1st Alphabetic Edition
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The work of translating has been a
cooperative effort, and relatively little is the work of a single hand. The
translators, with their special expertises, are:
David Bird
Latin, Greek
Gary Brown
French, Italian, Latin; Editor
Anna Ravano
Italian, Latin, French, Spanish
and
Francis Miles
a multi-linguist who contributed extensively to the 2002 revision of the 1996
original
In addition, the 2002 revision could not have
proceeded without the extensive research help of the following: E.K.B., Jeffrey Charles, Susan Wenger, Isabelle
Hayes, Bruce Trinque, Adam Quinan, Rowen84, Lois Montbertrand, and Samuel
Bostock
If you've ever been perplexed by Patrick
O'Brian's flow of Latin, French, Irish, Greek, and Spanish (not to talk of
Catalan, Turkish, Polynesian and a few other tongues) then here, we hope, is
your essential vade mecum. Accurate translations of all - well, almost
all - the 'foreign' in O'Brian, easy as kiss-my-hand.
The entries are arranged in strict alphabetic
order (so all groups of words are treated as if spelled as one: hence afflatus precedes a
fortiori) and are given as written by O’Brian (so la garce is in the ‘l’
section, not under ‘g’). The page references
are all to the Norton first
If you want even more information or
discussion than we've provided in our Guide for the Perplexed, then
you can find civilized, witty and erudite conversation about O'Brian's finer
points in the Patrick
O'Brian Archive . And if you want to know how to pronounce the Latin in the
Roman rather than the English Style, and perhaps even learn a little about how
Latin is constructed, then mure hic
stimulate precor .
There are also other entertaining and
informative web sites relating to Patrick O'Brian that you may care to visit:
Gibbons Burke hosts pages that are a virtual cornucopia of POBiana , including
one detailing all the many musical references in the Aubrey / Maturin series; Ian
Rowan hosts an excellent non-fiction bibliography of works pertaining to sailing,
warfare and the early 19th century. Anna Ravano has added a fun site – POB’s Riches –
listing all the various literary quotations in O’Brian. Enjoy!
L ..........Latin
F .........French
E .........English
S .........Spanish
It .........Italian
Ir .........Irish Gaelic
Scots....Scots Dialect
Gk .......Greek
Lit: …..Literally
The Books
M&C Master
and Commander (1969)
PC Post
Captain (1972)
HMS HMS
Surprise (1973)
TMC The
Mauritius Command (1977)
DI Desolation
Island (1978)
FW The
Fortune of War (1979)
SM The
Surgeon’s Mate (1980)
IM The
Ionian Mission (1981)
TH Treason’s
Harbour (1983)
FSW The
Far Side of the World (1984)
RM The
Reverse of the Medal (1986)
LM The
Letter of Marque (1988)
TGS The
Thirteen Gun Salute (1989)
NC The
Nutmeg of Consolation (1991)
C/T Clarissa
Oakes (UK title) / The Truelove (USA title)
(1992)
WDS The
Wine Dark Sea (1993)
COM The
Commodore (1994)
YA The
Yellow Admiral (1996)
HD The
Hundred Days (1998)
BM Blue
at the Mizzen (1999)
’21’ 21:
The Final Unfinished Voyage (2004 fragment)
GO The
US The
Don't forget that most net browsers have a
'find' or 'search' option on the menu bar. So you can just look up particular
phrases or words that are just rattling round in your minds or which you've
heard on the several complete audio recordings of O'Brian, for example those
produced by Books on Tape
.
There are certain to be omissions and errors
in our work; these are undoubtedly due to the sloth, ignorance, fecklessness
and misspent youth of your Editor. But please do let me know of any gaps in our
labours. If you are genteel enough to pretend that you are pointing out a very
mere slip of pen or attention, then you will be entered on the 'Roll of Honour' of those who have
helped better the final document. We intend to publish revised editions from
time to time, so contributions are always welcome. Don't forget: even if you
have no idea what a 'foreign' phrase we've missed out means in English, please
send it to us for translation and inclusion.
If you have comments, please e-mail me direct.
Gibbons Burke
(with especial thanks for his expertise and labour in attending to the HTML
code for this site); Cathal O'Brien; Richard Ellis; Ed Kane; Allan Janus; Jack
Merton; Randy Johnson; Deborah Whitman; Scott Powell; Philip Anderson; Adam
Quinan; Richard Benedict; Elisabeth Shields; Gerry Strey; Eldad Ganin; Rafael
Landin; Ema Nemes; Tim Sterrett; Don Goyette; Donal O'Sullivan; Richard Ward;
Alex Frakt; Eric Raymond; David Van Baak; Roger Giner-Sorolla ; Richard Ward;
Bob Frewen; Andy Evans; Pierangelo Celle; Mary Stolzi; Chris Moseley; Francis
Miles; Bob Bridges; Juan Francisco Castilla Conejo; Don Seltzer; Lindsay
Hubert; John Blumel; Jim Whiting; Brian Tansy; Patrick Cullinan; Patrick
McGinness.
**In addition, the following
helped out greatly with the 2002 revision of the site; indeed Your Editor could
not have proceeded without them – E.K.B.,
Jeffrey Charles, Susan Wenger, Isabelle Hayes, Bruce Trinque, Adam Quinan, Rowen84,
Lois Montbertrand, Samuel Bostock, Bill Nyden.
à bas, Buonaparte [TMC 132]
down with Buonaparte (F)
absit omen [FW 52]; absit,
o absit omen [HMS 368]
let it not be an omen;
let it not, O let
it not be an omen! (L)
abune [NC 58]
above (Scots dialect)
Académie des Sciences [COM 210]
The
accoucheur [SM 41, 141, 330]
a male midwife, or obstetrician (F)
ace and trey;
deuce and cinque [C/T 114]
one and three; two and five (from
Old F)
a cuishle [GO 193]; acuisle [YA 39]; acushla [PC 447, IM 14]
lit: pulse or
heartbeat; i.e. 'Darling' (Ir)
acullico [FSW 160]
a chewed up wad of coca leaves (Sp)
adagio [TH 81, WDS 61,
COM 265, YA 127]
lit.: at ease;
musically, a slow pace (It)
ad captandum vulgus [HMS 155]
to deceive the rabble (L)
adieu [YA 201]; adieux
[PC 85, WDS 121]
goodbye; farewells (F; lit: 'to God')
à-Dieu-va [TH 326, LM 30]
lit.: may you go with God (F)
a droit [FW 240, 241]
to the right (F)
aegis [HMS 10; BM 232]
shield; patronage (L, Gk; originally only refers to the shield of either
Jupiter or one of the other gods)
aetat [SM 316]
at the age of (L)
afflatus [IM 208, 273]
lit.: a breeze;
inspiration (L)
a fortiori [TMC 210, FW 98, IM 328]
even more so (L)
a gauche, je te dis [FW 240, 241]
to the left, I tell you (F)
âge ingrat [NC 93]
that awkward age (F)
agent provocateur [FW 181, SM 150,
352]
one who acts to provoke (F; a secret agent who
induces his enemies to commit an illegal or revealing act)
agnus [TH 59]
lamb (of God) (L)
a gradh [GO 25, 34, 49, 81, 153, 197, 199, 244]
my dear (Ir)
agricolas [PC 154]
farmers (L)
aguardiente [M&C 265; PC 492, BM 225]
brandy (Sp; lit.: burning water)
a haon, a dó, a trí, a ceathir, a cúig, a sé, a seacht, a horcht, a
naoi, a deich, a haon déag, a do dhéag [COM 62]
numbers 1 - 12 (Ir)
Ah tutti contenti
saremo cosí [LM 240, 284]
Ah, then we shall all be happy (It; the final
chorus of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro)
aid de con [BM 150]
an attempt at aide de camp, lit: an
assistant in the camp, the assistant to a senior officer (F; con
means idiot, though it’s now often used as a rather more vulgar insult)
aide-memoire [FW 231]
a memory aid (F)
aides-de-camp [NC 92]
lit.: assistants in the camp; assistants to a
senior officer (F)
aiguillettes [COM 160]
slivers (F)
akvavit [LM 265]
lit.: water of life (Danish; distilled
liquor)
al fresco [GO 173]
outdoors; lit.: in the fresh air (It)
aliquid amari [M&C 32]
something bitter (L; from Lucretius, De
Rerum Natura: medio de fonte leporum surgit aliquid amari quod in ipsis
floribus angat, 'from the very
centre of a fountain of delights arises something bitter that chokes us in our
prime [lit: in our very flowering]’)
allegro [WDS 63]
lit: merry;
musically, quick and lively (It)
allegro vivace [WDS 228]
merry and lively (It; musical term for a
brisk and lively beat)
alley-tor [GO 133]
a marble, the children’s game of marbles
(archaic
allez, allez! [FW 240, 241]
go, go! (F)
altiplano [WDS 204]
the high plateau (Sp; land above c.
12,000 ft)
a luggit corpis
sweenie [M&C 144]
(perhaps Scots, but perhaps simply an O'Brian
joke: many correspondents have hazarded translations – usually involving ears,
epaulettes, bodies and pigs – but AGB remains unconvinced by their admittedly
inspired guesswork)
amitié amoureuse [TH 237]
a loving friendship (F)
amor vincit omnia [SM 339]
love conquers everything (L; properly omnia
vincit amor, Virgil Eclogues)
amo amas amat [YA 25]
I love, you love, s/he loves (L; often the
first words of Latin learned at school)
amour [DI 23]
love affair (F)
ampullae [SM 334]
little glass bottle (L)
anan [PC 419, HD 119]
say again? (Archaic English slang)
ancien régime [HMS 80]
the old system (ie: pre-revolutionary
France) (F)
andante [TGS 163, WDS 20]
at a walking pace (It; musical term)
Angustam, amici, pauperiem pati Robustus acri militia puer Condiscat [GO 124]
My friends, let a robust young man thoroughly
learn to endure gripping poverty by means of keen military service
(Horace Odes III)
anno domini [IM 111, RM
22]
in the year of the
lord; ie, advancing age (L)
An, si quis atro dente me petiverit inultus ut flebo puer? [GO 92]
If someone attacks me with malevolent ill-will
[lit: 'black tooth'], shall I wail like a frustrated child? (L; Horace Epodi
1)
apparatus [TH 279]
serving dishes (a reference to Horace Odes
I: persicos odi puer apparatus,
‘I don't like fancy Persian food, boy’)
appropriatissimo [C/T 216]
very apt, very appropriate (It)
à propos [DI 321, SM 374]
exactly to the point; with particular regard to (F)
aqua regia [HMS 100]
royal water (L;
a 50-50 mix of nitric and sulphuric acids)
aqua vitae [GO 218]
the water of life (L; a common way of referring
to strong distilled liquors, eg, Irish whiskey, Scandanavian akavit, French
clear grape spirit)
Arabia Felix [PC 344, FW 21]
Fortunate Arabia (L; the ancients knew of the
bountiful coasts and inland oases of the Arabian peninsular; these days the
phrase usually applies to modern Yemen)
arbutus [YA 10]
the wild strawberry bush (L; not related to the
edible strawberry)
arcades ambo [FW 54]
[they are] both Arcadians (L; Virgil, Eclogues,
VII, where it is used to describe two perfect, almost identical youths from
the idealised rustic province of Arcadia, sometimes known as the 'Greek
Switzerland'. The phrase came to mean 'much of a muchness')
arcus senilis [HMS 184]
old man's ring (L; the pale ring that
appears around the eye’s iris in the elderly)
arma virumque cano [PC 255, HMS 359]
of arms (i.e. weapons) and the man I sing (L;
the opening line of Virgil's Aeneid)
arré [FW 240, 241]
the word used to get a horse moving (F; usually
arrí)
As a wee bairn McLean first skelpit a mickle whaup his daddie has
whangit with a stane, and then ilka beastie that came his way [FW 61]
As a young boy McLean first skinned a whimbrel
his father had hit with a stone, and then any creature that came his way
(Scots: a whimbrel is a small bird; skelpit usually means
'hurried' but O'Brian presumably thinks it a word for 'scalped'.)
Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo.... Hyssopo et super nivem dealbabor.' [HMS 188]
Full quote: Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et
mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. 'Sprinkle me with the hyssop
twigs, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.' (L; Psalms 51:7)
ast illi solvuntur frigore membra vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub
umbras [HMS 360]
...but his limbs became numb with the cold and
his life, distaining to bear this, fled down into the shadows with a sigh. (L;
the final two lines of Virgil's Aeneid)
ataraxy [HMS 374]
indifference (Gk)
athesphatos oinos [HD 85]
wonderful wine (Gk; Homer Odyssey)
attaché [NC 55]
lit.: attached; a member of a diplomatic
staff (F)
au courant [HMS 93, TMC 102]
up to date (F)
auctor [WDS 46]
author, originator (L)
aurora australis [DI 324]
the southern lights (L)
automata [C/T 218]
self-moving machines (Gk)
autos, autee, auto ...
kyrie eleison [FSW 109]
he, she, it (Gk; beginning of a declension
learned quite early in Greek study) ... Lord, have mercy (Gk; the most common
snippet of ecclesiastical Greek in the Latin Mass)
autres pays, autre merde [HMS 206]
other countries, other shit (F; Aubrey intends ...
autres moeurs, ie, 'other customs'.)
