CiceroD Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Im interested in compiling a list of latin words that would compel any roman matron to wash out the mouths of children (if they had soap). There has to be examples of colorful latin from ancient graffiti. Isn't there? Im also interested in common colloquialisms and turns of phrase. NOTE: IN ORDER TO KEEP THE FORUM G-RATED PLEASE E-MAIL ME ANYTHING BAD dshipstad@yahoo.com I'd be willing to E-mail the results to people who are also interested if you have any doubt as to appropriateness, please err on the side of caution! hope to hear from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil25 Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I seem to recall that "ecastor!" (particularly) and "epollux!!" were common. I think Collen McCullough (I don't know on what evidence) suggests that the second was used mainly by women. For "dirtier" words you might want to look out "The Latin Sexual Vocabulary" by JN Adams - Duckworth, London 1982. The word mentula was in common use for the phallus. Also look at the work of Martial (epigrams) and Juvenal (satires) - you'll find them enlightening. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dalby Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 For "dirtier" words you might want to look out "The Latin Sexual Vocabulary" by JN Adams - Duckworth, London 1982. Yes, Adams is an excellent source. There is a not bad Wikipedia article on bad words Latin profanity which I noticed by chance the other day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiceroD Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 hey thanks guys but what does "ecastor" and "epollux" mean. E-mail if its bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dalby Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 hey thanks guys but what does "ecastor" and "epollux" mean. E-mail if its bad No, it's not bad. It means "By Castor" and "By Pollux", the twin heroes from Greek mythology who appeared as visions to fight for Rome in some battle (can someone remind me which?) But if anyone said "e ... pollux" in the films Carry on Cleo or Monty Python's Life of Brian, something different would have been meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil25 Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Simple: "ecastor!!" means "By Castor!" and "epollux!!" means "By Pollux!!" (sometimes shortened to Edepol!!). Castor and Pollux were two gods (originally of the greek Pantheon) who were said to have appeared in the Forum Romanum to announce the victory at the battle of Lake Regillius in 499BC. (They were seen watering their horses - and the two gods were always associated with horses and were sometimes known as the "horse-tamers") in the spring of Juturna. Their temple was built beside the spring and would have been a familiar landmark to all Romans. hence no doubt the reason for the oath. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiceroD Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 So not somthing particularly bad just a common expression And thanks for the wikipedia page that pretty much has it all Im still interested in common sayings or phrases though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Mehercules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecimusCaesar Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 One that appears prominently in HBO's Rome is 'cac!' which needs no explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dalby Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 (edited) One that appears prominently in HBO's Rome is 'cac!' which needs no explanation. I believe cac! is Welsh. Very good at advanced Celtic, those HBO people. There is a Latin verb cacare 'to *****'. It was vulgar but so far as I know it wasn't used as a swear word. There was also a word 'cacula' meaning "a soldier's servant or slave", which might have been impolite, you would think, though none of the authors who mention it suggest that it was a slang or rude term. Edit: Wow! this site is well protected against germs! For 'to ****', which I wasn't allowed to say, you may substitute 'to defecate'. I bet the software doesn't know that word. Edited October 14, 2006 by Andrew Dalby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 You know what? I'm willing to bet that roman expletives weren't too different from ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotWotius Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 The following information vaguely relates to Roman profanities: Natives of Pairs refer to urinals as vespasiennes; the name derived from Emperor Vespasian, who famously imposed a tax on urine. According to Suetonius, Titus protested against his father's actions on the grounds of public decency. To this, Vespasian subsequently responded with: 'money does not smell'. My question is, were latrines given the endearing nickname of vespasiennes during Roman times, or was that just something the Parisians mustered up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiceroD Posted October 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 It seems plausible that the Romans could of come up with that expression. After all, it took Sir John Harrington's invention of a flush toilet for Queen Elizabeth I for his name (john) to be synonomous with Loos. This could be an example of an old joke that never died. All that said I dont really know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_Warrior Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 A tax on what? Are you serious? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil25 Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Urine was collected - you can still see the containers in the streets of Pompeii - and used in laundry. Gaius (I think) taxed the income of whores. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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