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Antiochus of Seleucia

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Does latin have a word for 'smite'?

 

If so how do you say, (name) 'the smiter' ?

 

The verb is percutio, percutere, percutissi, percutissus

 

The noun for smiter would be percutissor.

 

A slightly shorter form actually exists (in my dictionary): percussor. Pliny uses it in talking about clever animals: leo vulneratus percussorem novit, A wounded lion recognises the 'smiter', i.e. the one who hit him (Pliny NH 8.51).

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To further re-use this, what is "re" and "de" mean? I keep forgetting and switching them ect.

 

In what context, Antiochus? Italian? 'Re' is the word for King. 'De'? Well, it's 'of' in French - in Italian it's 'di'. Or are you meaning Latin? In English? Can you clarify what you need?

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Oh, sorry. Latin plz.

 

In Latin, 'de' is a preposition to be followed by the ablative case: it may be translated 'from', 'down from' or 'about' depending on the context.

 

'Re' is the ablative case of the noun 'res'. The noun may be translated 'thing', 'matter', 'topic', 'subject' -- and many other potential meanings. In modern Latin legal jargon, 'in re' (followed by the name of disputants in a case) means 'in the matter of', 'with respect to the case of'. Linked with this, in business jargon 're' is used as if it were a preposition, meaning 'about', 'on the subject of'. In that strange and roundabout way, 're' (as a Latin word used in English) has come to have a similar meaning to the real Latin preposition 'de'.

 

At least, that's how it seems to me.

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While you are at it:

 

My great, great, great, great, great, Great Grandmother is....

 

Instead of repeating 'great', is there a Latin term or phrase to indicate this?

 

I can't think of an example in a Latin text (I can in Greek, but that's no use). English is the only language I know in which you can repeat "great" and people will understand -- they don't understand if you try it in French! So. In Latin you have avia for grandmother, proavia for great-grandmother, and then what? My instinct is to say "avia meae aviae", the grandmother of my grandmother (or, in the other case, "avia mei avi", the grandmother of my grandfather). That is in fact the way it was done in ancient Greek.

 

Avia is the usual spelling of the word, but ava is also possible.

 

EDIT: Now I realise I haven't answered your precise question! I think you have to say avia proaviae meae proaviae, the grandmother of the great-grandmother of my great-grandmother (have I counted correctly?). That's assuming that the descent is entirely in the female line. You would have to change it if the descent is partly in the male and partly in the female line. No Latin translation exists that would meet all cases (and, incidentally, that often happens in translating kinship terms into other languages. To give a proper translation you may often need to know more than the English words tell you).

Edited by Andrew Dalby
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