Latin/Animals Lesson 2
We continue with animal nouns and vocabulary this week. For previous installments in the Latin series and other links of interest, see the links on the right.
New Vocabulary edit
We have more animal nouns today, but since many of the Latin animal names are also constellation names, we’ll learn the word for constellation. Also note the various words for cattle: cow and bull are more gender-specific, whereas “bos” works for either gender or bovines in general. Pecus means a herd of cattle, or any livestock in general and is related to pecūnia, money... indicating that livestock was probably the earliest form of currency.
| Latin | English | Audio (Classical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| bēstia, ae | beast, wild animal | frequently used of the ferocious kind that gladiators fought | |
| vacca, ae | cow | ||
| cancer, cancrī (m.) | crab | ||
| delphīnus, ī | dolphin | ||
| taurus, ī | bull | ||
| ursus, ī/ ursa, ae (m./f.) | bear | ||
| anas, anatis (f.) | duck | ||
| bōs, bovis | ox, bull, cow | ||
| leō, leōnis (m.) | lion (lea or leaena, ae, f. lioness) | ||
| pāpiliō, pāpiliōnis (m.) | butterfly, moth | ||
| pecus, pecoris (n.) | cattle, herd, domesticated animal, beast | ||
| sīdus, sīderis (n.) | constellation, star | or more broadly, anything to do with the sky, the night, the heavens, or weather |
New Sentences edit
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ego sum pāpīliō. | I am a butterfly. | |
| Canis anatem videt. | The dog sees the duck. | |
| Vacca aquam bibit et herbam edit. | The cow drinks water and eats grass. | |
| Bōs est pecus. | The ox is a domesticated animal. | |
| Agricola magna pecora habet. | The farmer has large herds. | |
| Ursus et leō sunt bestiae. | The bear and the lion are wild animals. | |
| Anas est avis. | The duck is a bird. | |
| Puella anatem habet. | The girl has a duck. | |
| Taurus vaccam videt. | The bull sees the cow. | |
| Cancer et delphīnus in marī sunt. | The crab and the dolphin are in the sea. | |
| Nautae delphīnōs vident. | The sailors see dolphins. | |
| Cancrī piscem edunt. | The crabs are eating the fish. | |
| Leō et vacca in terrā sunt. | The lion and the cow are on land. | |
| Sunt multae bestiae in vīvāriō. | There are many animals in the zoo. | |
| Vīvārium multās bestiās habet. | The zoo has many animals. | |
| Ursa Major est sīdus. | Ursa Major (the greater bear) is a constellation. | |
| Ursa Minor, Leō, et Cancer sunt sīdera in caelō. | Ursa Minor (the smaller bear), Leo, and Cancer are constellations in the sky. | |
| Currus bōvem trahit. | The cart drags the ox. | Latin proverb, cf “The tail wags the dog” |
Practice edit
| Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson | |
|---|---|
| Step one | First learn the words using this lesson: |
| Step two | Next try learning and writing the sentencing using this: |
| Note that the Memrise stage covers the content for all lessons in each stage. If you are skipping previous stages you may need to manually "ignore" the words in previous levels (use the 'select all' function) | |
Spero hanc lectionem tibi placere (I hope you like this lesson)! We will have more animals next time. Those of you who are here because you’re also studying Latin formally, we particularly recommend the lessons on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd declensions. .. and let me know in a comment if there is anything you are confused about. Bonam fortūnam habeas!