Learn Latin Vocab - OCR HIGHER TIER (A402)


NOUNS	1st Declension -A, -AE (feminine)
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
POENA	PUNISHMENT, PENALTY	penalty	for the likeliest usage of this noun, see the entry for 'poenas do' in the verb table.
NOUNS	2nd Declension -US, -I (masculine)
CAPTIVUS	PRISONER	captive, captivate	nice to have a really obvious one near the start: should give you a bit of extra confidence!
INIMICUS	ENEMY	enemy	this really is where the English word comes from! It literally means an 'un-friend' ('in-amicus'),and refers to someone who is a personal enemy as distinct from a 'hostis' - an enemy of the whole state.
MARITUS	husband	married	this is so close to modern European words for husband that it shouldn't cause any trouble.
NOUNS	2nd Declension neuter -UM, -I
GAUDIUM	JOY, PLEASURE	gaudy, gay	something 'gaudy' originally was brightly-coloured & cheerful - designed to make you feel happy; these days it seems to be beginning to have the 'bad-sense' idea of 'tacky' associated with it, however. Which is rather similar to what has happened to its other derivative!
IMPERIUM	POWER, EMPIRE, COMMAND	imperial	deriv.'s should be enough to give you this one. Connected of course to 'impero' and 'imperator'
REGNUM	KINGDOM	reign	connected with 'rego' and 'rex/regina'; and explains why the English word has a 'g' in it
NOUNS	3rd Declension, various stems and genders
LEGIO, legionis (f)	LEGION	legionary, legionnaire	why is such an obviously 'masculine' idea a feminine noun? Two reasons: the grammatical ending '-io' in the 3rd decl. is used for fem. words; but also (more usefully) words that refer to 'groups' or numbers of things (collective nouns) tend to be feminine in Latin - hence, for example, urbs (also feminine are most abstract nouns, apart from those ending -or). These 'rules' apply mostly to the 3rd decl.
PES, pedis (m)	FOOT	pedal, pedestrian	easy deriv.'s. Referring to the last entry, as it's neither a collective nor an abstract noun, pes is likely to be masc!
SANGUIS, sanguinis (m)	BLOOD	consanguinity, sanguine	the French word 'sang' is derived; masc again since it is obviously something that you can touch! One old pupil used to create a gruesome mind-picture of prisoners who 'sang' while they were being executed in the arena...(got it from 'Quo Vadis', I suspect!)
SCELUS, sceleris (n)	CRIME	?	an obvious connection can be made by thinking of a skeleton! This word is neuter by reason of its -us grammar ending: somewhat confusingly, 3rddecl. words in -us -oris or -us -eris are neuter, even abstract nouns! (compare virtus, -utis which is fem: a different stem). I'm sure you can think of the other most common neuter ending in the 3rd decl?
NOUNS	4th Declension -US, -US (masculine)
EXERCITUS	ARMY	exercise	an army has to go on exercises to train up for battle; in fact this is connected with the verb 'exerceo' - I train. Sadly, the gender 'rules' outlined above break down for non-3rd decl. words - but will still probably explain why another common 4th decl. word (manus) is fem.
PORTUS	HARBOUR	port	you will already be on your guard not to confuse this with 'porto' or 'porta' - now be even more careful to spot that it's 4th declension!
VULTUS	FACE, EXPRESSION	?	vultures (especially cartoon ones!) always seem to have particularly expressive faces....


ADJECTIVES	1st/2nd Declension: -US -A -UM
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
BENIGNUS	KIND	benign	deriv.; connected with 'bene'
DIRUS	DREADFUL	dire	deriv.; 'Dir oh dir!'
NONNULLI	SOME, SEVERAL	annul, nullify	literally 'not none!' obviously tends to be used in the plural only.
PLENUS	FULL	plenty	'plenty-full'
PROXIMUS	NEAREST, NEXT	approximate. proxy	an 'approximation' is making the nearest possible guess towards something. This is actually a sort of superlative connected with 'prope'
SCELESTUS	WICKED, EVIL	?	the sdjective connected with 'scelus': see above for prompts!
VERUS	TRUE	verify, very	the original sense of the word 'very' comes from this: it is 'very' good - it is 'truly' good
ADJECTIVES	3rd Declension
BREVIS -is -e	SHORT	brief, abbreviation	deriv.'s should be enough; musicians are often confused as to why a semi-breve (let alone an actual breve!) is nowadays the longest note in written music!
DILIGENS, diligentis	CAREFUL	diligent	so that's what 'diligent' means....!
INFELIX, infelicis	UNLUCKY, UNHAPPY	infelicitous	negative version of 'felix'. Unhappy because of ill-fortune, rather than just naturally miserable!


