Glossary of Latin Terms
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Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century - a novel of Ancient Rome |
Adfectus maritalis – A common-law marriage in which a couple just has to live together to be legally married.
Aedicula – A small shrine.
Aedile – A government officer responsible for the care of the streets, square, water supply, drains and sewers, traffic, public buildings, monuments and facilities, markets, weights and measures, the public grain supply. They had the power to fine citizens and non-citizens for infringements of any regulations.
Aedificium – Building
Agape Meal – The Lord’s Supper was celebrated on Dies Solis (Sunday) as part of the family’s cena. Only baptized church members could partake. To be baptized, one usually went through a series of classes to learn about Christianity, accept Christ into their lives and then be baptized on the morning of Dies Solis. That evening they could participate in the agape meal.
Ampohrae – Terracotta clay containers used to ship wine, olive oil and garum. Wide jugs, whose bottoms tapered to a point, they stood upright in rows of wooden frames that crossed the bottom of a vessel and half frames that curved up from either side.
Ancillae – Female slaves
Anguis – The snakelike god of cleanliness and good health. Cooks were supposed to wear a bracelet in the shape of a serpent to remind them that the kitchen had to be kept clean and orderly.
Animal sacrifices - One pagan custom Christians were not allowed to follow was eating meat used as a sacrifice to a god as that would mean you are still paying homage to that god.
Apex - A conical cap with a pointed stick of olive wool and a bit of wool at the end worn by priests. They were not allowed out-of-doors without it.
Aprilis - The month of April
Apollo – The son of Jupiter and Leto, and the twin brother of Diana. He was the god of the sun and light, but like many of the gods, he ruled over several entities. He was the god of music shown playing a golden lyre. He was the god of archers, depicted far-shooting with a silver bow. And he was the god of healing who taught man medicine.
Aqua Augusta – The longest aqueduct in the world that brought water from the mountains to Puteoli.
Aquarius – The man responsible for building and upkeep of the aqueduct system.
Atrium – The main reception room of a Roman domus, generally containing an opening in the roof above a pool.
Augur – A priest who sacrificed an animal prior to a serious event including weddings. He then would inspect the organs. The condition of the organs told the augurs if the deities approved of the action that was about to be taken.
Augustus – The month of August
Ave – Hello in Latin
Bacchus – The Roman god of wine
Bacchanalia – The festival of Bacchus celebrated in March but sometimes held five times a month. It was a great excuse to get drunk.
Balneae – The public baths that were open to women from hora prima to hora nona in the afternoon and to men from hora decima to vespera in the evening.
Balneum – Sometimes interchangeable with balneae but usually referring to the bathrooms in private homes of the wealthy. They had toilets and hot and cold running water.
Balneator – The manager of the public baths, whose duties included collecting money at the door, procurement, keeping the cloakroom and stoking the furnaces.
Basilica – A large building devoted to public activities such as courts of law.
Caldarium – The hottest room in the regular sequence of bathing rooms. It housed the steam room.
Carpentum – A four-wheeled, closed carriage drawn by six to eight mules.
Catechumen – Students undergoing preparation for baptism.
Cena – The evening meal
Chiton – A Greek dress made of two rectangular lengths of material that were sewn along the sides up to the arms. The rectangles were pinned together at intervals along the top with a space left for the head and neck.
Circus – An open air arena designed for chariot racing with wooden bleachers for spectators.
Citrus wood – A prized cabinet wood cut from vast galls on the root system of a cypress-like tree, imported from North Africa. Though termed citrus, it is not related to the orange or lemon.
Collegia, college – A society of men having something in common.
Concubia – The third night watch after dusk.
Consul – The most senior Roman magistrate. The proper age was 42, 12 years after entering the Senate at 30.
Conticinium – The last night watch just before dawn.
Cubiculum – A small room or bedroom of a domus.
Culina - Kitchen
Cursus honorrum – The hierarchy to the consulship.
Decima – Tenth
Dies - Day
Denarius, denarii – The largest denomination of Roman coin. It was worth four sesterces and about the size of a dime. There were 6,250 denarii to a talent.
Diana – The Roman goddess of fertility.
Dignitas – A man’s right and entitlement to public honor through personal endeavor. It’s the sum total of his integrity, pride, family and ancestors, word, intelligence, deeds, ability, knowledge and worth. Of all the assets a Roman nobleman possessed, dignitas was the one he was most touchy about.
Dolia – Large storage jars used to ferment wine.
Domina – Term used to address mistress of the domus.
Dominus – Term used to address the master of the domus.
Domus – A townhouse.
Doric – A style of columns the Romans borrowed from the Greeks.
Duodecima – Twelfth
Ekklisia (Greek) – Church
Epistle – A letter. Paul’s epistles to the churches of Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Philippi and Ephesus were guides for the churches on Christian living. Copies of the letters traveled to all the churches throughout the Roman Empire on the trading ships.