Ave Maria [TH 249]
Hail Mary (L)
aviso [YA 193, GO 267]
a small messenger-boat (It, Sp)
babirussa [NC 12]
boar-deer (Malay; a wild boar with a pair
of horn-like tusks)
bach [M&C 345]
my dear (Welsh; lit.: 'little')
bagnio [PC 458, TH 189]
bath-house or Turkish Bath (It; correct is bagno)
bahadur [HMS 214]
sir / lord (Hindi)
balsa [WDS 222]
raft (Sp)
bandito [LM 130]
a bandit / outlaw (It)
bannière de
partance [HMS 50]
departure flag; ie the 'Blue Peter' (F)
banyan [C/T 44]
meatless (naval expression derived from
Hindi Banyan / Banian, a name for a sect of vegetarian traders)
baraka [HMS 76]
an innate, God-given, spiritual force (Arabic)
bar mitzvah [PC 165]
lit.: Son of the Commandment - the ceremony
marking the 13th birthday of a Jewish boy (Hebrew)
bas blue [C/T 94]
a blue-stocking (F)
bashi-bazouk / s [IM 340, HD 21]
lit.: wild head;
soldiers in an irregular unit (Turkish)
basso profundo [BM 235]
lowest bass (It)
beau [RM 147]
lit.: fine, handsome; an admirer, boyfriend (F)
begar [FSW 252]
by God (Anglo-Irish slang)
béguin [PC 55]
a fancy (F)
Belle Poule [HMS 7, 158]
Pretty Hen (F; poule also means 'a racy
girl')
beautiful sun (
bhang [HMS 194];
bhang; betel; qat
[COM 188]
hashish (Hindi); hashish (Hindi); a nut, mildly stimulative
when chewed (Hindi); a mildly stimulative leaf, very commonly chewed in
bidpai chhatta [HMS 221]
? (Hindi; chaat is a term for various
types of spicy appetizers, eg aloo chaat - potato, murgh chaat,
chicken; Bidpai is a Hindi word for the author of a set of Persian
fables, and usually has no food associations)
bien, Monsieur [WDS 30]
very well, Sir (F)
billets doux [DI 141, FW 28]
lit.: sweet notes; love letters (F)
bisque [IM 19, YA 199];
... de hommard [FW 204]
a rich seafood soup; ... of lobster (F)
bistouries [PC 436, COM 12]
small surgical knives, often folding (F)
bitchady pawdle [DI 106]
sent across the sea (Romany)
blanquette de veau [TMC 22]
veal in white sauce (F)
blateroon [SM 316]
a blow-hard (Anglo-Irish)
boletus [PC 110]; ... edulis [M&C 35]
fungus / mushroom; ... edible f. (L; a mushroom known as the cèpe in F,
the 'penny bun' in Eng. and funghi porcini in It and American English )
bombe glacée [IM 21]
an ice-cream dish
made in a bombe, which is the
traditional rounded pudding-bowl (F)
bona creatura [M&C 341]
pretty creature (Minorcan Catalan dialect)
bon cop de falç [SM 278]
a good stroke of the sickle (Catalan; forming
part of the refrain of the Catalan national anthem Els Segadors [The
Reapers]: bon cop de falç, bon cop de falç, defensors de la terra [a
good stroke of the sickle .... defenders of the land.)
bonheur du jour [YA 190]
a small dressing-table with many compartments
and folding mirrors (F)
bonjour,
mademoiselle [TMC 223]
good day, Miss (F)
bon mot [IM 120]
lit.: good word; a
witticism (F)
bonne mot [HMS 41]
lit.: good word, a witticism (F; should be bon
mot)
bonne bouche [TMC 162]
lit.: good mouth; ie, final touch / little extra (F)
bonnehomme [IM 293]
chap, fellow (F)
bonny-clabber [IM 80]
sour cream
(Anglo-Irish)
bonus nullius [HMS 195]
a piece of property belonging to no-one (L)
borda [WDS 175]
shepherd’s hut (Basque, but common in Sp and
French)
Boreas [LM 27]
the
north-east wind (Gk; Boreas is often depicted as a horse)
boreen [NC 73]
a country lane (Ir)
bothies [GO 161]
cottages (Ir)
bouillabaisse [LM 167]
a rich fish stew (F)
brawly feckit [HMS 253]
bravely done (Scots)
Buidhe Connail [NC 75]
The Connail Yellow (Ir., usually translated as ‘the
yellow plague’, but more properly meaning ‘the yellowness that came from
Tir-Connail’, i.e. modern Donegal)
buldoo-panee [PC 122]
?-water (Hindi pani / panee is
'water'; buldoo looks like a Tamil word, but we cannot ascertain its
meaning in this context)
ca'hoopit [PC 394]
? (Scots)
Cacafuego [M&C 204 and many subsequent references]
shit-fire (Sp; quite often used as an actual
ship's name by the Spanish)
cacothymia [PC 156]
bad spirit, malevolence (Gk)
calculus / calculi [COM 216, US 234]
a build up of minerals, producing a stone or
surface film / stones (L)
calidarium [YA 260]
the hot bath room (L; also caldarium)
Calle de los Mercadores [WDS 146]
Street of the Merchants (Sp)
calliphora [YA 97]
fly (Gk)
calor, rubor, dolor [TH 77]
heat, redness, pain (L; the classic signs of underlying infection)
Camara de Lobos [HMS 372]
Chamber of Wolves (Portuguese)
cannonières [PC 358]
gunboats (F)
canty [NC 59]
lively (Scots and Nth English dialect)
Capitaine de
Vaisseau [PC 93]
Captain of Vessel, i.e. Post-Captain (F; the
French edition of 'Post Captain' is titled Capitaine de Vaisseau)
capitan [M&C 14]
captain (Sp)
capitan manyac [IM 201]
Perhaps Mercedes'
bad English for 'Captain Jack'?
capitano [TH 273]
captain (It)
carcinoma; lupus;
sarcoma [HMS 119]
malignant tumour; skin disease (lit. 'wolf'); tumour (L,
L, Gk)
carina [WDS 87]
keel-like part (L)
carpe diem [TMC 193]
use / enjoy the day (L; Horace, Odes I. The
sense in Horace is not 'Seize the Moment!' [still less 'Go For It!'] but
rather, 'Make the Best Use of Today, for who knows what the Heavens have
planned for our Tomorrow’.)
carte, tierce,
sagoon [PC 302]
parries and thrusts in fencing (from old F)
cartilago
ensiformis; pectoralis major [US 138]
the sword-shaped cartilage; the larger chest
muscle (L)
caruncula
lachrymalia [SM 42]
lit.: the tear-like little pieces of flesh (L;
the protrusion of the tear-ducts in the inner corner of the eye)
Casa de la Inquisición [WDS 143]
House of the Inquisition (Sp)
casus belli [PC 464; ‘21’ 32]
the opportunity / justification for war (L)
catastrophié [LM 261]
devastated (F)
causse [PC 107]
limestone ridge (F)
ceilidhe [GO 24]
a country dance party (Ir.)
cepas [M&C 35]
a mushroom (Catalan; known as the cèpe
in F, the 'penny bun' in E, and funghi porcini in It. and American
English)
chaconne [IM 155]
a slow dance (F;
orig. Basque)
chamade [TMC 232]
a drum call for a parley (F)
chance [PC 92]
luck (F)
chasse-marées [PC 140, 153; LM 116; BM 70]
lit.: chase-tides; usually coastal privateers,
often rigged as a luggers, but can just refer to similar fishing vessels (F)
chéri [IM 14]
my dear (F)
chez le Colonel [HMS 72]
at the Colonel's house / with the Colonel (F)
chienne [SM 314]
bitch (F)
chimaera [TMC 327]
a fabled monster (L + Gk - originally meant a
she-goat)
chit [HMS 217]
a piece of paper (Hindi)
chocolato [PC 492]
chocolate (Sp)
cholera morbus [RM 180]
the deadly plague cholera (L)
Christe eleison ...
kyrie eleison [M&C 54,
WDS 116; also see FSW 109]
Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy (Gk; from
the Latin Mass)
cicindelidae [RM 272]
tiger beetles (L)
cinco platos [M&C 34]
five courses (Sp)
cingulum colchicum [US 139]
lit..: a bandage made of a poisonous plant (L;
either invented or facetious)
cingulum [C/T 200]
lit.: a belt (L; medical for a
tightly-wound bandage)
ciotóg [YA 113]
a left-hander (Ir)
cithogue [GO 161]
presumably a version of ciotóg, a
left-hander (Anglo-Ir., based on Ir)
Città Vecchia [TH 303]
civet de lapin [SM 332]
rabbit stew (F)
claddach [GO 19]
perhaps a drained and cleared peat-bog (Ir.,
Scots Gaelic)
clo-, clo-, clo [COM 36]
presumably an English stammer - ‘clo- close’ - rather than an Irish one for Padeen in this
case
cloisonné [COM 16]
partitioned off (F)
cochons [HMS 73]
pigs (F)
cogit amare jecur [C/T 17]
the liver knows how to love (L; for the Romans
the liver was the seat of affections and emotions; Lactantius Divine Institutes)
cognoscento [PC 173]
a person of discernment (It, properly cognoscente)
coitus interruptus [LM 17]
interrupted
copulation (L; interrupted by male withdrawal)
coleoptera [LM 124]
beetles (L)
Coll'astuzia, coll'arguzia col giudizio, col criterio ....
Con un equivoco, con un sinonimo qualche garbuglio si troverà [SM 130]
With cunning, with wit, with judgment, with
discernment...
With a quibble, with a well chosen word [lit.:
'synonym'] I'll be able to concoct some sort of plot.
(It; Dr Bartolo in Mozart's Marriage of
Figaro Act I)
collops [NC 58]
slices of meat, cut across the grain;
usually veal or venison (Scots dialect; derived from F escallope)
compassé [HMS 338]
formal or stiff (F)
compline [IM 327]
final
(derived from Latin and French: part of the cycle of monastic daily
prayer as laid down by the rule of St Benedict)
confectio
Damocritis [C/T 143]
Damocritis’ preparation (L; the
reference is obscure)
conjugo [SM 69]
I join (L, the key word in the Latin marriage
ceremony)
Conn Céad Cathach [NC 297]
consuetudo loci est
observanda [YA 32]
the custom of the place must be observed (L)
Contessa perdono
... perdono [LM 240, 266]
Countess, forgive me ... forgive me (It; Count Almaviva in Mozart's Marriage
of Figaro)
continuo [NC 119]
continuous (It.; abbreviation of basso
continuo, continuous bass, an improvised accompaniment around a simple
written bass line. It can be played on a variety of instruments)
contre-coup [FW 245]
lit.: repercussion (F; in English medical
usage, this refers to brain damage on the opposite side to where an injury
occurred, caused by the impact of the moving brain tissue on the inside of the
hard skull)
copito; aguardiente [M&C 265]
large glass; 'burning water', i.e. brandy (Sp)
coq / côq au vin [PC 96, FW 137]
cock / chicken in wine (F; usually no accent
over the 'o')
corpo di Baccho [TH 65]
by the body of Bacchus! (It; correct would be Bacco)
corpus vile [TMC 91]
foul / dirty body (L; often means 'the body as
a mere object', derived from the early Christian equation of physicality with
filth.)
