Latin/Household Lesson 2

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New Vocabulary

Latin	English	Notes
cathedra, ae	chair, armchair, upholstered chair
furca, are	fork
sella, ae	chair, stool
culter, cultri	knife
focus, ī	fireplace, hearth, stove
furnus, ī	oven
lēctus, ī	bed, couch
scrīnium, ī (mensa scriptoria)	desk
clāvis, clāvis (f.)	key
sēdēs, sēdis (f.)	chair, seat, residence
supellex, supellectilis (f.)	furniture, household furnishings	Used in the singular.
coclear, cocleāris (n.)	spoon, spoonful, snail shell
lūmen, lūminis (n.)	lamp, light
circum (prep. w. acc.)	around, about

Notes on our new vocabulary: culter, furca et coclear (knife, fork and spoon) are ancient terms but each has diminutives or variant spellings that show up through the ages (e.g. furcilla, cochlearium, cultellus). I just picked what seemed most commonly reported as a general category. Ancient Romans mostly ate with their hands while reclining on couches, with very little tableware. There are three types of chairs listed; sedes would be a chair in general but could also mean a seat/place of residence; sella is a simple chair, a stool or backless chair, or even could refer to a toilet seat; cathedra would be a more luxurious chair, an armchair with a back and maybe upholstery. We get our English words “cathedral” and “see” or “seat” (as in the domain of a bishop or other official), from these words. Also our word “president” comes from “praesidens”, one who sits before or presides over official actions. As far as I can tell the Romans did not distinguish between a bed for sleeping and a couch for reclining or sitting... both were a “lectus”. I guess you would have to be specific as to which lectus to use, the one in the cubiculum or the one in the triclinium or atrium.

New Sentences

Latin	English	Notes
Coclear est in patellā.	The spoon is on the plate.
Culter est cum pāne.	The knife is with the bread.
Furca est in mēnsā.	The fork is on the table.
Cultrōs, furcās et cocleāria in mēnsam pōnis.	You put the knives, forks and spoons on the table.
Cultrum, furcam et coclear habeō.	I have a knife, a fork and a spoon.
Quot focōs tua domus habet?	How many fireplaces does your house have?
Focus est in culīnā.	The stove is in the kitchen.
Pānis in furnō est.	The bread is in the oven.
Lectus in cubiculo est.	The bed is in the bedroom.
Mārcus in lectō est.	Marcus is in bed/ Marcus is on the couch.
Clāvis est parva.	The key is small.
Lūmen in mēnsā est.	The lamp is on the table.
Fēlēs in lūmine sōlis dormit.	The cat sleeps in the light of the sun.
Domus nostra nōn multam supellectilem habet.	Our house does not have much furniture.
Sellae circum mēnsam stant.	The chairs are (stand) around the table.
Multās sellās in atriō habēmus.	We have many chairs in the atrium.
Avia in cathedra caerulea sedet.	Grandmother sits in the blue armchair.
Habēsne sēdem?	Do you have a chair?
Lūcia clāvem habet.	Lucia has the key.
Avunculus meus scrīnium in tablinō habet.	My uncle has a desk in the study.
Epistula in scrīniō est.	The letter is on the desk.
Lūmen in scrīnium pōnō.	I set the lamp onto the desk.
Clāvēs in scrīniō sunt.	The keys are on the desk.
curta supellex	scanty furniture; not much “upstairs”	Insulting

Practice

Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson
Step one	First learn the words using this lesson: Household vocabulary
Step two	Next try learning and writing the sentencing using this: Household Sentences
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)

We will need at least one more lesson of household terms next time. I hope you are enjoying these. Valēte!

← Household Lesson 1

Latin

Household Lesson 3 →