4.3 Body, Life, and Death — Epoché
What you will be able to do Recognise forty of the commonest nouns for the body and for life and death. Say that something hurts, in the Latin construction rather than the English one. Tell apart the two words for the soul, and the two words that look like os . Recognise the fourth and fifth declensions, which are small and irregular-looking. Read sentences like Medicus est. [75] — He is a doctor. — without looking anything up. Prerequisites : lesson 4.2 — the nouns for people, and the two dictionary forms. This list has more third-declension nouns than the last one, and they are the ones where the genitive earns its keep: corpus gives corpor- , carō gives carn- , sanguis gives sanguin- . None of those stems could be guessed. It also has the two small declensions. The fourth appears three times here — the hand, the knee and the breath — and the fifth once, in the word for a face. Between them they account for a few dozen nouns in the whole language, but the ones that are in them are common, so they have to be met. Word list Forty nouns, in order of how often they appear in the corpus. The band is the body, what it needs, and what ends it , which is why bread, wine and water are in a list that also has death and disease. Word (dictionary form) Meaning Notes lingua, linguae la tongue; language Part of speech f., 1st How it differs from English Both senses in one word, as in English mother tongue . English language is from it. aqua, aquae la water Part of speech f., 1st How it differs from English English aquatic , aquarium , and through French ewer . manus, manūs la hand; band of men Part of speech f., 4th How it differs from English Note: fourth declension and feminine, both unusual. English manual , manuscript . vīta, vītae la life Part of speech f., 1st How it differs from English English vital . Not related to vīs , despite the look of it. vīs la force, strength; quantity Part of speech f., irregular How it differs from English Note: irregular. Accusative vim , ablative vī , plural vīrēs meaning strength. cibus, cibī la food Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English No English descendant in common use, which is unusual for a word this frequent. oculus, oculī la eye Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English English ocular , inoculate , and through French oeil . medicus, medicī la doctor Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English Also an adjective meaning healing. English medical , medicine . mors, mortis la death Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English Stem mort- . English mortal , mortgage , murder (through Germanic). animus, animī la mind, spirit, courage Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English Note: the seat of thought and will. The next entry is the seat of life. pānis, pānis la bread Part of speech m., 3rd How it differs from English English pantry , companion — one who shares bread. vīnum, vīnī la wine Part of speech n., 2nd How it differs from English English wine is a very early borrowing from this, before the sound changes. pēs, pedis la foot Part of speech m., 3rd How it differs from English Stem ped- . English pedal , pedestrian ; and cognate with foot . carō, carnis la flesh, meat Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English Stem carn- . English carnal , carnivore , carnival . faciēs, faciēī la face; appearance Part of speech f., 5th How it differs from English Fifth declension, which has only two common members. English face , facial . somnus, somnī la sleep Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English English somnolent , insomnia . Distinguish from the next but one. cor, cordis la heart Part of speech n., 3rd How it differs from English Stem cord- . English cordial , record , courage . vōx, vōcis la voice; a word Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English Note: also a word uttered, as in the proverb in the sentences below. caput, capitis la head; chapter; capital Part of speech n., 3rd How it differs from English Stem capit- . English capital , captain , chapter . ōs, ōris la mouth; face Part of speech n., 3rd How it differs from English Note: not the same word as os, ossis , a bone. The vowel length is the only difference. capillus, capillī la hair Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English Usually plural for the hair of the head. English capillary . corpus, corporis la body Part of speech n., 3rd How it differs from English Stem corpor- . English corporal , corpse , corporation . sanguis, sanguinis la blood Part of speech m., 3rd How it differs from English Stem sanguin- . English sanguine , which now means cheerful. dēns, dentis la tooth Part of speech m., 3rd How it differs from English Stem dent- . English dental , dentist ; cognate with tooth . anima, animae la breath; soul, life Part of speech f., 1st How it differs from English Note: the principle of life, which animals have too. English animal , animate . mēns, mentis la mind Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English Stem ment- . English mental , mention , comment . somnium, somniī la dream Part of speech n., 2nd How it differs from English From the word for sleep, four entries above. Both senses of English dream . aetās, aetātis la age, lifetime Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English Stem aetāt- . English eternal is from a relative of it. genū, genūs la knee Part of speech n., 4th How it differs from English Fourth declension and neuter, which is rare. Cognate with English knee . morbus, morbī la disease Part of speech m., 2nd How it differs from English English morbid . Distinguish from the word for death. salūs, salūtis la health, safety; a greeting Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English Note: three senses. As a greeting it is the ordinary Latin hello . spīritus, spīritūs la breath; spirit Part of speech m., 4th How it differs from English Fourth declension. From spīrō , to breathe. auris, auris la ear Part of speech f., 3rd How it differs from English English aural . The word for gold looks similar and