cosare [M&C 14]
sew (bad S; correct is coser)
cosí [NC 121]
cousin (Catalan)
coup de filet [TH 75]
a round up (F; lit.: cast of the net)
coup de main [TMC 137, FW 224]
punch, slap; a decisive blow; can also mean ‘a
surprise attack’ (F; lit.: blow of the hand)
coup d'état [LM 122, NC 73]
lit.: 'blow against state'; an overthrow of the
government (F)
court-bouillon [PC 90]
lit.: short broth
(F; a light fish or vegetable stock, with herbs)
crackit gaberlunzie [TH 11]
a
half-witted beggar (Scots; gaberlunzie carries the slightly affectionate
sense of 'a ne'er-do-well')
crapula [HD 160]
in Greek usually a hangover-headache; in
Latin usually severe drunkenness itself (Gk, L)
craubeen [GO 23]
pig’s foot (Ir., usually crubeen)
creta alba [M&C 229]
white chalk (L)
crim. con. [COM 60]
‘criminal conversation’, an English legal term
for an illicit sexual relationship
critici [‘21’ 34]
critical cases / symptoms (medical L)
croagh [GO 105]
crag, mountain (Ir)
croutons [LM 168]
small pieces of bread, fried or roasted to a crisp
(F; also just means ‘bread-crusts)
crubeens [NC 14]
pig’s feet, cooked or pickled (Ir)
crux [HD 10]
a cross; fig. trouble or torment;
an important or puzzling point (L)
cuatro groupos,
cinco minutos [HMS 69]
four groups, five minutes (Sp)
cuisine bourgeoise [SM 332]
home cooking (F)
curragh / s [GO 34, 66, 73]
very small fishing boat / s (Ir)
Danneborg [M&C 260]
the Danish flag (Danish)
darse [PC 95]
a sheltered dock or mooring area (F)
Dato [NC 63]
tribal chief (Malay)
datura stramonium [YA 24]
the toxic ‘jimsonweed’ (L)
davy [‘21’
78]
affidavit (English slang for legal Latin)
debellare superbos [LM 129, 130]
to tame the proud (L; Virgil Aeneid, VI
853) The reference is to public duty: "Remember, Roman, these will be your
arts: to teach the ways of peace to those you conquer, to spare defeated peoples, to tame the
proud." (as translated by Allen Mandelbaum)
décolletés [NC 96]
lit.: without collars; dresses cut low to
reveal neck and shoulders (F)
De Consolatione
Philosophiae [FSW 249]
On the Consolation of [provided by] Philosophy
(L; a work by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, c. 480-524 CE; one of the most
popular works during the Medieval period.)
defecator [IM 54]
impurity-remover
(L)
deformes [‘21’ 34]
cripples (medical L)
dégagé / e [DI 119, US 66]
relaxed, loose-limbed, free moving (F; can also
mean ‘unobstructed’, an in a view)
Deh vieni [M&C 76, 302]; Deh vieni, non tardar [HMS 54]
Do come
Do come, do not delay. (It; sung by Susanna in
Act IV of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro)
déjà-vu [PC 433]
lit.: already seen (F)
de jure [FSW 361]
from a legal point of view (L)
delirium tremens [DI 215]
the shaking fever (L; medical term for the
effects of withdrawal from chronic alcoholic poisoning)
de lue venera [C/T 76]
concerning Venus' plague (L; ie, syphilis)
demi-lune [TMC 232]
half- moon (F;
a detached outwork built by a besieged army)
demonios [BM 220]
devils (Sp)
de non apparentibus et
non existentibus eadem est ratio
[RM 251]
our reasoning is identical as regards what does
not appear and and what does not exist (L)
dénouement [TH 83]
outcome (F)
de ossibus [DI 85]
concerning bones (L)
désirer [M&C 14]
want, desire (F)
diga me [M&C 341]
tell me
(Sp)
de situ orbis [COM 238]
Concerning the Description of the Globe (L; a
work by Pomponius Mela, a 1st c. AD geographer)
désolé / e [TMC 140, SM 47, TGS 216]
extremely sorry (F)
deus ex machina [PC 461, 462; RM 258]
a god from the overhead crane (L; refers to the
practice in ancient drama of all problems being finally resolved by the appearance
of a God, lowered in on a crane [Gk mechane]
from what we now call the Fly Tower, or Flies, above the visible stage area.)
Devin du Village [WDS 89]
The Village Soothsayer (F; a short opera
written by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, first performed in 1752)
Dies Irae [LM 254]
The Day of Wrath (L; title and opening of
Mediaeval Latin hymn on Judgment Day; see also The Hundred Days, p 139)
digitalis [YA 226],
digitalis purpurea [YA
197]
foxglove
purple foxglove (L)
dilletanto [COM 76]
an art lover (It; correct is dilettante)
Director Supremo [BM 210]
Supreme Director (Sp)
doldrums [BM 143]
depression / dullness; a weather
depression (Eng; an invented word probably based on ‘dull’, and mimicking
‘tantrum’)
dolorosa [‘21’ 34]
pains (medical L)
Domestique, monsieur [M&C 217, PC 91]
Your (domestic) servant, Sir (F. Aubrey's
approximate French leads him to choose the wrong one of two words for servant:
polite 18th C. usage was Votre serviteur)
Don; Cosí [NC 121]
Lord / Sir;
Cousin (Sp.; Catalan)
dona nobis pacem [TH 59]
give us peace (L)
douanniers [PC 114]
customs men (F)
douceur / s [M&C 24; NC 85, 269; COM 34]
lit.: a sweetener; a bribe or gratuity (F)
drabogues [FW 224]
sluts, whores (Ir)
droit de seigneur [YA 35, 37]
the right of the lord (F; usually means
the mythical right to copulate with local brides on the wedding day)
Droits de l'Homme [YA 108]
The Rights of Man (F)
ducat [COM 7]
a Venetian gold coin (It.)
duces tecum [SM 147]
bring it with you (L; a writ ordering a party
to 'bring with you' a document at the next court hearing)
ductus choledocus
communis [NC 16]
common bile duct (L; choledochus
is more usual)
dudong [NC 48]
a sea-cow (Malay)
dulce loquentem,
dulce ridentem [HMS 221]
full quote: dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo
dulce loquentem, 'I shall love Lalage, who laughs and talks so sweetly' (L;
Horace, Odes I)
dum sola et casta fuerit [TMC 165]
while she will have been alone and chaste (L)
duodecimpunctatus [RM 272]
twelve-spotted (L)
dura mater [M&C 138]
lit.: hard mother (L; ie, the outer coating of the brain)
dyak [NC 26]
a native of
eau-de-vie [GO 218]
the water of life (F; a common way of referring to strong
distilled liquors, eg, Irish whiskey, Swedish aquavit, French clear grape
spirit)
éclaircissement [SM 123]
elucidation (F)
éclat [FW 206, WDS 77]
a burst of noise or light; an outburst or sharp
disturbance (F)
égards [DI 57]
special considerations (F)
eh bien [PC 104]
oh well (F)
eh, pardi [M&C 224]
you don't say! (F, colloquial for pas dire;
note Alexandre Dumas' use of this phrase as a common exclamation)
eh, parlez .... [PC 280]
so, call for.... (F)
élan [TMC 170]
dash, enterprise (F)
elevato in
grado [TH 273]
raised in rank (It)
Els Set Dolors [IM 198]
The Seven Sorrows (Catalan;
ie, the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary)
embarras de choix [C/T 94]
an embarrassment [surfeit] of choice (F)
emigrés [C/T 165]
emigrants (F; refers generally to supporters of
the former Royalist regime who left
en clair [FW 35]
in clear / uncoded [language] (F)
en flute [SM 180]
in the manner of a flute (F; ie, with few or no
guns [in order to free up deck space], so that, like the keys of a flute, the
gunports have only air behind them)
engouement [HMS 80]
sudden passion (F)
En Maragall, valga'm Deu [HMS 72]
Maragall, Sir, my God! (Catalan)
en route, en route, les
prisonniers! [PC 105]
on our way, on our way, prisoners! (F)
epergne [LM 130]
an elaborate dining-table center-piece, often
fitted with dishes for fruits and sweets (F)
epocha [PC 301, IM 96]
a fixed moment in
time, or 'turning point' (Gk)
Eratosthenes
redivivus [M&C 361]
Eratosthenes come back to life (L;
escota [WDS 223]
sheet (Sp; i.e., nautical term for a rope
attached to the bottom of a sail)
espèce de
fripouille [HMS 154]
you silly cad (F; espèce is lit.:
'type', but espèce d'idiot is 'silly idiot')
est summum nefas fallere [IM 73]
it is the most
wicked thing to deceive (L)
état d’âme [BM 165]
state of mind [lit. ‘soul’] (F)
ethos [BM 49]
character, or the distinctive spirit of a
community (Gk)
Eupator Ingens [NC 247, COM 30]
lit.:
the great / distinguished Eupator; ie, some sort of beetle (Eupator
is a Greek noble surname; ingensis L)
evacuatorii [‘21’ 34]
vomiters (medical L)
ex Africa surgit semper
aliquid novo,- novi [TMC 104]
there's always something new coming from
Examen de
Pyrrhonisme [COM 9]
An Investigation of Scepticism (F; Phyrrho of
Elis, a contemporary of Aristotle, founded the sceptical school of philosophy)
exanthematici [‘21’ 34]
skin eruptions (medical L)
excellentissimo [BM 252]
most excellent (haphazard Sp)
ex gratia [HMS 26]
out of grace, without obligation (L)
Expeditio in Sinas [US 194]
Expedition to Sinae (L)
exulans [NC 118]
wandering, exiled (L)
facies [M&C 275, SM 42]
face;
ie, outward appearance, revealed character (L)
fait accompli [TMC 327, FW 248, IM 261, WDS 168, US 24]
a done deed (F)
faldetta [TH 308]
a hooded black cape worn by Maltese women
(Maltese)
falsum in uno,
falsum in omnibus [PC 268]
false in one instance, [therefore] false in
every instance (L)
Familles Naturelles des
Plantes [RM 107]
The Natural Families of Plants (F)
farden skiff [US 51]
a farthing skiff; i.e. a small river boat that
can be hired for a farthing (Archaic
fas and nefas [C/T 88]
right and wrong (L)
faubourg [SM 138]
suburb (F)
faukit [NC 58]
perhaps intended as Scots pronunciation of
‘fucking’?
faute de mieux [TMC 159]
for lack of anything better (F)
fedais [HD 21]
the devoted ones (Arabic)
felix [M&C 266]
happy (L; he means 'feliz', Sp)
fenum habent in
cornu [M&C 344]
lit.: they have hay on the horn (L; Horace, Satires
1. The hay was used on oxen inclined to gore people, as both a padding and
visible 'danger sign'; Horace uses the phrase (with the singular habet)
to mean 'he's a dangerous man'.
festino lente [SM 289];
festino lento [DI 131]
make haste slowly (L; should be festina
lente. Suetonius Divus Augustus)
fiamme [TH 84]
flames (It)
fianna Eirion [C/T
211]
the
forces of the Nation of Ireland (Ir)
fibula [HMS 194]
lit: a brooch or clasp; here meaning that a fastener has been used to
close Dil’s sexual organs, to ensure her chastity (L)
filibeg [LM 60]
little kilt (Gaelic)
filioque [WDS 43]
and the son (L; the reference is to the
profound and continuing argument between Roman and Orthodox Christians as to
whether the Holy Ghost proceeds from God the Father and his son Jesus
considered as a single divine entity [the Roman position], or whether the Holy
Ghost proceeds from God the Father alone, as does His son Jesus [the Orthodox
position])
finis [SM 59]
end (L)
firbolgs [GO 73]
in myth, the original inhabitants of
firman [IM 261]
an edict issued by
the Sultan of Turkey (Persian)
flambeaux [PC 159]
flaming torches (F)
flauto d'amore [TH 78]
lit.: flute of love (It)
flèche [FW 16]
arrow (F)
flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification [M&C
302]
setting something at a minimal value (English
but based on L, following a humorous literary practice of long, compound words.
Flocci = pieces of straw; nauci = trifles; nihil =
nothing; pili = pieces of hair; fication based on L facere
= to make)
flora and fauna [PC 350;
NC 74]
plants and animals (L)
Flora Peruvianae et
Chilensis [WDS 201]
The Flowers of
fluor albus [C/T 76]
the white flux (L)
foch [HMS 69]
fire (Catalan)
foeda est in coitu et
brevis voluptas [C/T 165]
there is a dirtiness in copulation, and [only] a
quick pleasure (L; Petronius Carmina)
foie gras [SM 315]
lit.: fat liver; the liver of force-fed geese
(F)
folie circulaire [FW 148]
recurring madness (F; ie, manic depression)
fons et origo [TMC 91]
the spring and the source (L)
force majeure [FSW 14]
lit.: superior force; usually means that
usual arrangements are overridden by more compelling circumstances or
orders (F)
force
hyperméccanique [TGS 189]
lit: a beyond-mechanical force (F; the
‘vital force’ of the 18th century ‘Vitalists’, a force existing
beyond both mind, body and spirit)
formatge duro [HD 104]
hard cheese (Minorcan Catalan)
fornicatores [COM 75]
fornicators (L)
fortissimo [IM 344]
as loudly as
possible (It)
fortunatos nimium..... [IM 20]
lit.: 'happy to an excessive degree...'. (L;
full quote is O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas, 'O how very happy farmers could be, if only
they would count their blessings [lit.: know their possessions]! (L; Virgil, Georgics
II)
fouette; fouette, toujours [FW 240, 241]
crack the whip! keep whipping (F)
fragilis ratis [FW 23]
a fragile craft (L; Horace, Odes passim)
francus bancus [TMC 165]
free seat (dog L)
fu-fu [COM 270]
a glutinous preparation of crushed roots,
either yam, plantain or cassava (Ghanaian)
fui non sum non curo [PC 449]
I did exist; I
don't exist now; I care not. (L; [nb
should probably be non fui, 'I didn't exist': see M&C 232] a common
tomb inscription [in the non fui version] with the sense of 'I came from
nowhere, and now I've gone - what does such a fleeting life matter anyway?')
