Glossary
Ablative Absolute
A grammatical construction consisting of a noun or pronoun in the ablative case with a participle (or sometimes an adjective/noun) that functions as a subordinate clause, often indicating time, cause, or condition.
Example:
Urbe capta, hostes discesserunt. (With the city captured, the enemies departed.)
Accusative Case
The grammatical case used for the direct object of a verb, the object of certain prepositions, or to indicate extent of space or duration of time.
Example:
Aeneas miratur molem. (Aeneas marvels at the mass.)
Adjective
A word that modifies a noun or pronoun, providing more information about its qualities or characteristics, and agreeing with it in case, number, and gender.
Example:
Romani erant viri fortes. (The Romans were brave men.)
Alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words that are close to one another, creating a sonic effect and often emphasizing certain words.
Example:
Multum ille et terris iactatus et alto. (He was tossed much on lands and the deep.)
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines for rhetorical emphasis and impact.
Example:
Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco. (Not ignorant of evil, I learn to help the wretched.)
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds within words that are close to each other, creating internal rhyme or a musical effect.
Example:
Fides in virtute est. (Faith is in virtue.)
Asyndeton
The omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence, often creating a sense of speed, urgency, or directness.
Example:
Veni, vidi, vici. (I came, I saw, I conquered.)
Comparative Adjective
An adjective form used to compare two things, indicating 'more [adjective]' or '[adjective]-er,' often ending in -ior/-ius.
Example:
Hic liber est melior illo. (This book is better than that one.)
Gerund
A verbal noun in Latin, typically ending in -ndum, -ndi, -ndo, or -ndō, used to express purpose or ongoing action.
Example:
Ars vivendi est difficilis. (The art of living is difficult.)
Gerundive
A verbal adjective in Latin, formed from the future passive participle, expressing necessity or obligation, often translated as 'must be [verbed].'
Example:
Carthago est delenda. (Carthage must be destroyed.)
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis or to create a strong impression.
Example:
Montes auri pollicetur. (He promises mountains of gold.)
Imagery
The use of vivid and descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating mental pictures and sensory experiences for the reader.
Example:
The poet describes the 'florea rura' (flowery fields) to evoke a sense of natural beauty and abundance.
Impersonal Verb
A verb that has no specific subject and typically appears in the third person singular, often expressing general states or conditions like weather.
Example:
Pluit. (It is raining.)
Indicative Mood
The verb mood used to express factual statements, questions, or strong assertions, representing actions or states as real or certain.
Example:
Sol lucet. (The sun shines.)
Infinitive
The basic, unconjugated form of a verb, often translated as 'to [verb],' which can function as a noun or complete another verb.
Example:
Est facile dicere, difficile facere. (It is easy to say, difficult to do.)
Irony
A literary device where the intended meaning is different from the literal meaning, often creating a humorous, critical, or poignant effect.
Example:
Aeneas, seeing the bustling city, exclaims, 'O fortunati!' while he himself is still a wanderer, highlighting the irony of his situation.
Litotes
An understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negation of its opposite, often for emphasis or ironic effect.
Example:
Non ignara mali. (Not ignorant of evil = very familiar with evil.)
Metaphor
A figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as,' stating one thing *is* another to create a deeper meaning.
Example:
Vita est bellum. (Life is war.)
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Example:
Arma virumque cano. (Arms and the man I sing. 'Arms' stands for warfare.)
Number (of verbs/nouns)
A grammatical category that indicates whether a word refers to one (singular) or more than one (plural) entity, affecting verb conjugation and noun declension.
Example:
The verb 'surgunt' is plural in number because it agrees with 'moenia' (walls), which is plural.
Onomatopoeia
The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named, or the use of words that imitate the sounds they denote.
Example:
Serpentes sibilant. (The snakes hiss.)
Participle
A verbal adjective that shares characteristics of both verbs and adjectives, indicating action or state while modifying a noun.
Example:
Miles pugnans fortiter cecidit. (The soldier, fighting bravely, fell.)
Past Participle
A verbal adjective that indicates a completed action, often used in passive constructions or ablative absolutes, typically ending in -tus, -sus, or -xus.
Example:
Puella amāta laeta erat. (The loved girl was happy.)
Personification
A poetic device that attributes human qualities, emotions, or actions to inanimate objects, animals, or abstract ideas.
Example:
Fortuna caeca est. (Blind Fortune.)
Polysyndeton
The repeated use of conjunctions (like 'et' or 'aut') in close succession, often to create a sense of abundance, emphasis, or a slow, deliberate pace.
Example:
Et mare et terrae et caelum. (And the sea and the lands and the sky.)
Repetition
The recurrence of words, phrases, or lines for emphasis, to create a particular rhythm, or to highlight a theme.
Example:
Currite, nautae, currite! (Run, sailors, run!)
Simile
A direct comparison between two unlike things using words like 'qualis' (just as), 'ut' (as), or 'velut' (just as), to make a description more vivid.
Example:
Miles pugnavit sicut leo. (The soldier fought like a lion.)
Subject
The noun or pronoun that performs the action of the verb or is described by the verb, typically in the nominative case.
Example:
In 'Aeneas miratur molem,' Aeneas is the subject performing the action of marveling.
Subjunctive Mood
A verb mood used to express possibility, desire, hypothetical situations, or indirect commands, often indicating a non-factual or potential action.
Example:
Utinam veniat! (If only he would come!)
Verb Tense
A grammatical category that indicates the time at which an action or state occurs, such as present, past (perfect, imperfect, pluperfect), or future.
Example:
In 'Aeneas miratur molem,' the verb is in the present tense, showing an ongoing action.