Reference Centre, Dictionnaires
Deciphering Latin Words and Phrases
A brief note for those of you who are new at deciphering Latin whether it be found in parish registers, on cemetery or church monuments or in documents. There are several keys to keep in mind:
1. There are three letters that do not exist in the Latin language - 'j', 'v', and 'w'. The 'j' is represented by the letter 'i'. The latin letter 'v' was the capital form of the letter 'u' but at a later date the lowercase letter 'v' began to be used to represent the consonantal form of 'u'. So what does this imply for you? Firstly, all words that you encounter that have been written with a letter 'j' (ex. cujus) will be found in this dictionary and in published dictionaries spelled with the letter 'i' (ex. not as 'cujus' but as 'cuius'). When you encounter an inscription that has used the letter 'v' (ex. Cvivs) change it, in your notes, to a 'u' (ex. Cuius). The letter 'w' will be found in latinised forms of some modern places names. Those are correct.
2. Latin, as well as other foreign languages, is sometimes best translated in groups of words rather than word-by-word. For example, the phrase 'ex sursum redditione' really makes no sense translated word-by-word - 'from or immediately after the high up returning'. But when taken as a phrase it translates to 'by the surrender of....', such as would be found in a lease for property. Phrases can usually be identified as beginning with the conjuctive words "cum", "ex", "et" or with prepositions such as "ad". Alternatively, a phrase can end with a verb such as "est" (to be), ex. 'errare humanum est', being, 'to err is human'.
3. Latin is a highly inflected language, meaning that changes in the meaning of a word are indicated by changes in the way in which the word ends. For example, the word "anno" compared to the word "annus". The word "anno" means a particular year while "annus" represents a term of one year. In Latin, every noun and pronoun can have one of six different endings, each ending signifying a different intention. So if you are trying to find a particular word in a dictionary but are unable to, before giving up entirely or resorting to a larger more definitive dictionary, try looking for the word under the first three or so letters of it's spelling. Using our example of "anno", in the Collins Latin-English English-Latin Dictionary you will not find that word precisely. But, in that dictionary you will find numerous other words that begin with the letters "ann...", each one having to do with a year in some shape or form. A quick check for Latin case endings: if a word ends in "us" or "es" it usually describes someone or something carrying out an action. If a word ends in "em" or "um", it indicates that the person or object referred to was receiving some type of action.
4. Latin records written by an English-speaking person will have mistakes in grammar and spelling. It is natural for the novice to assume that all clerics in Britain were trained to the same degree of proficiency in the Latin language. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Many clerics picked up or supplemented their schooling in Latin with what they could digest during their tenure in a parish or cathedral church. So, do not expect that the inscriber of the record 'got it right'. In my experience, I have also seen Italian Latin records that have words and phrases that have diverted from the old formal Latin language.
5. The Latin language was heavily shortformed, particularly so by British scribes. I have attempted to include, here, many of the shortforms that I have encountered over the years. If you come upon some that have not been included, please let me know and I will be happy to post those abbreviations to this page, as well.
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