furcula; carina; ramus / i; scapula [WDS 87]
lit.: a forked prop; keel-like part; branching
part / s; shoulder blade (L)
furor uterinus [PC 58]
lit.: frenzy of the uterus (L)
ganger [GO 106]
a foot-traveller (archaic
garçon manqué [HMS 194]
would-be
boy; a 'tom-boy' (F)
garde impériale [TH 59]
imperial guard (F)
gastrocnemius [YA 123]
belly-leg (Gk; the bulging calf
muscle)
generale [NC 105]
the general call to arms (It)
ghee [HMS 319]
clarified butter (Hindi)
gigot en croûte [PC 90]
lit.: leg of lamb in a [pastry] crust (F)
gingall [NC 35]
a big musket or small cannon, swivel-mounted on
a portable rest (Hindi; also gingal, jingal)
glacis [HMS 220]
a sloping apron built at the foot of a fort
wall (F, Eng)
glauk eis Athenas [TMC
Dedication, printed in Greek script]
An Owl to
gluteus maximus [COM 86]
the largest buttock-muscle (L)
gnosce teipsum [PC 198, SM 63]
know yourself (L; translates the Greek gnothi
seauton which was famously inscribed upon the
gombeen-man [GO 26]
middle-man, or local moneylender (Ir.;
often means a local trader who controls both the supply and distribution of
necessary goods, and thus the price)
gralloch [NC 13]
the guts; to eviscerate (Ir; Scots
Gallic)
grande nation [SM 317]
a great nation (F)
gratin [SM 315]
traditionally = topped with breadcrumbs; often = a cooked cheese topping (F)
gratis pro Deo [NC 75, WDS 2]
free, for the sake of God (L)
gregale [M&C
349]
north east wind (It)
grego [YA 213]
a hooded jacket (Portuguese, derived from
‘Greek’, the supposed origins of the garment)
grosso modo [LM 44]
in a general way (It)
guacharo [WDS 177]
the oilbird (Sp)
guano [BM 189]
naturally composted excrement, usually of birds
or bats (Quichua / Sp)
guerilleros [BM 214]
irregular warriors (Sp)
gummata [PC 335, TMC 189]
lesions, usually associated with syphilis (L)
gymnosophist [HMS 194]
naked sage (Gk)
habeas corpus [IM 269]
lit.: you may have the
body; a writ releasing somebody from custody (L)
Halte là. Qui vive? Le docteur Ralph
[IM 219]
Stop there. Who is
it [lit.: who lives]? Doctor Ralph (F)
hammam [TH 189]
Turkish bath (Arabic)
hapax phenomenon [SM 268]
a unique event (Gk)
harmattan [COM 255, 257]
a hot wind, originating in the deserts of
northern
haud crede colore [HMS 285]
don't trust the colour (L)
hauteur [HMS
156]
haughtiness (F)
haut relievo [HMS 39]
a good tang or savor (F+I; lit.: 'high relief')
Heautontimoroumenos [HMS 265]
The Self-Tormenting One (Gk; the title of a
Latin play by Terence, an adaptation of an earlier Greek work)
hein [FW 132]
eh?, what? (F)
Heisa, heisa vorsa, vorsa vou, vou [TGS 28]
a chant from a sea-shanty (perhaps Old E or
Norse; the words may be meaningless - a mid-16th century version, heard by a
lowland Scot being sung on an English vessel, runs: heisa, heisa; vorsa,
vorsa; vou, vou; one long pull, more power, young blood, more mud......
However, the words also bear some similarity to colloquial Italian, issa,
issa; forza, forza; su, su, which means heave, heave; come on, come on; up,
up)
helot [FSW 256]
a serf (from L and Gk; specifically, the
peasant class among the Spartans who had absolutely no rights.)
hemi-demi [COM 39]; hemi-demi-semi [LM 44, NC 72]
cumulative repetitions of ‘half’ (the prefixes
all occur in various Greek and Latin derived forms; in music a
hemi-demi-semiquaver is a 64thnote)
hemicrania [LM 55]
severe headache, migraine (Gk /L)
herético pálido [WDS 189]
pale heretic (Sp)
heuch / heugh [TH 74, HD 11]; heuch, ablins [TH 12]
well ;
well, perhaps (Scots)
hiburan buah pala [NC 80]
the nutmeg of consolation (Malay; as translated
by
hic, haec, hoc [FW 224, FSW 61, 108, 109]
this (L; masculine, feminine and neuter
inflexions, respectively. A common piece of early rote learning.)
hic, hac, horum [GO 15]
this [masc], this [fem], of these (L)
hijos
de puta [HMS
65]
sons of a whore (Sp)
histiophori
pulchellus [C/T 88]
the beautiful little marlin (L)
Histoire Générale des
Voyages [FW 49]
A Complete History of Voyages (F)
Ho aia-owa [C/T 157]
?
homo hominis lupus [WDS 95]
man is a wolf to man (L; a comon proverb,
often given in this form though strictly hominis should be homini)
homoiousian ...
homoousian [TH 130]
of like essence ... of similar essence (Gk)
honi soit qui mal y pense [RM 48]
shame to him who thinks evil of it (old F; the
motto of the English Order of the Garter)
Honneur and Patier [HMS 53]
intended to be 'honneur and patrie',
i.e. French for Honour and the Fatherland
horchata [YA 41, HD 32]
a drink made from water and chufa
(tiger) HD nuts in Spain or water, rice and
nuts in South America (Sp)
hortus siccus [M&C
180, TH 113, COM 61]
a dried garden (L; ie a collection of dried
plants and flowers)
Hôtel [SM 139]
mansion / hall (F)
Hôtel-Dieu [DI 85, SM 330, WDS 63]
lit.: Mansion of God (F for hospital)
houario [HD 155]
a type of ship (Arabic)
huachua [WDS 181]
Andean goose (Sp / Quichua)
huitième [RM 216, TGS 274]
eighth (F)
hula [C/T 253]
a folk dance (Hawaiian)
hummums [PC 458]
Turkish baths (E, from Arabic hammam,
hot)
hunes de perroquet [HMS 50]
lit.: tops of the topgallants (F; presumably
the cross-trees at the junction of the topmast and topgallant masts; perroquetis
literally ‘little parrot’, but is a t’gallant in nautical parlance)
hybris [TGS 273]
overweening pride (Gk; often transcribed as
'hubris')
hydropericardium [YA 196]
fluid in the cavity around the heart (mixed Gk
and L)
Ile des Cygnes [SM 137]
Island of Swans (F)
il faut que le prêtre
vive de l'autel [C/T 75]
the priest must live off his altar (F; ie, 'a
priest should be provided for by his parishioners'.)
il faut souffrir pour
être beau [FSW 298]
one must suffer in order to be beautiful
(F)
Illi robur et aes triplex circa pectus erat,
qui fragilem truci
commisit pelago ratem primus -- [GO 54]
there was both oak and a triple layer of bronze
around the heart
of he who first launched a frail craft on the
savage open sea
(L; Horace Odes 1) See also The
Hundred Days, p 86 for a reference, in English, to this verse.
impostumes [NC 157]
cysts, abscesses (Old F, Medical Eng)
indisposèe [M&C
270]
indisposed (F; ie, a reference to her period)
in omnium [RM 130]
in total (L; should be in omnia)
in posse [HMS 37]
potentially (L)
Institute de France [SM 35]
The Institute of France (F)
intermissa, Venus
diu, rursus bella moves [FW
53]
Venus, again you provoke wars long since
abandoned (L; Horace, Odes VI. Nb: the comma after diu is
misplaced, and should instead follow Venus. The line precedes parce,
precor, precor quoted in SM 176)
intermittance de
coeur [FW 199]
irregular heartbeat (F)
in terrorem [TMC 210]
in fear (L)
Io triumphe [HMS 266, DI 206]
Hurrah for the Triumph! (L; the phrase chanted
by the principal celebrant - known as The Triumph - of the religious procession
commemorating past victories)
ipecacuanha [BM 89]
an emetic prepared from plant roots (Quichua)
ipso facto [WDS 121]
by that fact itself (L)
iradé [IM 261, 336]
a written decree
from the Sultan (Arabic-Turkish) IM 336
iris [FSW 63]
rainbow (Gk)
is minic Gall maith [DI 314]
there's usually some good in a foreigner (Ir)
ita,
missa est [‘21’ 43]
go, it has been sent forth (L; the final words of the priest to his
congregation at the end of the mass indicating that the divine work has been
published to the world once more, with the word ‘mass’ itself often being said
to derive from the phrase)
j'ai failli attendre [FW 49]
I nearly had to wait (F)
J'ai pris mon bien là où
je l'ai trouvé [M&C
Author’s Note]
I've taken my riches from anywhere I found them
(F; often attributed in this exact form to the 17th C. playwright
Jean-Baptiste Molière, but it was also the motto of the Pleiade school of
French poets of the 16thcentury.)
J'arrive, mon
capitaine [HMS 71]
I'm coming, Captain. (F)
jabalí [M&C 35]
wild boar (Sp)
jackeens [NC 274]
talkative, pretentious fools (Anglo-Ir.
slang; now used almost exclusively as a phrase of mild contempt for
Dubliners, some of whom take pride in the appellation and contrast themselves
with the culchies - country
bumpkins - living beyond the capital
city)
jalap [BM 88]
a laxative (Sp, from xalapa, a name
given to several plants with roots suitable for preparation of the drug)
Je préserve - j'ai - le plus vivid rémembrance de vos combatte à Ushant à
bord le Pong, en vingt-quatre neuf [PC 91]
I guard - I have - the most 'vivid'
reorganisation of your fight off Ushant on board the Peacock, in twenty-four
nine (very bad F; 'vivid' is not a F word at all; 'Pong' is the approximate pronunciation of F Paon;
quatre-vingt neuf would be correct F for [17]89)
jeune fille en fleur [LM 260]
a young girl in bloom (F)
joes [COM 7]
a Portuguese gold coin, the Johannes,
named for Kings of that country (L / Port.)
Journal des Sçavans [TGS 110]
The Scholars' Journal (F; sçavans is an
old spelling of savants; a journal of the humanities and sciences
founded in 1665)
ju-ju [COM 201, BM 122; ‘21’ 44]
a charm;
magical or spiritual practices / atmosphere (various West African
languages)
junta [BM 193]
a ruling council or committee (Sp)
Jupiter Tonans [DI 160]
Jupiter / Jove the Thunderer (L)
kapok [NC 34]
fibrous surround of the seeds of the kapok
tree (Malay)
katno aiss' vizmi [FW 139]
(Well.... it might be Iroquois!)
kava [C/T 241]
the root of a Polynesian plant, made into a
relaxing drink (Polynesian)
kesegaran mawar,
bunga budi bahasa [NC 80]
rose of delight, flower of courtesy (Malay;
these translations are given in The Thirteen Gun Salute, though ‘rose of
freshness’ is a more literal translation.
In The Nutmeg of Consolation p 29 the female Dyak warrior is
called Kesegaran)
kilaggen [GO 56]
(?Ir.)
kyrie eleison [M&C 54, FSW 109, WDS 116]
Lord have mercy (Gk; from the Latin Mass)
koekjes [FW 11]
little cakes (Dutch)
krees [NC 26]
a dagger, often with a wavy edge and wavy (ie
damascene) decoration (Malay; often seen as kris)
kreng [WDS 95]
carcass (Dutch)
la bêtise c'est de
vouloire conclure [NC 256]
it's stupid to want to bring things to a
conclusion (F; from Gustav Flaubert’s Correspondence)
la casa [IM 200]
the house (It, Sp,
Catalan)
La Clemenza di Tito [TGS 110]
Tito's Mercy (It; Mozart's last opera)
lacuna [DI 179]
gap (L)
la garce [FW 247]
the bitch (F)
langouste [PC 90]
spiny lobster (F)
lapilli [C/T 178]
pebbles (L)
lapis lazuli [HMS 221]
lit.: stone of azure (L)
lapsus calami [TGS 138]
a slip of the pen (L)
lapsus linguae [DI 192]
a slip of the tongue (L)
larvae; calliphora [YA 97]
grub; fly (L; Gk)
La Sublime Porte [IM
336]
The Heavenly Gate
[the centre of Turkish administration in Constantinople] (F)
latibule [DI 130]
hiding place (L)
leanaí sídhe [COM 65]
child fairies (Ir)
Le Astutzie Femminili [PC 466, PC 469]
Women's Wiles (It)
le club des lions [HD 189]
the lion’s club (F; ‘den’ is repaire)
legato arpeggio [DI 180]
a smoothly connected chord played as a 'run'
(It)
Le monsieur est touché.
Mauvaisement blessay?
Sais pas, commandant. Il parle plus: je crois bien que c'est un macchabée à
présent. Y a du sang partout.
Vous voulez pas me faire passer une élingue, commandant? [PC 280]
The gentleman is hit.
