spatha, ae (generis feminini)

4

The older Danish dictionary I used (the only really really broad one in 28+5 parts) cites only Spanish ‘espadas’, meaning a (broad) daggert, but anyway, anyone could see it’s the same word.

Considering the history of playing cards in Europe, it would certainly seem more probable with a derivate from Italian.

5

For what it’s worth, the Swedish terms are basically the same as in Danish. The four suits are hjärter (“hearts”), ruter (“squares”), spader, and klöver (“clover”). The first card is an ess, but the following cards just have cardinal numbers (e.g. hjärter två, hjärter tre, hjärter fyra…). The face cards are often called klädda kort, “dressed cards”, and consist of knekt, “soldier” (otherwise arcaic word), dam, “lady” (never drottning, “queen”, as in Danish), and kung, “king”.

By the way, what are the traditional Latin names for chess pieces?

6

Gratias tibi de responso, Alati.

Utrimque est rex, regina, bini duces, bini episcopi, bini milites atque octo pedites, ut credo.

7

In modern Greek they come either from Italian or French.

King = ρήγας [‘riγas] from “rex-regis”, probably a linguistic relic from Venetian occupation or Roman-Buzantine era.
Queen = ντάμα [ ‘dama] from French “dame” = lady, from Latin “domina-ae”
Knave = βαλές [va ‘les] from French “valet”. It is also called φάντης [‘fandis], from Italian “fante” which comes from Latin “infans-ntis”
Ace = άσ(σ)ος [ ‘asos] from Italian “asso” from Latin “as-assis”
The numbers are called as greek numbers.
I haven’t found (yet) about Joker…

Groups:
Hearts = κούπα [ ‘kupα], plural κούπες [‘kupes], from Italian “coppe” (=cups) from Latin “cup(p)a-ae”
Diamonds, squares = καρώ [ka’ro] from French “carreaux” from Latin “quadrellus-i”
Spades, clovers = σπαθί [spa’θi] from venetian “spade” (= sword), from Latin “spata-ae”
Clubs = μπαστούνι [ba’stuni] from Italian “bastoni” (= pike, club, stick) from Latin “bastus-i”

In greek (and in english) cards the figures “Spades” and “Clubs” are named in the opposite way than in first time in Italian (where bastoni=clover , spade=shovel), apparently because the etymology of those words was/is very “dark” for modern Greeks.

So, Latin origin in greek cards:

Rex, for “king”
Domina, for “queen”
infans, for “knave”
Spata, for “clover” (instead for “club”)
Bastus, for “club” (instead for “clover”)
quadrellus, for “diamond”
cup(p)a, for “heart”

I just learned some very intersting things, many more than those posted above! Welldone, Adrianus. :smiley:

8

Did you know?
A summe of what I learned…

Card playnig has its origin in China.
It came to Europe through Turkish and mostly Mameluks to Italy and Spain (at first) in the 14th century.
The first human figures were King, Knight, Servant.
After the Queen was inserted, Knight and Servant became the known as “Knave”.
Groups were symbols: Clovers for farmers, diamonds for merchants, Clubs for noblemen, Hearts for clergy. (In Italy the names were: “bastoni, denari,spade,coppe”=stick,money,sword,cup)

9

Italian names for French cards:

King=Re
Queen=Regina
Knave=Fante
Joker=La matta (but more often called Jolly)
Ace=Asso

Hearts=Cuori (Hearts)
Diamonds=Quadri (Squares)
Spades=Picche (from the French pique)
Clubs=Fiori (Flowers)

10

Great, Salvator & bedwere. Curiouser and curiouser!!
Eu! Mirum plus ultrá fit, Salvator bedwereque!!

11

Here’s the passage from Vives that I had lost
Ecce locus quem desideraveram:

__

12

Uh…which are the rooks, the duces or milites? I always thought knights should have been equites and rooks turres…but I that was only a guess.

13

Salve cdm2003
A duke is greater than a knight. The rook is the “duke”. Miles = a knight in the medieval period. Pedes (pawn)= a foot-soldier.
Dux (appelatio aevi medii quae anglicè “duke” significat) maior est quàm miles (anglicè “knight” aevo medio).

14

Hi, Adrianus. :smiley:

In Japan, the name of the cards are just a literal translation or transcription of the English way of naming them as you told.

Ace…E-su (just a transcription of English to Japanese)
Two…Ni (which means two)
Three…San (which means three)
and in the same way until 10.

Jack…Jakku (just a transcription of English to Japanese)
Queen…Kui-n (just a transcription of English to Japanese)
King …Kingu (just a transcription of English to Japanese)

Heart…Ha-to (just a transcription of English to Japanese)
Diamond…Daiya (just a transcription of English to Japanese, with a shortening from Daiyamondo to Daiya)
Spade…Supe-do (just a transcription of English to Japanese)
Club… Kurabu (just a transcription of English to Japanese) or Curo-ba- (which is a transcription of Clover) or Mitsuba (which is a Japanese name of clover)

Joker…Jo-ka- (just a transcription of English to Japanese)

15

Gratias tibi ago, Junya.

Cardano (De Ludo Aleae, pub. 1663 but written in the 1560s) says for the names of the face, or Court, cards: King, Foot soldier, and either the Queen (in France) or the Knight (in Italy).
Dicit Cardanus Italus (decade millesimo quingentensimo sexagensimo incipiente), nomina chartarum figurarum Regem, Pedem (anglicè “Knave”), et Reginam (secundùm Gallos) seu Equitem (secundùm Italos) esse.

A Netherlands treatise (1534), gives Denarii, Trifolia, Ligones, Corda
Also…

Daus [German, deuce]

16

I think your Dutch translations come from an old book, spelling has changed since then :wink:.:

Modern Dutch:
Ruiten, klaver, harten, schoppen
Koning/heer, vrouw, boer
Aas, 2, 3, etc.

Ingrid

17

Hello Junya! May I ask what “Mitsubishi” exactly means? It seems it has some short of relation to “Mitsuba”. :unamused:

Thanks!

[Sorry for the off-topic, Adrianus!]

18

Hi Swth/r.

Do you mean that big company in Japan?
Yes, Mitsuba, that is, clover, resembles that trade mark of Mitsubishi.
But, Mitsuba and Mitsubishi are not the same.
Their common part “mitsu” means “three”.
And “ba” in “Mitsuba” means leaf. So Mitsuba is that three-leaved plant, clover.
“Bishi” in “Mitsubishi” means a kind of shape. I can’t explain the shape in English, for the lack of vocabulary, so please look into that trade mark of “Mitsubishi”. That mark consists of three “hishi”. (“Hishi” is the original form, and “bishi” is a phonologically changed form.)

Here is Mitsubishi’s homepage. The page is in Japanese.
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/

19

From the look of the logo, a hishi is then a rhombus (or rhomb), or, indeed, a diamond, as on the playing cards.

[Bringing it back on topic.] :laughing:

20

How you do translate the heart and spade symbols in ‘real’ japanese (in the Latin alphabet), Junya?
Quomodò, Junya, orthographiâ latinâ in sermones japonicas et authenticas signa cordis et palae vertis?

Yes, of 1816! BTW, are there Dutch equivalents of “deuce” or “tray”, ingrid70? Also vrouw =? boer =? exactly “queen”? and “knave” in an older sense of lesser-noble, or servant or, in a more modern sense, a rascal? or what words exactly in English, would you say?
Ità, anni millesimi octingentesimi sexti decimi! Obiter, exstantne verba nederlandicè velut anglicè “deuce” et “tray”?