SYNONYMS, NEAR SYNONYMS and NON-SYNONYMS
Few Latin words are completely
synonymous with any other. Two words may share the same sense in a particular
context, but one or both may bear further senses in other contexts;
or a word may be more at home in poetry than in prose, or vice versa;
or a word may belong to everyday speech, while another, otherwise fully
synonymous, is found in stylistically elevated literary texts; or a
word may be preferred by an individual writer for reasons we cannot
even guess at. Even so, with the salient provisos given with particular
pairs, the words in the list below may properly be regarded as synonyms.
(A list of words which a native speaker of English might be misled into
supposing to be synonymous is given at the end of this file.)
The classic example of a pair
of words with the same meaning, but found on quite distinct stylistic
levels, is equus/caballus. equus is found throughout
our surviving classical Latin texts, whereas caballus is very
rare and, in some of the few passages in which it used, a special effect
is clearly intended. caballus must have been the everyday word
for a horse, since, unlike equus, it survives as the usual term
in the Romance languages: Ital. and Span. caballo, Port. cavalo,
Fr. cheval, Romanian cal. The scientific name for a horse
is equus caballus, an interesting but, as so often with scientific
terminology, philologically rather meaningless combination; at least
horses fare better than the Western Lowland gorilla, known to scientists
as gorilla gorilla gorilla. (For such repetitions,
cf. homo sapiens sapiens, which distinguishes us from various
extinct relatives, but is hardly aesthetic.)
Especially in the case of conjunctions
and verbs, it should, of course, be borne in mind that words with the
same meaning may involve quite different constructions; e.g. unlike
quamquam and quamvis, cum never takes the indicative
when it means “although” and, whereas iubeo “command”
is constructed with the accusative of the direct object and an infinitive,
impero, meaning the same thing, takes the dative case and ut
+ a subjunctive verb.
again
rursus 6
iterum 6
almost
fere 7
paene 3
although
cum 27
quamquam 7
quamvis 7
and
ac 4
atque 4
et 2
-que 4
around
circa and circum
adv., prep. + acc. 5
The two forms, circa
and circum, can be used interchangeably both as adverbs and as
prepositions when denoting place, as in “The pigs were standing around”
and “The pigs were standing around the shepherd”; as a preposition
in a less physical sense, as in “around five days”, “concerning
the war”, circa is rather more frequent. They are not, however,
alternative forms in the sense that a and ab are, or
e and ex, or tum and tunc, the one to be used
before vowels and the other before consonants. A syllable ending with
a vowel or the letter m at the end of a word is elided, i.e.
is blurred in pronunciation or not sounded at all, if the next word
begins with a vowel. Whereas, therefore, the form tunc, unlike
tum, is safeguarded against elision, circum is as exposed
to it as is circa.
battle
proelium, proelii neut. 2 7
pugna, pugnae
fem. 1 14
because
quia 3
quod 3
quoniam 3
begin
coepi, coepisse 3 (began) 19
incipio, incipere,
incepi, inceptum 3 i-stem 7
big
magnus, -a, -um 6
ingens, ingentis
9
magnus is a more ordinary
word than ingens, and hence much more frequent.
but
at 2
sed 2
tamen 7
carry
fero, ferre, tuli, latum irreg. 4
porto 1 4
confess
fateor, fateri, fassus sum 2 15
Also confiteor, confiteri,
confessus sum 2
Compound verbs with the prefix
cum are particularly prone to having little or no significance beyond
that of the simple verb. Hence the two forms are sometimes found together;
e.g. Ovid Amores 2.4.3 confiteor, si quid prodest delicta
fateri “I confess, if it does me any good to confess my
sins”, Fasti 3.25 languida
consurgit, nec scit cur languida
surgat “She gets up languidly, and she does not know why
she gets up languidly”.
conquer
supero 1 14
vinco, vincere,
vici, victum 3 1
destroy
deleo, delere, delevi, deletum 2 14
perdo, perdere,
perdidi, perditum 3 7
delere is used more
of destroying physical things, perdere more of abstractions.
do
ago, agere, egi, actum 3 4
facio, facere,
feci, factum 3 i-stem 4
drink
bibo, bibere, bibi 3 1
Also poto 1 1
drive
ago, agere, egi, actum 3 4
pello, pellere,
pulsi, pulsum 3 4
embrace
amplector, amplecti, amplexus sum 3 17
Also complector,
complecti, complexus sum 3
epistle
epistula, epistulae 1 7
litterae, litterarum
fem. 1 10
face
facies, faciei fem. 5 11
vultus, vultus
masc. 4 11
According to ancient etymologists,
it is possible to tell from a person’s facies what they want
to do (sc. facere), and from a person’s vultus what
they want (sc. velle) to do.
farthest
extremus, -a, -um 12
ultimus, -a,
-um 12
fear (noun)
metus, metus masc. 4 11
timor, timoris masc. 3 16
Also pavor, pavoris
masc. 3
metus and timor
are synonymous, the former being rather the more common; of the cognate
verbs metuere and timere, the latter is more common. The
English word “meticulous” is derived from metu -culsus
(from the late Latin cello, cellere, -culsi, -culsum),
literally “compelled by fear [sc. of making a mistake]”.
fear (verb)
metuo, metuere, metui 3 1
timeo, timere, timui 2 1
vereor, vereri,
veritus sum 2 15
find
reperio, reperire, repperi, repertum 4 1
invenio, invenire,
inveni, inventum 4 4
flock
grex, gregis masc. 3 8
pecus, pecudis
fem. 3 8
Note also pecus,
pecoris neut. 3. Most authors prefer the neuter form in the singular
and the feminine in the plural. There is also an archaic form pecua,
pecuum neut. 4, rarely occurring in the singular other than in the
ablative, pecu. Some ancient grammarians thought that the feminine
form should be used only of domesticated animals; in fact, all these
terms are used almost exclusively of domesticated animals.
for
enim 5
nam 5
namque 5
gift
donum, doni neut. 2 5
munus, muneris
neut. 3 8
give
do, dare, dedi, datum 1 1
Also dono 1
dare is much the commoner
word. The connotations of giving a gift (donum) restrict the
range of meanings which donare can bear.
go into
ineo, inire, inii/inivi 4
ingredior, ingredi, ingressus sum 3 i-stem 15
Also intro 1
go out
egredior, egredi, egressus sum 3 i-stem 15
exeo, exire,
exii/exivi 4
happens (it)
accidit, accidere, accidit 3 28
contingit, contingere, contigit 3 28
evenit, evenire,
evenit 4 28
harm
laedo, laedere, laesi, laesum 3 4
noceo, nocere,
nocui, nocitum 2 17
help
iuvo, iuvare, iuvi, iutum 1 3
Also adiuvo, adiuvare,
adiuvi, adiutum 1
hinder
impedio, impedire, impedivi, impeditum 4 24
obsto, obstare, obstiti 1 24
Also obsisto, obsistere,
obstiti, obstitum 3
implore
oro 1 24
precor 1 24
law
ius, iuris neut. 3 8
lex, legis fem.
3 8
ius is a more general
concept, whereas specific enactments were called leges.
light
lumen, luminis neut. 3 8
lux, lucis
fem. 3 8
lose
amitto, amittere, amisi, amissum 3 4
perdo, perdere,
perdidi, perditum 3 7
mind
animus, animi masc. 2 7
mens, mentis
fem. 3 8
necessary (it is)
necesse est 28
opus est 28
now
iam 7
nunc 4
obtain
adipiscor, adipisci, adeptus sum 3 15
Also nanciscor, nancisci,
nactus sum 3
only
modo 13
solum 13
tantum 13
order
impero 1 17
iubeo, iubere,
iussi, iussum 2 14
pleases (it)
delectat 1 28
iuvat, iuvare, iuvit 1 28
placet, placere,
placuit 2 28
plunder
praeda, praedae fem. 1 2
spolia, spoliorum
neut. 2 10
power
potentia, potentiae fem. 1 2
vires, virium fem. 3 10
Also potestas, potestatis
fem. 3
promise
polliceor, polliceri, pollicitus sum 2 15
promitto, promittere,
promisi, promissum 3 21
river
flumen, fluminis neut. 3 8
Also fluvius, fluvii
masc. 2
St. Isidore (Etymologies
13.21) distinguishes flumen as being properly the water itself,
while fluvius is the place where the water flows.
seek
peto, petere, petii/petivi, petitum 3 1
quaero, quaerere,
quaesivi, quaesitum 3 24
show
(de)monstro 1 7
ostendo, ostendere,
ostendi, ostentum 3 4
sing
cano, canere, cecini 3 19
canto 1 21
cantare is much the
less common term, but the normal words for singing in the Romance languages
are derived from it - cantare, cantar and chanter
in Ital., Span. and Fr. respectively.
star
astrum, astri neut. 2 5
stella, stellae fem. 1 3
Also sidus, sideris
neut. 3
suffer
patior, pati, passus sum 3 i-stem 15
perfero, perferre, pertuli, perlatum 4
suffero, sufferre,
sustuli, sublatum 4
temple
aedes, aedis fem. 3 10
templum, templi
neut. 2 5
therefore
ergo 3
igitur conj. 3
itaque conj. 3
trust
credo, credere, credidi, creditum 3 17
fido, fidere, fisus sum 3 18
Also confido, confidere,
confisus sum 3
urge
hortor 1 15
suadeo, suadere,
suasi, suasum 2 17
watch
specto 1 1
Also tueor, tueri,
tuitus sum 2
wave
fluctus, fluctus masc. 4 11
unda, undae fem.