Badly wounded?
Don't know, skipper. He's stopped talking: I'm
pretty sure he's a stiff now. There's blood everywhere.
Won’t someone pass me a line, skipper?' (F; a
mix of colloquial and bad)
Le Nozze di Figaro [LM 240]
The Marriage of Figaro (It; the title of an
opera by Mozart)
le perfide Sir Blaine [HMS 81]
the faithless Sir Blaine (F)
lepidoptera [M&C 36]
lit.: dainty wings; i.e. butterflies and moths
(Gk)
le pork inentamé [SM 153]
the pig not yet cut up (F)
le pot au noir [BM 143]
lit.: pot / jug for black stuff (F)
les agissements néfastes
de Sir Blaine [HMS 81]
the wicked machinations of Sir Blaine (F)
les bout-dehors des
bonnettes du petit perroquet [WDS 80]
lit.: the extreme outside ends of the little
caps of the little parrot (F; Maturin is absolutely correct in his use
of these marine French terms-of-art: bout-dehors = boom; bonnette
= stun’sail; petit perroquet = t’gallant sail)
Les Deux Frères [YA 159]
The Two Brothers (F)
lèse-majesté [LM 208]
high treason (F; lit. ‘encroachment upon royal
authority’)
Les hommes, c'est
difficile de s'endormir sans [COM 53]
Men! It's difficult to fall asleep without them
(F)
les plus sages [FSW 151]
the most wise [people] (F)
levator anguli
scapulae [TH 278]
lit.: the raiser of the corner of the
shoulder-blades (L)
levee [HD 114]
lit.: a
getting-up; in French, a morning
assembly; but in English an afternoon assembly for men only hosted by the
Sovereign or a Prince (F)
le voilà [FW 239]
there he is (F)
libeccio [M&C 110]
south-west wind (It)
Libellus de Natura
Scorbuti [M&C 67]
A Pamphlet on the Characteristics of Scurvy (L)
lictor [DI 267]
a Roman official armed with a ceremonial rod
(L)
lieutenant de vaisseau [TMC 52]
first lieutenant (F)
lignum vitae [WDS 49]
lit.: wood of life (L; an exceptionally dense
hardwood, black in colour)
lingua franca [HMS 126; IM 155, 312; HD 117, 119, 217]
a common tongue (L; an everyday mix of F, Sp,
It and other Mediterranean languages)
liquor ammoniae acetates [IM 208]
solution of
ammonium acetate (L)
listie [TH 74]
little list (Scots)
litera scripta
manet [TH 253]
the written word endures (L)
livré [PC 91]
an attempt by Aubrey at 'booked' (F; livrer,
delivered / surrendered / betrayed; also livrer la bataille, 'to join
battle'; Aubrey is thinking of livre, 'a book')
lizardi percalidi [DI 124]
Aubrey's attempt at 'very hot lizards' (L; percalidus
could certainly mean 'very hot'; a lizard is lacerta in L: hence lacertae
percalidaewould have been more accurate)
llipta [WDS 132]
a hard paste of burnt bone, herbs and spices,
often mixed with sugar or salt (Sp)
los perros Ingleses [GO 190]
the English dogs (Sp)
louis d'or [SM 352, COM 7]
a golden louis [coin] (F)
lucus a non lucendo [RM 180]
[called] a grove
for being unlit (L; more or less impossible to translate, but meaning 'a
contradiction in terms, often with facetious intent'; often attributed to
Quintilian, who quotes the phrase as already well-known) The word lucus
('a grove', i.e. that part of a wood where dappled sunlight breaks dimly
through) is derived from the verb lucere,
'to light', from which lucendo is also derived. The force of the phrase
is "it is called 'a bright place', though usually pretty dark", or in
the O'Brian, "it is called a rose garden though it usually has no
roses"
lues venera [DI 178]
the plague of Venus (L; ie, syphilis)
lupus [HMS 119]
skin disease (L; lit.: 'wolf')
lustra decem [SM 176]
ten five-year religious cycles (L; ie, 50 years)
Mac na h'Oighe slan [FW 299]
Hail to the Son of the Maiden (Ir)
Madam Chose [SM 33]
Mrs Thing / What's-her-name (F)
magma [HMS 139]
thick ointment (Gk)
main forte [PC 467]
brute force (F; lit.: 'strong hand')
mais, qu'est-ce qui se
passe? [LM 194]
but, what's going on? (F)
Mala soluta navis exit alite
ferens olentem Maevium
ut horridus utrumque verberes latus
auster, momento fluctibus
niger rudentes Eurus, inverso mari,
fractosque remos differat....
O quantos instat [navitis] sudor tuis
tibique pallor luteus
et illa non virilis ejulatio
preces et adversum ad Jovem [GO 178, 179]
An evil, winged omen is unleashed, and the ship
bearing the foul Maevius sets out.
O South Wind, make sure you pound her on both
her sides with savage waves!
May the black North Wind, with the sea in a
turmoil, carry away her rigging and
smashed oars! [4 couplets omitted]
Oh, what a sweat there will be on your sailors!
For you
what a bilious-yellow pallor and such an unmanly yowl, with prayers to the
hard-hearted Jupiter! (L; Horace Epodi
10. Maevius was a wretched poetical contemporary of Virgil. In line 3
O'Brian's horridus should be horridis; in line 7 the word navitis
is missing. In the final line adversum
is lit. 'unregarding'.)
malleolus [NC 54]
the
protruding ankle bone (L; lit. a small hammer, or the tongue of a shoe buckle)
mammalia [NC 313]
the class of mammals (L)
mammothrept [M&C 275]
brought up by a grandmother (Gk; ie, 'mummy's
boy')
manger [M&C 14]
to eat (F)
mangiare [M&C 14]
to eat (It)
marelle [SM 137]
hopscotch (F)
mari complaisant [LM 279]
an indulgent husband (F)
Mariae Duodecies
Sacrum [LM Dedication]
Dedicated Twelve Times Over to Mary (L; Letter
of Marque is the 12th book of the series)
Mariae lembi nostri
duci et magistrae do dedico [M&C
Dedication]
I
present and dedicate [this book] to Mary, the commander and mistress of our
yacht (L)
Mariae Sacrum [SM, IM, TH, NC Dedications]
Dedicated to Mary (L)
mariage blanc [FW 213]
lit.: white marriage; a marriage in name alone
(F)
Marlbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre,
mironton, mironton, mirontaine
Marlbrouk ne revient plus [FW 263]
Marlborough is off to war,
mironton etc.
Marlborough is never coming back
(F; mironton is a nonsense word, perhaps
imitating a drum-roll; apparently sung to the tune of 'For he's a jolly good
fellow')
marque [LM 57]
mark, sign of authority (F;
originally, privateers’ enabling documents were known either as ‘letters of
marque [authority]’ or ‘letters of reprisal’, ie a document enabling seizure of
enemy vessels. Gradually the document became known as a ‘Letter of Marque
and Reprisal’, a somewhat unhandy phrase that incorrectly suggests that
‘marque’ and ‘reprisal’ are two different paths of action.)
marrano [WDS 189]
pig (Sp;
usually a reference to Jews who adopted Christianity either under duress or for
commercial convenience)
más mató la cena que curó
Avicena [US 234]
the supper-table killed more men than Avicena
ever cured (Sp; Avicenna was an 11th C Arab physician and philosopher)
mate [WDS
176, BM 194]
herb tea (South Am. Sp., from local
Quichua language term for the gourd from which it is traditionally drunk)
matins and lauds; prime; terce;
sext; nones; vespers;
compline [IM 327]
morning and
praise; first hour; third hour;
sixth hour; ninth hour; evening;
final
(All derived from Latin and French: the cycle
of monastic daily prayer as laid down by the rule of St Benedict)
mea culpa, mea maxima
culpa [C/T 216]
my fault, my grievious fault (L; from the
Roman Catholic Act of Confession)
medang [NC 48]
a type of tree (Malay; used for a large
variety of species, with the meaning depending on location)
megrims [BM 157]
depression (Archaic Eng. slang)
melée [PC 214; TMC 226; NC 35; WDS 118; COM 148, 264;
YA 67]
general fight (F)
membrum virile [M&C 345; NC 186]
virile limb (L; ie, penis)
memorate [TH 27]
commit to memory (bad English: Italian would be
mandare a memoria)
ménage [HMS 199]
household (F)
ménage-a-trois [C/T 167]
a threesome household (F)
menarche [HMS 194]
onset of menstruation (Gk)
mens rea [M&C 176]
a guilty mind (L)
menstruum LM 270]
fluid suspension (scientific L)
menus plaisirs [LM 119]
small pleasures (F)
merci [M&C 221]
thank you (F)
merde à celui qui le lit [TH 209]
a turd on whoever reads this (F)
merde d'oie [SM 33]
lit.: goose shit (F; a bronze green/brown colour)
mésalliance [PC 52]
a socially mis-matched marriage (F)
messiers les prisonniers [PC 145]
you gentlemen prisoners (F)
Messieurs les Anglais;
tirez les premiers [HD 128]
You English gentlemen fire the first
[shots] (F; as said by
General d’Anterroche to General Hay at the Battle of Fontenoy, 1745)
misaine [HMS 50]
foremast (F)
Missa Brevis [M&C 251]
lit.: The Short Mass; often trans. as The Low
Mass (L)
mocha [YA 210, 223]
high grade coffee (Arabic, from the Yemeni port
of Mocha)
modicum [WDS 46]
a small amount (L)
mohur [COM 7]
a Persian / Indian
gold coin (Persian)
moidores [GO 134, 171]
Portuguese gold coins (Port.) GO
molter vivace [FSW 141]
in a very lively style (It; correct is molto
vivace)
monophysite [TH 130]
of a single nature (Gk)
Monsieur, j'ai l'honneur de introduire une amie, le Dr Maturin: Dr Maturin,
l'espagnole capitaine, don Garcio... [PC 492]
Sir, I have the honour to introduce a
girlfriend, Doctor Maturin: Dr Maturin, the Spanish lady captain, don
Garcio.... (bad
F)
Monsieur, je prends le
commandement de ce vaisseau [WDS 30]
Sir, I take command of this ship (F)
monsieur le sergent [PC 104] sergeant, sir (F)
mors in olla, vir
Dei: mors in olla [COM 279]
death in the pot, o man of God: death in the
pot (L; 2 Kings 4)
motorii [‘21’ 34]
convulsions (medical L)
M’puta or Mputa [RM 36; ‘21’ 48]
far away (various west and southern African languages; N.b., the word only
appears as the surname of the young Jack Aubrey's sometime lover Sally, and as the
later surname of their son, Sam Panda)
Mr Richards, bach [M&C 345]
Mr Richards, my dear (Welsh bach is lit.
'little')
muc [C/T 154]
pig (Irish)
munera navium
saevos inlaqueant duces [TH 245]
gifts may ensnare the savage leaders of ships
(L; Horace Odes III)
murias hydrargi
corrosivus [WDS 76]
the corrosive solution of mercury (L)
musha [GO 109]
O dear! (Ir.)
mutatis mutandis [COM 219]
by changing what needs to be changed (L; a
technical device in presenting an argument,
indicating that one situation
differs from another only on points of detail)
naevus [NC 58]
a mole, blemish or
spot (L)
nagin [PC 339]
perh. ‘a half-pint’ (Ir. where it is literally
a disagreeably small bottle of spirits, and figuratively ‘a person low down in
the pecking order, of little consequence’.
The suggested English slang is probably a more generous quantity of
liquid!)
napoléon [SM 352]
a napoleon [coin]
(F)
nata mecum consule
Buteo [SM 117]
born with me, under Bute's consulate (L; Romans
referred to past dates, such as birth-years, by the name of the Consul who had
served his one year term at that time - eg, Horace, Odes III: nata
mecum consule Manlio, addressed, as in O'Brian's text, to a bottle of wine.
John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Bute, was Prime Minister for 12 months in 1762-3)
navium duces [TH 299]
lit.: leaders of ships (L)
neeps [PC 123]
turnips or swedes (Scots and North English
dialect)
neeps hackit with
balmagowry [TH 74]
swedes / turnips mashed up with ?curdled milk
(Scots)
nepenthe [FW 128]
antidote to grief (Gk)
nescio, sed fieri sentio
et excrucior [FW 128]
the entire poem is: Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse
requieris. nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior. ‘I hate and I love. Why
should I do this, perhaps you ask. I don't know, but I feel it happening and I
am racked with pain’
(L; Catullus Carmina
LXXXV)
nicht; thocht;
pairson [NC 58]
night;
thought; person (Scots
dialect)
nil desperandum [NC 114]
there's nothing to cause despair (L; note:
'never give up' is nunquam desperate)
ni vu ni connu [YA 135]
neither seen nor
known about (F)
Nix Mangiare [TH 101, 299]
nothing to eat (colloquial Maltese / It; taken
from the cry of beggars meeting the crews of incoming ships)
nocturna versate manu,
versate diurna [FW 233]
turn over [the
pages] by night and by day (L; a quote from Horace's Art of Poetry where
he advises close study of Greek verses)
nodi decem [C/T 74]
a ten knot [breeze] (L)
non amo te, Sabidi [M&C 174]
I do not love you, Sabidius (L; Martial, Epigrammata
I; continues '... I cannot tell you
why. I can say this though, I certainly don't love you.' A famous 17th century
translation, by Thomas Brown, begins, 'I do not love thee, Dr Fell..'. Brown
was threatened with expulsion from Oxford by Dr John Fell, Dean of Christ
Church, but was offered a chance to redeem himself if he could translate the
Martial epigram impromptu; which he did.)
non fui, non sum, non
curo [M&C 232]
I didn't exist; I don't exist now; I care not.