PRONOUN	indefinite
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
QUIDAM quaedam quoddam	, A (CERTAIN)	?	this is an awkward one, both in its declension and its meaning. It declines (more or less) like 'qui quae quod' with '-dam' (unchangeable) attached as a suffix. Some cases of 'qui' are slightly altered, with a final 'm' changing to an 'n' - this should be familiar from the pronoun 'idem'. It is used to introduce a new character in a story: 'There lived in the same town a (certain) shepherd....'; sometimes the best English is produced by using just 'a/an'; you may need to experiment with 'some', 'one', ' a particular...' or even 'some...or other', if 'a certain...' doesn't sound right! It is unfortunately very common in Latin!


PREPOSITION	(+ accusative)
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
APUD	AT THE HOUSE OF, WITH, AMONGST, IN THE WORKS OF	?	this unusual preposition corresponds to the French word 'chez', and is used in the same way in Latin. It is surprisingly easy to remember! If not, try thinking of the Kwik-E-Mart (at the house of Apu......)


ADVERBS	all indeclinable
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
ANTEA	BEFORE(HAND),PREVIOUSLY	anterior	obviously connected with 'ante' and 'antequam'; all three of these, confusingly, in English can mean 'before'; this is the adverb, corresponding to 'postea', which you have learned already.
LIBENTER	GLADLY, WILLINGLY	?	it is often tempting to translate this as 'freely', given its similarity to 'liber'; the meaning is pretty close (but not recommended!) It is perhaps closer to the expression 'ad lib(itum)' - meaning 'at your pleasure'
MAGIS	MORE (GREATLY)	magnify (from magnus)	this is in fact the comparative adverb from 'magnopere'; all the degrees of comparison (adjective or adverb!) from magnus are irregular. A regional way of remembering it could be to inquire whether someone 'likes haggis magis than neeps' (possibly one of VDB's most cringeworthy efforts...!)
MULTO	MUCH, A LOT	multiply, etc.	an adverb formed from 'multus' (there is also 'multum'); the equivalent of the modern Italian 'molto'
POSTRIDIE	ON THE NEXT DAY	posterior, postpone etc.	closely connected of course to all the variations of 'post'. This one has a bit of 'dies' attached, and this is the clue to its actual meaning.
PRIMO	FIRST(LY)	prime, primitive	an adverb from 'primus' - there is also 'primum' (compare 'multo' above)
QUAM (+ a superlative)	AS....AS POSSIBLE	?	the top of the ladder as far as comparison goes! Easily the most common of these expressions is 'quam celerrime'. It's almost as if one were saying: celerrime - very quickly: quam celerrime - how very quickly (is that)!
QUANDO?	WHEN?	Fr. quand	apart from being very similar in French, this is exactly the same word in modern Italian (and Spanish!) Do not confuse it with 'ubi', which only means 'when' in the sense of a conjunction ('when we arrived, we saw our friends'); the adverbial/question meaning of ubi is of course 'where'.
SIMUL	AT THE SAME TIME	simultaneous	the deriv. should solve any problems with this one
UNDE?	WHERE ... FROM?	?	'where did you get those "unde's" from...??'


CONJUNCTIONS	all indeclinable
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
ENIM	FOR	?	think of this as a sort of 'compound' of 'nam' ('e-nim'). It is important to understand that although this word will probably come 2nd word in the Latin clause, it must be translated first.
NISI	IF...NOT, UNLESS	?	this is the negative of 'si': the Romans never said 'si...non...'
SIMULAC	AS SOON AS	simultaneous	related to 'simul': so it really means 'at the same time as...'


