Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #76: More Neuter Accusative Nouns

The focus for today's lesson features more accusative neuter nouns from the 2nd declension, ending in -um. By way of review, take a look at yesterday's sayings and make sure you can understand the neuter accusative noun in each of these sayings:

Telum ira facit.
Ignis aurum probat.
Veritas odium parit.
Nemo effugit futurum.
Copia fastidium facit.

And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Durum durum destruit.
(A) hard (thing) destroys (another) hard (thing).
durum durum DE-struit.

The neuter adjective durum, "hard," is being used as a noun here: "(a) hard (thing), something hard." You can see this Latin root in English "durable."

One durum here is the subject of the verb, and the other durum is the object of the verb; the forms are the same!
The verb destruit gives us the English word "destroys." The verb is a compound: de-struo, "down-build," i.e. to tear down, destroy.

Literally, this might mean that to break a hard rock, you need a hard tool, like a big hammer. Metaphorically, if you are facing a hard problem, you are going to need to put some hard effort into solving it.

2. Natura vacuum abhorret.
Nature abhors (a) vacuum.
na-TU-ra VA-cuum ab-HOR-ret.

The neuter adjective vacuum, "empty," is being used as a noun here also: "(an) empty (thing)," i.e. a vacuum, as we say in English.

The word Natura is in the nominative case, so it is subject of the verb; that means vacuum is in the accusative case.

The verb abhorret, "recoils, shrinks back in horror," gives us English "abhor." The verb is a compound: ab-horreo, "away-horror," i.e. move away in horror.

You can read about this famous Latin saying at Wikipedia: Horror vacui.

3. Avarus aurum deum habet.
(A) miser has gold (as his) god.
a-VA-rus aurum deum habet.

You know all the words in this saying!

The word avarus is in the nominative case, so that means it is the subject of the verb, and aurum is in the accusative case, the object of the verb.

The word deum is the accusative form of deus. As you can see, both masculine and neuter nouns of the 2nd declension end in -um.

This is yet another saying that denounces the miser for his absurd and contemptible way of life: gold is not a god, but the miser worships his gold as if it were a god.

4. Lingua lapsa verum dicit.
(A) slipped tongue tells (the) truth.
lingua lapsa verum dicit.

The feminine noun lingua, "tongue," gives us English "language."

The feminine adjective, lapsa, "slipped," gives us English "lapsed," and this Latin phrase, lingua lapsa, is equivalent to the English phrase, "a slip of the tongue."

The neuter adjective verum, "true," is being used as a noun here also: "(a) true (thing)," i.e. "the truth." You've seen the masculine adjective, verus, before, but this is the first time you've seen the neuter form.

Since lingua lapsa is in the nominative case, that means verum is accusative here, the object of the verb.

You can read about "slips of the tongue" at Wikipedia: Speech errors.

5. Assidua stilla saxum excavat.
(A) persistent drop hollows-out (a) stone.
as-SI-dua stilla saxum EX-cavat.

All the words in this saying are new:

The feminine adjective assidua, "persistent, constant," and gives us English "assiduous."

The feminine noun stilla, "drop (of liquid)," is the root in English "distill."

The neuter noun saxum means "rock, stone." You can see this root in English "sassafras" which comes from Latin saxifragus, "rock-breaking."

Because assidua stilla is in the nominative case, that means saxum is in the accusative case, the object of the verb.
The verb excavat gives us English "excavate." The verb is a compound: ex-cavat, "out-hollow, hollow out."

This is literally true: water really can wear away stone. Metaphorically, it means to be persistent, no matter how difficult your task might appear. This saying is also the opposite of Durum durum destruit; even though water is not a hard substance, it can, in fact, wear away rocks and stones.

Here's a recap: