Latin Lesson 2: Noun-(is)-noun, cont.

Today's lesson is a continuation from yesterday, with more examples of "Noun (is) noun" sayings. So, start by reviewing the sayings from yesterday's lesson to see how well you remember them. Read them out loud; hopefully you will feel confident about the meaning as you pronounce the Latin words:

• Scientia potentia.
• Conscientia testis.
• Innocentia eloquentia.
• Nocumentum documentum.
• Juventus ventus.

If you are not feeling 100% confident about the meaning, just take a look back at yesterday's post.

For today, here are some more proverbs that use the same 2-word formula, Noun-(is)-noun.

1. Eloquentia sagitta.
Eloquence (is an) arrow.
E-lo-QUEN-ti-a    sa-GIT-ta.

You learned the word eloquentia yesterday: Innocentia eloquentia.

The word sagitta means "arrow" and it gives us "Sagittarius," the constellation of the archer. As for the the word sagitta, it is not Indo-European in origin; it is an indigenous Mediterranean word that predates the arrival of the Latins in Italy.

By using the metaphor of the arrow, the saying helps us to understand the power of language: speech is like a weapon, it can travel straight and travel far, and words that have been spoken cannot be called back... just like an arrow!

2. Homo bulla.
(A) human (is a) bubble.
HO-mo    BUL-la.

The word homo in Latin means a person, as opposed to an animal. So, homo refers both to men and to women. (The word for man in Latin is vir and the word for woman is mulier.) From Latin homo we get the English word "human."

The word bulla means "bubble," especially the bubbles of liquid as it is boiling; the Latin verb meaning to boil is bullire. Because of the round shape of bubbles, the round wax seal on an official document was also called a bulla, and that eventually gives us the English word "bulletin," an official document that, in the past, would have been sealed with a wax seal.

The meaning of this proverb is that a person's life is fleeting: we come into existence, as fragile as bubbles, and then we vanish into nothingness.

2. Sapientia potentia.
Wisdom (is) power.
Sa-pi-EN-ti-a    po-TEN-ti-a.

This is a variation on the saying you saw yesterday: Scientia potentia.

The word sapientia means wisdom, from the verb is sapi- which means both to be wise but also to taste, to be able to sense the flavor of something. That is the root metaphor of wisdom in Latin: someone who is wise, sapiens, is able to discern flavors; they have acute powers of perception. Hence the name of our species: homo sapiens, "wise person." From the sapi- root in Latin, we get the English word "savour" and also "savant" (the "p" sound shifted to a "v" in French, which is how the words came to English).

3. Sapientia felicitas.
Wisdom (is) happiness.
Sa-pi-EN-ti-a    fe-LI-ci-tas.

The word felicitas is a noun formed from the Latin adjective felix, which originally meant "fruitful, productive," but then came to mean "lucky, successful," and eventually "happy," which is how felicitas comes to mean "happiness." The English words "felicity" and "felicitations" come from this root, as do the names Felix and Felicity.

5. Nomen omen.
(A) name (is an) omen.
NO-men    O-men.

The word nomen is from the Indo-European root h₁nómn̥, which is also the origin of English "name," so Latin nomen and English "name" are cousins. You can see the Latin root in English words like "nomination" and "nomenclature."

The word omen means a sign of something to come, a foreboding. Omens can be good or bad, but they often have bad connotations. We use this Latin word in English, "omen," which also gives us the word "ominous" in English. Meanwhile, the origin of the Latin word itself is a complete mystery; here are some possible origins of the Latin word omen.

This saying is like the Iuventus ventus saying from yesterday: the words nomen and omen are not linguistically related, but it seems like there should be some connection between them since they are so similar in sound! The idea is that a person's name is something more than just a name; the name can be a sign or clue as to a person's character. A name like Felix, for example, is a name of good omen!

1. Eloquentia sagitta.
2. Homo bulla.
3. Sapientia potentia.
4. Sapientia felicitas.
5. Nomen omen.

Here is today's audio:

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