Ere – Sir in Latin
Equites – The cavalrymen of the Roman army.
Farrum – Spelt - An ancient and distant cousin to modern wheat.
Februarius – The month of February.
Fibula - An ornamental clasp or broach used to fasten clothing.
Fiscus – The State Treasury.
Flamen – (pl. flamines) A priest attached to the worship of an individual god. The Flamen Dialis was the priest for Jupiter. He had various taboos: he couldn’t wear knots, touch iron or other metal, eat leavened bread, witness death, encounter a dog, mount a horse, and many more.
Flammeum – Bridal veil – usually red or orange.
Font - Fountain
Forum – The main marketplace and meeting area in Roman cities. (© photo by Giselle Aguiar)
Frigidarium – The cold pool where bathers ended their visits to the baths to close the pores.
Fuller – The laundry man who used human urine to remove stains from clothing.
Gallicinium – The sixth night watch after dusk.
Garum – A pungent fish sauce made from fermented fish.
Genius – The patron spirit of a group or collegia.
Hades – Hell or the underworld.
Hispania – The whole Iberian Peninsula including modern-day Spain and Portugal.
Homilia (Greek) – Sermon – homily
Hora – hour.
Hora Prima – “First hour” or first light.
Hypocaust – A system of central/under-floor heating
Idus, Ides – One of the three enumerated dates in the Roman month. It fell on the thirteenth of January, February, April, June, August, September, November and December. In March, May, July and October, it fell on the fifteenth.
Imperator – Term used for the highest ranking general and eventually used to address the emperor.
Inclinatio – The fifth night watch after dusk.
Intempesta – The fourth night watch after dusk.
Insula – Island. The islands off the coast of Pozzuoli and Naples are Prochyta, Ischia and Capri. Also a city block.
Iovis – Thursday
Januarius – The month of January
Julius – The month of July
Junius – The month of June
Juno – The Roman queen of the gods. Wife of Jupiter and sister to Neptune and Pluto.
Jupiter – The ruler of the gods. The god of sky, lightning and thunder.
Laena – A thick woolen cloak worn by priests.
Lararium – The temple or shrine in each Roman house which held an altar or shrine to the Lares and penates as well as the death masks of the ancestors.
Lares and penates – The household gods and spirits each domus had. They held sacrifices to them in the house shrine.
Lazarus – Brother of Mary and Martha, friend of Jesus whom he raised from the dead. (John 11: 1-44)
Lectus – A couch or bed.
Litter – A covered cubicle with poles extending forward and backward on either side enabling it to be carried by a team of men.
Lunae – Monday
Machina – Machine, engine
Mare nostrum – “Our Sea” – The Mediterranean Sea
Maius – The month of May
Martis – Tuesday
Martius – The month of March
Mater – Mother
Matrimonium - Marriage
Matrona – Term used to address the wife of a Roman citizen.
Mercurii – Wednesday
Mercury – God of trade, profit, merchants and travelers
Minerva – Goddess of the arts, science and medicine (Greek Athena)
Misenum – A city on the opposite end of the Bay of Naples from Puteoli that housed the Roman naval fleet
Nautae – Longshoremen
Neptune – The Roman god of the sea
Nodus Hercules – A special knotted belt a bride wore at her wedding ceremony that only the husband could untie later. Hercules was the guardian of wedded life. This belt would secure a fruitful marriage, as Hercules had many children.
Novembris – The month of November
Octava – Eighth
Oculus – A circular opening in the roof of the building.
Officium – Office
Olive oil – A staple of the Roman diet used for cooking, frying, as a condiment, to light lamps and to soften skin. It was infused with flowers and with grasses to produce both medicine and cosmetics. Fennel, sesame, celery, watercress, mint, sage, rose and juniper, among others, were added to olive oil in the preparation of ointments. Olive trees were planted throughout the whole Mediterranean basin under Roman rule.
Orcus – Roman god who guards the underworld. (Pluto in Greek)
Pactio nuptialis – A marriage contract between the father of the bride and the groom defining the dowry to be delivered to the husband on the wedding night. The marriage had to last at least a year for the contract to be valid. If something happened, the husband would have to return the dowry.
Palaestra – Term usually applied to exercise court; sometimes also called peristyle.
Palla – A rectangular of woolen cloth worn by women as a cloak.
Pater - Father
Patera – A shallow, round dish.
Paterfamilia – The head of a Roman family unit. His right to do as he pleased with the various members of his family was rigidly protected by law.
Patricius – Patrician – the Roman aristocracy.
Peplos – A dress made from two rectangular pieces of cloth partially sewn together on both sides; the open sections at the top were then folded down in the front and back. The woman pulled this garment over her head and fastened it at her shoulders with two large pins, forming a sleeveless dress; she then tied a belt over or under the folds.
