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DIES MORI

English translation: A day to die


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20:23 Oct 17, 2008
Latin to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Latin term or phrase: DIES MORI
embroidered on antique picture
Ann Yellan
English translation:A day to die
Explanation:
Also "bonus die mori"- a good day to die
Selected response from:

Nina Storey
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:30
Grading comment
thank you, it makes sense with what the artwork portrays
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +2Fool's Day
Stephen C. Farrand
5 +2not latinPéter Jutai
4 +3A day to die
Nina Storey
5 +1the day of (one's) deathJoseph J. Brazauskas


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
A day to die


Explanation:
Also "bonus die mori"- a good day to die

Nina Storey
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:30
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
thank you, it makes sense with what the artwork portrays

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joseph J. Brazauskas
5 mins
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
4 hrs
neutral  Stephen C. Farrand: But very dubious as Latin. Are you sure it doesn't say 'dies morti'?
5 hrs
agree  Veronika McLaren: cf. "memento mori"
17 hrs
neutral  Péter Jutai: Veronika, memento mori is a verb with an infinitive. I don't think, that this would be a good parallel
1 day10 hrs
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
not latin


Explanation:
I am with Stephen. Dies mori means, according to a Tractatus de arte moriendi (the book is in Italian and I didn't see it, just read a post in Hungarian), it means: learn to die. I really don't know, how :-)

And the other: in a forum I have found bonus dies mori would be a klingon sentence's latin translation. I have to laugh... The author of the post said that the construction with the infinitive is rare in prose. I wonder if he could show me only one sentence with this consrtuction.

So, may we know, where you have read this sentence?

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Note added at 20 óra (2008-10-18 16:45:41 GMT) Post-grading
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Joseph, I am not good in Latin. I know, that Vergilius and others used a phrase: dignus amari (est). But, there is an adjective and an infinitivus imperfectus passivi. Here is no adjective, but an infinitivus imperfectus activi. So, I believe, if you say, that you can show me a construction where the inf. impf. act. stands instead of a gerundium. Just show me.

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Note added at 20 óra (2008-10-18 17:06:10 GMT) Post-grading
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So, Joseph, what we need: a noun in nominativus, and an inf. impf. act. of a non transitive verb. And the whole phrase has to be a good replacement for a phrase with a gerundium.

Péter Jutai
Hungary
Local time: 07:30
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joseph J. Brazauskas: Doesn't anyone read Latin poetry? It is a simple. very common poetic construction./Please consult my note above./I now believe that Stephen is correct, Please consult my statement to this effect.
6 hrs
  -> give me a locus
agree  Stephen C. Farrand: Thank you, Peter!
11 hrs
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Fool's Day


Explanation:
Morus (long o) is a Greek adjective used in Latin. While the attestations in the OLD are all from Plautus, the Emperor Nero used it to pun with morari 'to delay, hesitate' (Suetonius, Life of Nero, 33,1). Obviously 'mori' is a homograph of the infinitive of morior.

Stephen C. Farrand
United States
Local time: 01:30
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joseph J. Brazauskas: Pro certo (ut scio a litteris nostris) iocaris.
1 day20 hrs
agree  Péter Jutai
2 days12 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the day of (one's) death


Explanation:
Literally, 'the day to die'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2008-10-18 17:00:58 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

'Mori' is, or appears to be, infinitive of purpose, which is found occasionally even in prose. E.g.,

Cicero, ad Familiares, 1.5a.3: tantum habeo polliceri, so much I have to promise

Some poetic examples:

Virgil, Aeneid, 5.262: loricam donat habere viro, he gives the hero a breastplate to wear
Ibid., 1.527: non ferro Libycos populare Penatis venimus, we have not come to lay waste with the sword the Libyan homes
Terence, Hecyra, 345: filius intro iit videre quid agat, (your) son has gone in to see what he is doing

Cf. Allen & Greenough, New Latin Grammar, 460, a-c, with notes.

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Note added at 2 days20 hrs (2008-10-20 16:36:56 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

I agree with you, Stephen, and retract my answer, since, as you point out, my citation from Cicero is not certain evidence and I can find no other which supports my contention. Thank you for your correction. It is much appreciated.

Joseph J. Brazauskas
United States
Local time: 01:30
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Stephen C. Farrand: 'Day of one's death' would be 'dies mortis'. The more I think about this, the less sense it makes as Latin. Dies moriendi or dies ad moriendum for 'the day to die', that I could see.
5 hrs
  -> It's a poetic construction. Not everything written in Latin is in prose./If one is to emend the text, I would go for the genitive rather than the dative, since the latter rather uncommon save in 'double dative' constructions.
agree  Péter Jutai: Please answer my post, I am curious. Thank you.
19 hrs
  -> Please consult my note and the reference to the grammar there mentioned./I think that Stephen provides the best solution, given the absence of context.
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Changes made by editors
Oct 17, 2008 - Changes made by Veronica Prpic Uhing:
LevelNon-PRO => PRO


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