(L; a common tomb inscription with the sense of 'I came from nowhere, and now
I've gone - what does such a fleeting life matter anyway?'; see also PC 449 for
a variant beginning ‘fui....’)
non olet [SM 265]
it doesn't stink (L. Refers to an argument
between the Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus. Vespasian imposed a tax on
public urinals; Titus protested, accusing him of being excessively grasping.
Vespasian thrust a coin under Titus' nose and asked whether it nauseated him.
When he replied that it did not, the Emperor growled, pecunia non olet atque
e lotio est - 'this money doesn't stink, but it comes from piss!' Suetonius
Lives of the Caesars)
non omnia possumus
omnes [PC 386]
we can't all do everything (L; Virgil Eclogues)
nonpareil [TMC 203]
has no equal (F)
non sum qualis eram [C/T 110]
I am not what I used to be (L; Horace Odes
VI)
nones [IM 327]
ninth hour
(derived from Latin and French: the cycle of monastic daily prayer as
laid down by the rule of St Benedict)
no porco, pas porcono [IM 293]
no pig, no pig
(several languages combined)
Nossa Senhora das
Necessidades [RM 40]
Our Lady of the Necessities (Portuguese)
n'oubliez pas l'ours,
messieurs-dames [PC 105]
don't forget the bear, ladies and gents (F)
novena [DI 244]
a devotion of prayers said on nine successive
days (Church L)
nunc dimittis [IM 269, WDS 175]
now you are releasing (L; from the Catholic
Mass, and ultimately from the hymn of Simeon in Luke II: nunc
dimittis servum tuum Domine secundum verbum tuum in pace ...; ‘Now Lord, in keeping with your word, you are
releasing you servant in peace ...’)
nunc est bibendum [LM 183]
now is the time for drinking (L; Horace Odes
I; see also the next entry for the line immediately following)
nunc et in hora
mortis nostrae [HMS 238]
now and at the hour of our death (L; nostrate
in some editions is a typo; from the Catholic Ave Maria / 'Hail Mary'
prayer)
nuncio [‘21’ 38]
lit. a messenger (church L [classical L would be ‘nuntio’]; the Pope’s
spiritual and political ambassador to a designated sovereign state).
nunc pede libero
pulsanda tellus [US 283]
now is the time for pounding the floor with a
wild foot (Horace Odes 1; see also the preceding entry for the
line immediately before)
ochone; begar [FSW 252]
alas; by
God (Ir; Anglo-Irish slang)
oedema [YA 196]
a fluid-based swelling (Gk)
o fortunatos
nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas [PC 153]
O how extremely happy could farmers be, if only
they would count their blessings [lit.: understand their possessions]! (L;
Virgil, Georgics II)
Ohé, de la barca [HMS 65]
Ahoy, in the boat (Sp)
Ohé, du bâteau.
Ohé, La Diane, où ce qu'elle se trouve à présent?
Au quai toujours, nom de Dieu. T'es Guillaume?
Non. Etienne.
Ben. Je m'en vais. Qu'est-ce que tu as là?
Des galériens.
Ah, les bougres. Bon. Au plaisir, eh.
Au plaisir, et je te souhaite merde, eh?
[LM 192]
Ahoy, the boat.
Ahoy: the Diane, where's she at the moment?
At the dock, as usual, in God's name. Are you
William?
No, Stephen.
OK. I must be off. What have you got there?
Galley-slaves.
Ah, those poor fellows. OK. Goodbye, then.
Goodbye, and I wish you shit, eh? (colloquial
F; to “wish someone shit” is slang for
wishing luck)
olla podrida [BM 208]
a stew of mixed meats (Sp; lit.: ‘rotten
pot’; can also be figuratively ‘a
literary miscellany’)
omadhaun [GO 140]
a fool (Ir.)
omnia perdidimus, tantummodo vita relicta est,
praebeat at sensum materiamque mali
[RM 108]
we have lost
everything, and to the extent that life is left,
it offers just the sense and substance of evil.
(L; Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto IV)
omnium [SM 142]
of everything (L; a pool of capital assembled from several
sources, rather like a mutual fund or unit trust)
omnium gatherum [HMS 5]
a gathering of everyone (dog Latin)
opisthotonos [IM 109]
head drawn back,
spine curved (Gk; refers to the effects of tetanus)
ossements fossiles [SM 158]
fossilised bones (F)
otros cincuenta [M&C
331, 332]
fifty more (Sp)
outré [M&C 347; PC 173; HMS 204, 279; SM 47;
COM 60]
showy, excessive (F)
owlers [GO 83]
wool-smugglers
(archaic Eng.; presumably because owls and smugglers both work at night)
padri [SM 258]
godfather (Catalan)
pairson [NC 58]
person (Scots dialect)
pandit [HMS 215]
scholar (Hindi)
parama-hamsa [HMS 193]
lit.: supreme soul; an ascetic of utmost sanctity
(Hindi)
parce, precor,
precor [SM 176]
spare me, I beg, I beg (L; Horace Odes IV. The line immediately follows “intermissa,
Venus, diu rursus bella moves” quoted in FW 53)
parlez-vous français? [HMS 65]
do you speak French? (F)
partite [IM 154]
an alternative word
for musical 'suites' (It)
Pas gin. Niente debaucho [TH 223]
No gin. No debauchery. (approximate F, Eng., It.)
pas morto [TH 273]
not dead
(F + bad It)
passade [SM 58]
passing fancy (F)
patella [NC 302]
knee-cap (L)
patereros [GO 277]
small cannon (Sp)
paternoster [NC 78]
our father (L; the beginning of the Christian
Lord’s Prayer)
patois [M&C 35]
local dialect (F)
patoo-patoo [FSW 274]
a war-club (Hawaiian; the term is commonly
found in the journals of Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks, though it may
in fact refer to the material out of which the club was made, a dense hardwood
from the far southern Polynesian islands)
pattarero [GO 212]
a small cannon (Sp; usually paterero)
pavillion de beaupré [HMS 50]
bowsprit flag (F)
pax romana [TH 59]
Roman peace (L)
peccatum illud horribile
inter Christianos non nominandum
[TMC 141]
that wretched sin, which must not be called by name
amongst Christians (L; the usual legal euphemism for sodomy)
peccavi [SM 77, COM 163]
I have sinned (L; the sense of 'to cry peccavi'
in English is 'to ask for mercy')
peccavi nimis
cogitatione, verbo et opere [HMS 346]
I have sinned
beyond measure in thought, word and deed (L; part of the Roman Catholic
confession)
pectoralis major [US
138]
the larger chest muscle (L)
pediculo capito [SM 249]
head louse (bad L)
pediculo vestimento [SM 249]
clothes' louse (bad L)
pediculus capitis [PC 180, 181; SM 249]
head louse (L) SM 249
pediculus
vestimenti [PC 180,
181; SM 249]
clothes' louse (L)
pelisse [LM 112, YA 252]
an outer robe, often of fur-lined silk
(F)
penetralia [LM 37]
inner sanctuary (L)
pénétré [M&C 217, TMC 100]
touched, earnestly grateful (F; can literally
mean 'wounded')
peripateia /
péripétie [LM 178]
ups and downs of life (Gk / F)
permettez-moi de
présenter [SM 263]
allow me to present (F)
Persian apparatus [TH 279]
Persian dishes (a reference to Horace Odes
I: persicos odi puer apparatus,
‘I don't like fancy Persian food, boy’)
persona [M&C 181]
mask (L; ie,
character)
petits fours [FW 189; COM 37, 39]
little oven-cooked things; small, sweet cakes (F)
pharmacopoeia [SM 321; LM 55, 270; C/T 16]
a 'receipe book' for medical preparations; a
stock of drugs (L, from Gk)
philosophe [M&C 41, WDS 170]
a learned man (F)
phlogistici [‘21’ 34]
inflammations (medical L)
phthisis [US 234]
a shrinking or wasting (Gk)
Physiologie du Goût [FW author’s note]
The Physiology of Taste (F)
pianissimo [HMS 279]
as quietly as possible (It)
pilaff [LM 152, 153]
a seasoned rice dish, always with added fat or oil,
and usually with chopped vegetables or meats (Persian; lit.: ‘cooked rice’)
pis aller [PC 330]
a stop-gap; can also be ‘a last resort’ (F)
pistole; mohur;
ducat; louis d’or; joes
[COM 7]
a Spanish gold coin (Sp.; a double pistole was
called the doubloon); a Persian / Indian gold coin (Persian); a Venetian
gold coin (It.); ‘golden Louis’, a French gold coin named for Kings of that
country (F); a Portuguese gold coin, the
Johannes, named for Kings of that country (L / Port.)
pizzicato [DI 142, NC 223]
plucked, pinched (It., a plucked note on a
string instrument)
placebo [HMS 264, HD 16]
lit.: I shall be pleasing / acceptable (L; ie,
a drug whose effects are psychological rather than physiological)
platina [COM 127, YA 27]
platinum metal (Sp, also archaic Eng)
podarkees Achilles [GO 15]
swift-footed Achilles (Gk; Homer Iliad)
poetica [LM 179]
the subject of poetry (Gk, L)
point device [TH 223]
very properly dressed (E, from Old F à point devis, 'to the point arranged'
; see also Shakespeare's Rosalind in As You Like It, III, iii)
pollo [M&C 4]
chicken (It / Sp)
pooja [PC 118]
a Hindu act of propitiation or worship, in
which a small sacrifice of food is made to a phallic object (Sanscrit pujah)
pootoo-pootoo [C/T 158]
?
porco [BM 50]
pig (Portuguese)
posse [TH 59]
potential (L)
posse navitatum [PC 244]
the posse comitatus (L; lit.: 'the force
of the county') was the local
militia. Aubrey presumably means to say
'ship's militia', which would be posse navis in Latin. However he has
nearly said posse navitatis (L;
lit.: 'a force of zeal') which
would be a reasonable, if somewhat awkward, phrase in the circumstances
Possibile è la cosa, e naturale, E se Susanna vuol, possibilissima [M&C 144]
The matter is possible, and natural; and if
Susanna wants to, then very possible indeed.
(It; sung by Figaro in Act II of
Mozart's Marriage of Figaro)
possibilissima [M&C 144]
perfectly possible (It)
post mortem [YA 196]
after death (L)
pot au noir [FSW 103; BM 143]
lit.:
pot / jug for black stuff (F;
= an uncertain and possibly dangerous situation)
poteen [GO 47]
illegal potato liquor (Ir.)
poule au pot [SM 332]
lit.: chicken in a pot; chicken stew (F)
Poupette [SM 361]
Little Doll (F)
pourparlers [TH 331]
negotiations (F)
praecordia [COM 225, 230]
the sac surrounding the heart (L)
pravum est cor
omnium [FSW 250]
above all else the heart is perverse
(L; from the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 17)
précis [TH 228]
a summary (F)
prime [IM 327]
first hour
(derived from Latin and French: the cycle of monastic daily prayer as
laid down by the rule of St Benedict) IM 327
primo secundo
tertio [NC 227]
firstly
secondly thirdly (L)
Priorato [YA 231]
a wine producing area in Catalonia (Sp; lit.:
‘Priory’; Priorat in Catalan)
proa [NC 26]
a sailing vessel with a lateen sail and an
outrigger (Malay)
procellaria
gigantean of Mumpsimus [US 136]
the
giant wind-borne one of Mumpsimus (L; Mumpsimus is a joke name)
prodromi [DI 130]
advance signs (L, Gk)
pro hac vice [PC 475]
for this purpose / mission (L)
promotides [TH 273]
raised upwards
(Aubrey's Greek invention)
pronator radii
teres [US 69]
a muscle in the forearm; lit.: the smooth,
bowed part belonging to the forearm bone (L)
protégé / s [PC 225, 441; HMS 121; COM 49, 105; YA 3; BM
30; US 264]
a favorite or dependent (F)
pro. tem. [GO 137]
abbrev. of pro
tempore, for the time being (L)
psychopannychia [LM 80]
sleep of the soul (Gk; ‘sleep’ here
implies a state halfway between wakefulness and death. The concept, popular
with the 16th century Anabaptist sect, is more usually associated
with John Calvin, who wrote a book of the same title arguing against the belief,
than with the 17th century English divine Dr John Gauden)
pulvis [RM 239]
dust, powder (L)
puna [WDS 176]
high grasslands (South Am. Sp., from local
Quichua language)
punkah [HMS 224]
ceiling fan (Hindi)
putain [M&C 35]
prostitute (F)
puuhona [C/T 229]
place of refuge (Hawaiian)
qu'est-ce que ce
remue-ménage? [HMS 71]
what's this commotion? (F; lit.:
'household-disturbance')
qua [C/T 163, COM 179]
[purely] as a
(L)
quackeens [DI 153]
little quack doctors (Anglo-Irish)
quaere [M&C 181, 380; PC 57; DI 128]
consider, investigate; a query (L)
quasi pannus
menstuate [RM 241]
like a menstrual cloth (L)
qué barca está [WDS 242]
what ship is that? (Sp)
quelle connerie [TGS 249]
what a piece of damned stupidity (F)
qué nave?; que entregue en seguida; somos Ingleses [GO 174]
what ship is that? surrender immediately;
we are English (bad Sp.)
que no haya novedad [FSW 220]
may no new things arise (Sp)
querido [M&C 266]
my darling (Sp)
que vengan [M&C 263]
let them come (Sp)
quietales [‘21’ 34]
corpses (medical L)
quietus [NC 69, YA 206]
rest; usually means ‘death’ in
English (L)
qui ferox bellotamen inter arma
sive iactatem religarat udo litore navim
…
et Lycum nigris oculis nigroque crine decorum [FW 284]
{Nb, the poet is addressing his lyre - a
musical instrument - and Broke / Maturin skip over some lines crucial for the
overall sense}
[It was Alcaeus the stout patriot from Lesbos
who tuned his lyre,]
when he had just been in the fighting at war,
or had anchored his storm-tossed ship on the
damp shore.