Peristylium – A garden or courtyard enclosed on all four sides, usually by a colonnade.
Piscina – Pool
Pentecost – Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, when his mother, Mary, and the apostles received the Holy Spirit and were commissioned to spread the Good News to all the world.
Plebian – All Roman citizens who were not patricians or slaves.
Praetor – The governor of a province. The magistracy ranked second in seniority in the Roman magisterial hierarchy.
Praetorian Guard – The guards of the emperor, governor or other dignitary.
Praegustator – A man who tasted all foods and drinks at a magistrates’ domus before it was served to make sure it was not poisoned.
Prima Fax – The second night watch after dusk.
Pronuba - A lady who was still married to her first husband who pronounces the marriage.
Pronubi – Men who had been married to only one woman that carried the bride over the threshold of the husband’s home.
Puer – Boy in Latin
Puteolanum – The local red sand in Puteoli/Pozzuoli that, when mixed with lime and water, created a substance harder than stone. It was also used to build the sea walls, quays and docks since it miraculously hardened even underwater.
Psalmos - Psalm
Quaestor – The lesser of all the governmental positions. A man had to be 29 years old before he could be elected. His chief duties were fiscal.
Quadrireme – Oared Roman warship with four rows of oarsmen on each side
Quarta – Fourth
Quinta – Fifth
Sirocco Wind – the warm, dry, southerly wind of the Mediterranean area moving from the Sahara. It picks up moisture as it crosses the Mediterranean.
Saturni – Saturday
Sectae – Religious sect
Secundae mensae – The “second table” or dessert tray served after the main meal.
Senate – Once an advisory council of 100 patricians under the kings, it expanded to 300 patricians when the Republic began. A few years later, plebeians were allowed to be senators. Membership was for life. Promotion to the senate started with being a quaestor unless circumstances dictated otherwise.
Septima - Seventh
Sesterces – A minute silver coin. A talent contained 25,000 sesterces.
Sexta – Sixth
Scriptoria - Desk
Solfatara – A volcanic vent emitting vapors chiefly of sulphurous character. The typical example is the famous Solfatara, near Pozzuoli, in the Flegrei (Phlegraean) Fields, west of Naples. This crater has not been in active eruption since A.D. 198, but it is continuously exhaling heated vapors, chiefly hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide and steam. The Romans managed to capture the vapors and vent them to the baths and thus discovered their healing powers. It was said to cure everything from headaches, stomachaches, nervous disorders, fevers, bad eyesight and women’s infertility,
Solis – Sunday
Subterra – The basement floor of a domus, usually housing the kitchen, servants’ quarters and stables.
Suggestum – A platform usually found in the public forum where people, including those seeking political office, stood and spoke to the crowd.
Stola – A long, sleeveless tunic worn by married Roman women, frequently if not always suspended at the shoulders from short straps and worn over another tunic.
Strigiles – Curved instruments, usually made of metal, wood, bone, or terracotta, used to scrape the product of exercise and anointing off a bather. This procedure took place either in the palaestra or the tepidarium.
Tablinium – A study or writing room of a domus or officium.
Tercia - Third
Tepidarium – Medium-heated room in regular sequence of bathing rooms.
Thermopolium - A commercial establishment that sold ready-to-eat food – a restaurant.
Toga – A lightweight wool garment only a citizen of Rome was allowed to wear. To fit an average man, a toga was over 15 feet wide and almost 8 feet high. Different types of togas were worn at different times of the day and for different occasions.
Triclinium – The dining area of a Roman villa or domus usually furnished with several reclining couches.
Trireme
– Oared Roman warship with three rows of oarsmen on each side.
Tunic – A sleeved garment worn under the toga and by women under the stola.
Tutulus – The hairstyle a bride wore at her wedding ceremony. It was divided into six locks—sex crines—and fastened with vittae—hairpins made of fishbone—on the top of her head in a cone —meta. Her hair was parted with a hasta recurva —bent iron spearhead.
Undecima – Eleventh
Vale – Goodbye in Latin
Veneris - Friday
Venus - The Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Vespera - Dusk
Vesta – The Roman goddess of hearth and fire that represents the Roman state. She was Juno’s sister.
Vestal Virgins – The priestesses of the goddess Vesta. Vestals were chosen to serve at the age of 10. Their service was for 30 years and they had to remain chaste or face a punishment of being buried alive.
Vestibulum – The entrance hallway in a domus that led to the atrium.
Via – Main road or street.
Via Appia – The Appian Way. Built 312-244 B.C. The long road between Rome and its Adriatic ports of Tarentum and Brundisium.
Virgo – A virgin. A term used to address a Vestal Virgin.
© 2011 Giselle Aguiar