VERBS	1st Conjugation: -O -ARE -AVI -ATUM
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
CELO	HIDE	conceal	we've had people hiding in the cellar (which is a related derivative); or not knowing where to hide their cello...(which isn't!)
COGITO	THINK, CONSIDER	cogitate	old codgers sitting around in their basket-chairs just thinking; Descartes' famous maxim: cogito ergo sum
ORO	BEG	orator	orators standing on the platform begging their audience to listen to their arguments
POENAS DO dare dedi datum	BE PUNISHED, PAY THE PENALTY	penalty	In Latin, to 'give punishment' rather meant the opposite to what one would assume
PUTO	THINK	computer	a computer is a device that does your thinking with you (com = cum); who said 'for you'?
SPERO	HOPE	desperate	the verb associated with 'spes': if you are de-sperate your hope has gone down from you; also Fr. 'esperer'
VERBS	2nd Conjugation: principal parts as shown
APPAREO -ere apparui apparitum	APPEAR	apparition	almost the same word
FAVEO -ere favi fautum	FAVOUR, SUPPORT	favourite	again, close enough to English not to be a big problem; it puts its object in the Dative: 'give support to...'
IACEO -ere iacui	LIE DOWN	adjacent	it needs great care not to mistake this for 'iacio'; look for the letter '-i-' at the end of the stem. If it's there, it's from IACIO (because when you throw things, you need to keep your 'eye' in!) Obviously the best way is to go by the meaning in the sentence - only one of them is likely to fit in sensibly!
VERBS	3rd Conjugation: various principal parts
CADO -ere cecidi casum	FALL	occasion, cascade	something falls on a particular occasion; a cascade is a water-fall; the golfer's caddy dropped all his clubs....
INCENDO -ere incendi incensum	SET ON FIRE, BURN	incendiary, incense	hence also the meaning to be 'incensed' with anger. The root verb 'cando' gives the derivative candle
OPPRIMO -ere oppressi oppressum	CRUSH, OVERWHELM	oppress, pressure	there is again a root verb 'premo' with similar pr. parts which gives the 'press' derivatives more directly
REDDO -ere reddidi redditum	GIVE BACK, RETURN	render, rendition	literally 're-' + 'do'. All compounds of 'do' use the 3rd conjugation principal parts '-do -dere -didi -ditum': you have seen plenty already (e.g. trado). Beware of muddling this one with 'redeo' - especially as they can both have the meaning 'return'!
RUMPO -ere rupi ruptum	BURST, BREAK	rupture, erupt	this wonderful verb scarcely needs prompts to remember - once you've seen it and its derivatives I challenge you to forget it!
TOLLO -ere sustuli sublatum	RAISE, REMOVE, LIFT	extol	some have found the idea of a toll-bridge helpful: it has to raise up and remove itself for you to pass; the verb seems to have 'merged' with a now missing similar verb, probably 'subfero' - 'carry from underneath'. It's also a Latin slang word for 'steal' - compare English 'lift'. I have sometimes wondered if fero's own 'tuli' originally had connections with 'tollo' - there is an old form of the perfect: 'tetuli'. Answers on a postcard please (or use the contact form!)
VERTO -ere verti versum	TURN	convert, reverse	also a connection with vertical: what goes (straight) up, must (turn round and) come down again!
VERBS	Mixed Conjugation: various Principal Parts
CONFICIO -ere confeci confectum	FINISH, WEAR OUT	confectionery	originally had the sense of 'bringing things together' so that everything was in place. Hence the old meaning of 'confectionery' - nicely decorated sweetmeats, etc. Nowadays Mr Tesco is less choosy... but you can still say 'I've finished all my sweets!'
RAPIO -ere rapui raptum	SEIZE, GRAB	rape, rapture	the equally common compound 'corripio' can suggest rip; the other derivatives are fairly obvious
VERBS	4th Conjugation: Principal Parts as given
PERVENIO -ire perveni perventum	REACH, ARRIVE AT	venture	almost the same meaning as 'advenio'; slightly more of the idea 'come through to...'
VERBS	irregular conjugation
AUFERO auferre abstuli ablatum	TAKE AWAY, REMOVE	ablative	a compound of 'ab' +'fero'. The idea of the Ablative case ('away from') may help the most.
COEPI coepisse	BEGIN	incipient	deriv. is technically from the equally common (& related) verb 'incipio'. This is a so-called 'defective' verb (not very PC these days!) It has no present stem or tenses formed from it, beginning its conjugation in the Perfect. The idea is possibly something like: as soon as you 'begin' something, you have already begun it
MALO malle malui	PREFER	?	you know volo & nolo... here's the third verb in the group! It's a (massive) contraction of 'magis volo' - 'want (it) more'. Its similar Present tense formation to the other two gives it a wonderful 2nd pers. sing.: 'mavis'- do you really prefer Mavis?
OFFERO offerre obtuli oblatum	OFFER	offer, oblation	the only real problem with this compound of 'fero' is identifying it in its Perfect and Supine forms.
REFERO referre rettuli relatum	BRING BACK, RELATE	refer, relate	easy connections amongst its derivations and principal parts. Consider too the verb 'transfero' -'I bring across' - can you see where its supine leads you?