[He sang
of the Muses, of Bacchus and fair Venus, and of Cupid, still her pageboy]
and also to Lycus, with back eyes and black
hair adorned. (L; Horace Odes I)
quinua / quinoa [WDS 181]
the staple grain of South America (Sp /
Quichua)
quipu [WDS 208]
knots in cords (Quichua)
qui venit [C/T 248]
who has come (L; probably the phrase 'Blessed
is he who has come in the name of the Lord'.)
quod volunt credere [PC 198]
that
which they want to believe (L)
quo me rapis? [PC 57, FSW 52]
where are you carrying me off to? (L: alludes
to Horace Odes III.25.1-2, Quo me Bacche rapis tui plenum,
‘Where, O Bacchus, are you carrying me off to, so full [of your wine]?’)
quoniam tu solus
sanctus, tu solus dominus, tu solus altissimus [RM 179]
since you alone are holy, you alone are the
lord, you alone are the highest (L; from the Gloria of the Latin sung
Mass)
quorum [TGS 96]
lit.: of whom; ie, the number required to be
present to constitute a meeting (L; a very shortened form of a phrase such as
'there shall be 10 members of the committee, of whom six must be present
to constitute a meeting')
râble de lièvre [FW 137]
saddle of hare (F; usually no accent over the
'a')
radix serpentariae
Virginianae [COM 225]
root of Virginia creeper (L)
ragots [SM 59]
gossip (F)
raison d'État [M&C
175, DI 60, IM 111, LM 46, COM 102]
[justified by]
reasons of State (F)
râle [FW 175]
rasp, rattle (F; often a 'death rattle')
Ramadan [NC 76]
lit:
the hot month (Arabic; the ninth month of the Moslem year, in
which the faithful fast during daylight)
ramus / i [WDS 87]
branching part / s (L)
raparee [LM 116]
a bandit or thief (usually rapparee,
from Ir rappaire, a pike carried by irregular soldiers)
raptores [M&C 36]
birds of prey (F)
rara avis in mara,
maro [DI 75]
a rare bird at sea (L; should be mare;
reflects rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cycno, 'a rare bird on
earth, just like the black swan', from Juvenal, Satires VI)
ratafia [YA
123]
ground almonds, or almond oil (F)
recompenso de tua
tia [M&C 342]
a reward for your aunt (combined, and
approximate, Sp and L)
reculing pour mew
sauter [HMS 317]
drawing back to make a better leap (bad F -
correct is reculer pour mieux sauter)
regalo para vous [M&C 342]
a present for you (the words are It+Sp, Sp, F
respectively)
régime [COM 109]
ruling faction (F)
regrediar [M&C 233]
I shall return (L)
relievo [M&C
363]
tang, or
savour (It; rilievo lit.: 'relief; prominence; remark')
Rem facias, rem si possis, recte, si non, quocumque modo, rem [YA 204]
Make money. Make money fairly if you can; but
if not, make money any way possible. (L; Horace Ars Poetica)
remigium alarum [TGS 135]
the beating of wings, or the rowing of oars (L;
a cleverly turned phrase containing both these meanings at once, found in
Vergil Aeneid I)
remue-ménage [FW 179]
commotion (F; lit.: 'household-disturbance')
rencontre [FW 303, COM 245]
duel, encounter (F)
render [IM 364]
to give up (F; rendez-vous, 'surrender!')
Rendez-vous!
Jé mé rendre .... Parola!
Capitaine, cessez effusion sang. Rendezvous. Hommees desertés.
Rendezvous!
Jamais monsieur!
Capitaine, en bas, dessous, s'il vous plaît.Toutes officiers
dessous. [PC 375, 376]
Surrender!
I give up ... I give my word of honour [correct
I,F would be Parole]!
Captain, stop flow blood. Give up. Men have
deserted. Give up!
Never, Sir!
Captain, below, beneath, please. All officers
beneath. (Mostly rather bad F)
rendezvous [YA 116, 132, 164, 168]
a meeting (F)
renegado [GO 14]
an outlaw (Sp)
requies Nicholai [M&C 319]
Nicholas' relief (L; mentioned in Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy of 1621 as a ‘last refuge’ sleep-aid,
possibly an opium-based bolus; the origin of the name is obscure)
res angusta [M&C 42]
constrained means (L; usually as res angusta
domi, ‘limited wealth at home’, from Juvenal Satires III)
ricercare [HD 88]
lit.: to seek out; ie, musical term for an
elaborate contrapuntal composition (It)
rigor mortis [NC 133]
the stiffness of death (L)
riposte; counter-riposte; parry;
tierce [LM 183]
counter-stroke following a parry; an attack
following the parry of a riposte; a defensive movement with one’s own blade
engaging that of the attacker; a form of parry [the third / tierce of the
standard modes] (Old F)
risus sardonicus [IM
109]
the mocking smile
(L; refers to strained grin due to facial spasms)
rivière [SM 34, 58, 153; FW 204, 246]
necklace, especially one set with many jewels
(F) FW 204
roi de trente-six
parapluies, et très illustre seigneur de mille éléphants [HMS 262]
king with thirty six umbrellas, and illustrious
lord of a thousand elephants (F)
rondo [YA 127]
round (It.; properly rondó;
musically, a form in which a section is periodically repeated)
rouge et noir [DI 30]
red and black (F)
rouleaux [PC 337]
a roll (F)
Rue des Neuf Fiancées [SM 332]
Street
of the Nine Engaged Ladies (F)
ruse / s de guerre [M&C 255; PC 341, 390; HMS 20; FSW 338;
HD 101]
trick / s
in war (F) SM 162
sal ammoniac [C/T 144]
ammonium chloride (L / Eng)
salaud [TMC 132]
the shit / the bastard (colloquial F)
sale comme un
peigne [LM 30]
dirty as a comb (F)
saline enemata [NC 23]
salt water enema (Eng. derived from L;
Gk)
salle d'armes [LM 183]
lit.: room of weapons; a fencing-room (F)
Salve Regina [SM 254, RM 41]
Hail to the Queen [of Heaven] (L; a hymn especially associated with sailors
from Catholic nations)
sal volatile [US 20]
volatile salt, ie, smelling salts, or ammonium
carbonate (L)
sanbenitos [‘21’ 38]
sack-cloth robes with a cross painted on, worn by heretics about to be burned
(Sp)
sancta simplicitas [RM 153]
holy simplicity (L)
sangria colda [M&C
342]
sangria is Sp for wine punch; in It calda is hot and fresca cold
sans revanche [PC 337]
without a return game (F)
sans souci [DI 55]
without a care (F)
sarcoma [HMS 119]
tumour (Gk)
sardana [BM 203]
the traditional dance-music of Catalonia (Cat.)
sassenach [GO 186]
lit.: a Saxon; ie, English (Scots Gallic)
satietas vitae [PC 109]
a loathing of / boredom with life (L)
savants [SM 157]
learned men (F)
scapula [WDS 87]
shoulder blade (L)
scoliosis [SM 61]
curvature of the spine (Gk)
scoriae;
lapilli [C/T 178, WDS 25]
metal dross or slag; pebbles
(L)
scoutie-allen [FW 61]
?
(presumably Scots)
scriptorium [WDS 205]
a writing room (L)
scrutoire [NC 167]
writing desk (Eng. adaptation of F escritoire)
Scylla / Charybdis [LM 63]
Scylla was a great
sea-monster, stationed at the foot of the cliffs opposite Charybdis, a
fearsome whirlpool (Gk / L; we assume Aubrey was attempting some
more flattering comparison)
sebi confectio
discolor [C/T 110]
a mottled concoction of suet (L)
secret du roi [SM 322]
lit.: the King's secret; the King's private
intelligence force (F)
sedes libera [TMC 165]
free seat (L)
sengler [M&C 35]
wild boar (Cat.)
senhor [BM 50]
sir (Portuguese)
sensu stricto [TMC 92, DI 104]
in the strict sense (L)
septième [RM 216; TGS 274]
seventh (F)
septum [BM 200]
the bone and cartilage between the
nostrils (Medical L; lit.: ‘a separated thing’)
sequelae [PC 335, HMS 76, DI 155, IM 228, YA 201]
consequences, symptoms (L)
sequi me [HMS 100]
follow me (L)
serricunnium [DI 178]
chastity belt (medieval L)
sext [IM 327]
sixth hour (derived from Latin and French: the
cycle of monastic daily prayer as laid down by the rule of St Benedict)
shebeen [PC 196, NC 250, WDS 140, GO
24]
unregulated liquor outlet (Ir., Scots Gallic)
shieling [WDS 175]
shepherd’s hut (Old Norse, but common in Scots
and Northern Eng.)
shoneen [LM 146]
a pretend gentleman (Ir)
si la personne qui s'intéresse au pavillon de partance voudrait bien
donner rendez-vous en laissant un mot chez Jules, traiteur à Frith Street, elle a aurait des nouvelles [RM 273]
if the person who has an interest in the
'departure flag' would like to arrange a meeting by leaving a word with Jules,
the caterer located in Frith Street, he
or she will receive some news (F)
sic erimus cuncti postquam nos auferet Orcus
ergo vivamus dum licet esse, bene [C/T 200]
Thus we will all be, after Orcus [god of the
underworld] bears us off.
Therefore let us live well, for so long as it
is allowed
(L; Oakes speaks Clarissa's translation of this
at C/T 194: 'So long as we may, let us enjoy this breath For naught doth kill a
man so soon as death.' Petronius Satyricon)
Sidheán na Gháire [COM 142]
the fairies of laughter (Ir.)
similia similibus [BM 89]
usually similia similibus curantur,
similar things are cured by similar things (L)
singula de nobis
anni praeduntur euntes eripuere jocos, Venerem, convivia, ludum. [COM 10]
The years, slipping by us one at a time, are
robbers, snatching away jokes, Venus [ie
sexual love], good company, fun. (L;
Horace, Epodi II)
siriasis [TH 189]
sun-stroke (Gk)
sirocco [HD 209]
a hot wind that blows from north Africa across
the Mediterranean (Sp; from Arabic sharaqa, that which
rises)
sí, señor [COM 189]
yes, sir (Sp)
skillygallee [NC 216, COM 140]
oatmeal and boiling water (Ir., Scots
Gallic. Also skilligalee and variants; the word later came to connote a rather
different dish, crumbled hard biscuit, fried in pork fat and sweetened with
sugar or molasses)
slainte [GO 244]
to your health (Ir)
soif [M&C 342]
thirst (F)
soirée [TH 76]
an evening party (F)
solanum
anthropophagorum [C/T 77]
the
‘cannibal’s tomato’, a red tuber native to Fiji (L)
sole normande [PC 96]
sole, Normandy style (F)
solis deprivatio [PC 84]
a lack of sunshine (L)
solvet saeculum in
favilla [HD 139]
the world will dissolve into ashes (L;
Thomas of Celano Analecta Hymnica; the line follows Dies
irae, the Day of Wrath; see also LM 254)
sonata [IM 155]
a musical piece for
instruments alone [as opposed to the cantata for voices] (It)
sopor, coma, .....