1 2
wish
cupio, cupere, cupivi, cupitum 3 i-stem 7
volo, velle,
volui irreg. 10
velle is the less emphatic,
and much more frequent, term.
woman
femina, feminae fem. 1 5
mulier, mulieris
fem. 3 8
worse, worst
deterior, -oris/ deterrimus, -a, -um 12
peior, -oris/
pessimus, -a, -um 12
work
labor, laboris masc. 3 8
opus, operis
neut. 3 8
labor tends to have an implication of “hard work” whereas opus can mean “achievement attained through work”: pyramides opus magnum regibus erant, sed servis labor infinitus, “The pyramids were a great achievement for the pharaohs, but endless labor for their slaves”.
Words which are not synonymous
all
omnis, -e 9
totus, -a, -um
13
totus means “the whole
of” something. omnis in the singular can bear that sense.
Italia tota nobiscum pugnabit “All of Italy will fight with us”,
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres “All Gaul is divided into
three parts” or, as it was once notoriously rendered, “All Gaul
is quartered into three halves”. In the plural, only omnis
is used.
either … or ...
aut … aut ... 3
vel ... vel ... 3
For the distinction between
these terms, see Chapter 3.
house
aedes, aedium fem. 3 10
casa, casae fem. 1 2
domus, -us fem.
4 11
domus is the general
term, whereas aedes is a grand residence, casa a humble
cottage.
increase
(intrans.) cresco, crescere, crevi, cretum 3 19
(trans.) augeo, augere,
auxi, auctum 2 19
know
There is a broad distinction
between scio, scire, scivi, scitum 4, used
of awareness of facts etc., and cognosco, -ere,
-novi, -nitum 3, used of acquaintance with people etc.;
contrast e.g. scio Ovidium poetam magnum esse “I know that
Ovid is a great poet” and cognovi Ovidium, poetam magnum “I
know [I have come to know] Ovid, the great poet”. Much the same distinction
is observed in the Romance languages, between verbs descended from
sapio, sapere, sapii (or sapivi) 3 i-stem
“have taste”, “be wise”, and hence “know (facts etc.)”
and the descendants of cognoscere: e.g. Italian sapere/conoscere,
Spanish saber/conocer, French savoir/connaître.
Likewise in German, between
wissen and kennen (Ich weiss, dass Ovid ein grosser Dichter
ist and Ich kenne Ovid, den grossen Dichter) and in classical
Greek, between εἰδέναι and γνῶναι (οἶδα τὸν Οὐίδιον μέγαν ποιήτην ὄντα
[oida ton Ouidion megan poieten onta] and ἔγνωκα τὸν Οὐίδιον, τὸν μέγαν ποιήτην [egnoka
ton Ouidion, ton poieten megan]).
lack
careo, carere, carui 2 18
egeo, egere,
egui 2 18
For the distinction between
these terms, see Chapter 18.
marry
(of a woman) nubo, nubere, nupsi, nuptum 3 17
(of a man) in matrimonium
duco, -ere, duxi, ductum 3
anima, animae fem. 1 soul 7
animus, animi
masc. 2 mind 7
other
alius, alia, aliud another 13
alter, -a, -um the other, second 13
ceteri, -ae, -a the others 13
reliqui, -ae, -a the others
13
For the various nuances of
these terms, see Chapter 13.
second
alter, -a, -um (of only two) 13
secundus, -a, -um (when there
may be more than two) 10
shore litus, litoris neut. 3 11
ora, orae fem. 1 2
Also ripa, ripae fem. 1
ora is used of both
the sea and inland waters (lakes, rivers), litus mostly of the
sea, ripa mostly of rivers
some(one)
quidam, quaedam, quid(quod)dam 18
aliqui(s), aliquid(-quod) 18
For the various nuances of
these terms, see Chapter 18.
that
ille, illa, illud 17
is, ea, id 17
iste, ista, istud 17
For the various nuances of
these terms, see Chapter 17.
wall
moenia, moenium neut. 3 10
murus, muri masc. 2 5
Also paries, parietis masc.
3
murus is the general word for “wall”, paries is a wall of a building (inner or outer), while moenia, which is cognate with munio, munire, munivi, munitum 4 “defend”, denotes the defensive walls of a city or military camp.