VERBS	DEPONENT: 1st Conjugation
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
CONOR conari conatus sum	TRY	?	if you've scored a try, you might need the balancing 'cone' to help you kick the conversion
HORTOR hortari hortatus sum	ENCOURAGE, URGE	cohort, exhortation	the general gathered the cohort and encouraged them to fight well; literally 'co-hort': 'encourage together'
MIROR mirari miratus sum	WONDER AT, BE AMAZED, ADMIRE	miracle, admiration	as you admire yourself in your 'mir(r)or', you are amazed at what you see
PRECOR precari precatus sum	PRAY	deprecate	the bad sense of 'de-precate' originates in 'calling prayers/curses down' on something. The evening house-assembly in one well-known public school is called 'preces' - literally 'prayers'
VERBS	DEPONENT: 2nd Conjugation
VIDEOR videri visus sum	SEEM, APPEAR	visibly	'video' in the passive (indistinguishable from this) would mean 'I am seen': if you are seen to be something, you seem to be it.
VERBS	DEPONENT: 3rd Conjugation
LOQUOR loqui locutus sum	SPEAK	eloquent, loquacious	deriv.'s; beware of confusing this with 'locus'!
PROFICISCOR proficisci profectus sum	SET OUT	?	often confused with 'progredior': take the first 'different' letter: 'f' comes before 'g': you have to set out before you can go forward
SEQUOR sequi secutus sum	FOLLOW	sequence, consequences	(deriv.'s)
VERBS	DEPONENT: Mixed Conjugation
EGREDIOR egredi egressus sum	GO OUT, DISEMBARK	see 'progredior'	compound of the non-existent (!) 'verb' gradior which would have meant basically to 'take a step' This one has the prefix 'e' for 'out'.
INGREDIOR ingredi ingressus sum	GO IN, ENTER	see 'progredior'	same idea, this time with the prefix 'in'
MORIOR mori mortuus sum	DIE	moribund, mortuary	you should already know 'mortuus' used as an adjective; it's really the perfect participle of this verb: morior: I die; mortuus sum: I have died, therefore = I am dead
PATIOR pati passus sum	SUFFER, ALLOW	patient (in both senses!),passive	do you suffer when you see a passive verb? The derivative 'patient' is excellent to help connect the two apparently different meanings
PROGREDIOR progredi progressus sum	GO FORWARD, ADVANCE	progressive	this is the most useful (and common) of the compounds of 'gradior'. See note on egredior: the 'pro-' prefix as always means 'forward'. See also note on 'proficiscor' for a way not to muddle them up!
REGREDIOR regredi regressus sum	GO BACK, RETURN	regression	all these '-gredior' deponent verbs are very useful, in that they make it possible to express the sense of 'having gone somewhere' - deponent verbs being active in meaning. No other Latin verbs possess active past participles.


VERBS	SEMI-DEPONENT: 2nd Conjugation
LATIN	ENGLISH	DERIVATIVE	VDB PROMPT
AUDEO audere ausus sum	DARE	audacious	connected with 'audax', and has a similar 'bad' connotation: to be rash - rather too daring. " 'Ow dare 'e do that!" Nobody has ever adequately explained to me the existence of 'semi-deponent' verbs - nor why they seem mostly to be 2nd conjugation!
GAUDEO gaudere gavisus sum	REJOICE, BE PLEASED	gaudy, gay	connected with the noun 'gaudium'; probably the verb was originally spelled 'gavideo' and may even have had some connection with 'video': seeing with joy? This '-vi-' contraction into '-u-' is also evident in 'navigo/nauta (navita)'
SOLEO solere solitus sum	BE ACCUSTOMED, BE USED (TO)	?	sad to have to end on such an awkward one, one of the 'sole' vocab words with no really helpful prompts - not what we're accustomed to!