, carus [TH 116]
sleepiness, unconsciousness, .... , my dear....
(L)
Sor Luisa [NC 14]
Sister Louise (Cat.)
sortie [YA 46, 218]
an expedition (F)
sotto voce [IM 48, COM 59]
in a quiet voice (It)
sotto i pini [PC 270, C/T 88]
beneath the pine trees (It; sung by Susanna and
the Contessa in Act III of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro)
soupe anglais [SM 363]
lit.: English soup (F, should be anglaise; if it is the same as the It. zuppa
inglese, it is a kind of runny trifle)
souviens-toi [FW 180]
remember (F)
specimen animalium [M&C 379]
evidence of animal Life (L)
spica [YA 123]
a ear of wheat (L; in medical terms means
an interwoven bandage)
squireen [GO 71]
lit.: a little squire; a man who is a working farmer, with
pretensions to be a squire [i.e., non-working land-owner] (Anglo-Ir.)
stadium [COM 226]
stage (L)
stare [TH 63]
to be; to stay (It)
stertor [M&C 138]
heavy breathing (L)
storgé [FW 172]
parental love (Gk)
Strada Reale [TH 299]
Royal Street (It)
stratum [COM 102]
layer, level (L)
stupor mundi [TMC 334]
wonder of the world (L)
suave mare magno [IM
132]
[it is] pleasant [to watch] in a great sea
Full quote: Suave, mari magno turbantibus
aequora ventis, e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem, ‘It is pleasant
to watch from the land the great struggle of another in a sea made great by
rushing winds...’
(L; Lucretius De Rerum Natura II.1-2.
The sentiment is not an expression of delight in the suffering of others,
but a comparison of those secure in the
truth of philosophy to those who are not)
sub deo [HMS 346]
under God ['s protection] (L)
sudor insignis [TMC 169]
exemplary sweat (L)
summum bonum [HMS 120]
the highest good (L)
superiores priores [YA 128]
senior officers first (bad L)
supressio
veri [BM 34]
suppression of the truth (L)
supressorii [‘21’ 34]
men under restraint (medical L)
sus
barbirussa; sus barbatus [NC 191]
the red-bearded pig; the bearded pig (L)
Swiving Monachorum [HMS 84]
a convincing-looking English placename, but in
fact meaning 'Fucking of the Monks' (Old E + L)
syce [HMS 213]
groom (Anglo-Indian, from Arabic saa'is)
Symphonie Funèbre [COM 129]
Funeral Symphony (F)
syncope [HMS 185]
stroke (Gk)
taboo [FSW 276, C/T 230]
prohibited by religious law (Polynesian)
tabor [YA 129]
a drum (perh. Persian in origin)
tace [PC 475,
FW 219, C/T 45, COM 171, GO 231]
be quiet (L; the phrase ‘tace is
Latin for a candle’, meaning ‘keep it quiet’ is obscure in origin, but
relatively common in 19th century English literature. The correct
word in Latin for a candle is candela; tace is the
singular, imperative tense of the usual verb for ‘be silent’)
taedium vitae [C/T 28]
weariness of / disgust with life (L)
t'anam an dial,
omadhaun [GO 13]
your soul to the Devil, you fool! (Ir.)
tangalung [NC 88]
a Java civet cat (Malay)
tantum religio
potuit suadere malorum [DI 322]
religion can induce such a degree of wickedness
[in people] (L; Lucretius, On the
Nature of the Universe, I)
tapirus americanus [NC 192]
the American tapir (L)
tapirus indicus [NC 199]
the East Indian tapir (L)
taro [NC 202]
an edible root of the arum family
(Tahitian)
taula d'en Xatart [M&C 296]
Mr Xatart's tablet (Catalan)
Te Deum [HMS 310, TH 224, WDS 185]
To you, God (L; The start of the hymn of praise
and thanksgiving beginning ‘We praise
you, God’)
tendre [PC 55, DI 164]
loving feeling, soft spot (F)
tenesmus [TMC 41]
chronic, painful constipation, both vesical and
rectal (Gk)
teniente [M&C 12, 14]
lieutenant (Sp)
terce [IM 327]
third hour
(derived from Latin and French: the cycle of monastic daily prayer as
laid down by the rule of St Benedict)
terminus a
quo; terminus a quo and a terminus ad
quem [US 308; YA 116]
the point from which; a point from which and a point to which (L)
tertii in tabulatum
mali [C/T 74]
to the upper floor of the third mast (L)
tes moeurs
crapuleuses [HMS 154]
your sordid morals / habits (F)
tesoro [TH 82]
treasure, darling (It)
testudo aubreii [HMS 362, NC 88]
Aubrey's tortoise (L)
tête-a-tête [TMC 241, DI 273, SM 162, WDS 64]
lit.:
head to head; an intimate meeting (F)
t'hanam an dial [GO 91]
your soul to the Devil! (Ir)
thocht [NC 58]
thought (Scots dialect)
thon southron loons
didna ken cleanliness ... a puir wombly set of boggerts [FW 64]
those southern idiots don't understand
cleanliness ... a poor unfortunate set of scarecrows (Scots; boggerts
can just mean 'fellows'.)
tic douloureux [LM 26]
unhappy twitch (F; a type of
exceptionally painful facial neuralgia)
Tir nan Og / Tir
na 'nOg [PC 485, GO 161]
lit.: The Land of Youth; Paradise (Ir)
topi-wallah [HMS 209]
lit.: 'hat man'; generally means 'a European'
(Hindi)
tori [HD 79]
lit.: knots / rounded edges; a circular moulding at the base of a
column (L)
tormina [TMC 169]
colic or the gripes (L)
tourniquet [YA 123]
a twisted bandage (F; lit. any form of
turning mechanism, such as a turnstile, an axle)
Tractatus de Novae
Febris Ingressu [DI 85]
A Treatise on the Early Stages of a New Fever
(L)
tramontana [M&C 16]
north wind (It)
tranquillitas animi
et indolentia corporis [PC 449]
peace of mind and insensibility of body (L)
transiens per medium
illorum ibat [TH 164] [Jesus]
departed, passing though the middle of them (L;
Luke 4:30)
trapassato remoto [TH 27]
the pluperfect tense (It; eg: 'she had kissed')
travail de
Bénédictin [FW 52]
the work of a Benedictine (F; Benedictine monk
scholars were, and are, famous for the length and thoroughness of their works)
trismus [IM 109]
lock-jaw (Gk)
tromba marina [NC 98]
lit.: marine trumpet (L; in fact, not any sort of trumpet at all, but
a stringed instrument. The origin of the name is both obscure and disputed, but
seems likely to derive from the instrument’s distinctive tone.)
trompe-couillon [HMS 227]
lit.: cheat-the-testicles (F; ie, a trick to
take in 'suckers'; couillon being a vulgar term for 'a gullible fool')
tsarfetim [IM 341]
(?; ?Turkish)
tu [FOW
189]
you (F; the intimate form of ‘you’ in contrast to the more formal ‘vous’)
tuan [NC 95]
lord, sir (Malay)
Tuatha De Danaan [GO 15]
the children of Danu (Ir.; Danu was the mother of the legendary tribe
that led the fifth of the twelve waves of invaders found in Irish mythology)
tu cherches à
corrompre mon paresseux [HMS
154]
you are
trying to corrupt my sloth (F)
tu es là,
Jean-Paul? [FW 249]
are you there, Jean-Paul (F)
tulle [HD 8]
a fine silk netting, named after the town of
Tulle (F)
tumor, rubor, dolor [SM 61]
swelling, redness, pain (L; the classic signs of underlying infection)
turlough [YA 31]
a seasonal lake (Ir)
uishge beatha; aqua vitae;
eau-de-vie [GO 218]
the water of life (Ir, L, F respectively; a
common way of referring to strong distilled liquors, eg, Irish whiskey,
Scandanavian akavit, French clear grape spirit)
ultima ratio regum [IM
328]
the final argument
of kings (L; from the tag 'war is the final argument of kings'.)
Ultima Thule [US 26]
Furthest Thule (L)
un gentilhomme est
toujours gentilhomme [HMS 263]
a gentleman is always a gentleman (F)
upsilon [TGS 273]
Greek letter equivalent to 'u' or 'y'. (Gk;
because Greek does not have a separate letter for ‘h’, upsilon is the
first letter of hybris)
urinator [TH 203]
a diver (L)
utile [M&C 352]
useful (L)
vade retro; vade retro, satanas [DI 90; COM 107]
get back / behind; get behind me, Satan (L; Vade retro / Retro vade, Satanas
are words Jesus uses to repel the temptations of Satan [Luke, 4:8] and Peter [Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33], both of whom are offering
the possibility of his avoiding his destiny on earth)
va donc, eh, salop [HMS 154]
come on then, you bastard (F)
vae victis [WDS 84]
woe to the vanquished (L; a relatively
common phrase in Latin histories that became chillingly famous when it was
supposedly uttered by the Gaul Bennus when he captured Rome)
vali [IM 261]
the civil governor
of a Turkish province (Turkish)
Venerem omitte [PC 387]
lit.: avoid Venus; i.e. 'no sex' (L)
vespers [IM 327]
final
(derived from Latin and French: the cycle of monastic daily prayer as
laid down by the rule of St Benedict) IM 327
veuve [SM 331]
widow (F)
vice [M&C
39]
in place of (L)
viento blanco [WDS 224]
white wind (Sp)
vi et armis [TH 146]
with force and weapons (L)
vino [M&C 14]
wine (It / Sp)
vino, chocolato,
aguardiente [PC 492]
wine, chocolate, brandy (Sp)
virgoes intactoes [IM
287]
intact virgins (sort of L; correct L would be virgines intactae: the
singular is virgo, whence Aubrey's error. In his Latin attempts, Aubrey
generally tries to achieve the necessary agreement of the parts of speech by
making the endings identical.)
vis-à-vis [C/T 192, NC 237, WDS 43]
lit.: face to face; can also mean, immediately
opposite (as at a dining table), or compared to (F)
visage de porco [M&C 34]
pig's face (F + It)
viscacha [WDS 210]
a burrowing rodent (Quichua)
viscera [COM 245]
guts (L)
Vite, vite, à
gauche. Tu l'attraperas [FW 240,
241]
Quick, quick, to the left. You'll trap him (F)
vitia [‘21’ 34]
degenerates (medical L; usually means sodomites)
viva voce [TGS 136]
in his or her own live voice (L)
Vive
l’Empereur! [C/T 138, HD 127]
[Long]
Live the Emperor! (F)
vixi puellis nuper
idoneus [SM 176]
recently I led a life congenial to girls (L;
Horace, Odes III)
vol-au-vent [LM 73]
fly-in-the-wind (F; a very light, small
pastry case)
volto sciolto,
pensieri stretti [IM 110, FSW
249]
open face, concealed thoughts (It; lit.: sciolto
= untied; stretto = tied up. Sir Henry Wooton [1568-1639] attributed a
similar phrase - pensieri stretti, viso sciolto - to the courtier
Alberto Scipioni. O'Brian's version is taken from the late 18th C. Letters
of Lord Chesterfield)
vou' savez faire [M&C 224]
d’you know how to... (F)
vous êtes un
officier anglais, monsieur? [HMS
71]
are you an English Officer, Sir? (F)
vous l'avez voulu,
George Dandin [TGS 176]
you asked for it, George Dandin (F; from
Molière's Georges Dandin, ou le Mari Confondu of 1668. The peasant
Dandin marries above his station and, cuckolded out of his pretty young wife,
repeatedly mutters this phrase. It has become a way of saying, 'you've only got
yourself to blame for what you're complaining about')
vox et praeterea nihil [FSW 206]
a voice, and nothing else (L; Plutarch Apophthegmata
Laconica)
wahu [FSW 274]
tahu wahu wai is often given in
English as a Hawaiian war chant, but I’m far from sure this is how it is
understood by native speakers
wee glippet [TH 74]
little / quick glance (Scots)
what's yon snotty
bairn a-greeting at? [M&C 144]
what's that grubby child crying about (Scots)
why you had crackit yon wee bairn’s leg
heuch, heuch, you must have thocht me a puir slow witted gowk [NC 58]
why you
had broken that little child’s leg.
well, well, you must have thought me a poor
slow witted fool (Scots dialect)
wisha [GO 34, 197, 199]
? well (Ir.) GO 197 / 199
y aquí [M&C 342]
and here (Sp)
ye thrawn
ill-feckit gaberlunzie [HD 12]
you twisted, ill-made ne’er do well
(Scots)
[ylauk
…]
see “glauk eis
Athenas” above
zeta [TGS 273]
the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, which
sounds and looks like English Z (Gk. Aubrey means he started to learn the
alphabet, which at first proceeds in a way parallel to the English alphabet: alpha,
beta, gamma, delta, epsilon - but then zeta.
Many a neophyte Greek scholar has stopped at this point, confused, though glad,
that the Greek alphabet seems so very short.)
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