Superphysics
SOME LATIN ADJECTIVES1
by PR Sarkar
3 minutes • 525 words
Table of contents
| NOUN | ADJECTIVE |
|---|---|
| youth | juvenile |
| sugar | saccharine |
| rosy | rosy |
| brick | laterite |
| iron | ferrous, ferric |
| copper | cuprous, cupric |
| rotary | rotarian |
| beauty | cosmetic |
| village (good sense) | rural |
| village (bad sense) | rustic |
| snake, serpent | serpentine (zigzag is the English adjective) |
| sound acoustic | |
| world, earth mundane | |
| ether ethereal | |
| air aerial | |
| light luminous | |
| space spatial | |
| touch tactual | |
| vision visual | |
| voice vocal | |
| time temporal | |
| lion leonine | |
| elephant elephantitis2 | |
| nose nasal | |
| five [elements] quinquelemental | |
| oil lubricant | |
| husband/wife (pair) conjugal | |
| king royal | |
| salt saline (salty is the English adjective) | |
| flower floral | |
| egg oval | |
| fish piscal (fishy is the English adjective) | |
| flesh carnal | |
| heat thermal | |
| life vital | |
| nerve [system] neurological | |
| shelter sanctual | |
| help auxilary | |
| boat naval | |
| God divine | |
| hair capillary | |
| head capital | |
| star astral, asteric | |
| gas pneumatic (e.g., pneumatic power; gaseous is the English adjective) | |
| fire igneous (e.g., igneous rock) | |
| pad3 pedal, pedestrial (pedestrian – noun) | |
| side lateral | |
| day diurnal | |
| night nocturnal | |
| milk, lactose lactic, lactorial | |
| cat feline | |
| dog canine | |
| gold4 auric | |
| lead plumbic | |
| natrum natric | |
| blood sanguine, sanguinary | |
| hope sanguine | |
| sea marine | |
| river riverine | |
| sediment sedimentary, residual | |
| father paternal | |
| mother maternal | |
| brother fraternal | |
| town, city urban | |
| cow vaccine | |
| ox, bull bovine | |
| sheep quarantine5 | |
| ear (in the sense of physicality) auricular | |
| ear (in the sense of faculty) audible | |
| ear (in the sense of inference) acoustic | |
| eye (in the sense of physicality) optical (e.g., “He is suffering from optical trouble.” | |
| eye (in the sense of faculty) ocular (e.g., ocular proof | |
| eye (in the sense of inference) visible | |
| N.B.: The English adjective of Wales is Welsh; the adjective of lathi is lethal, which is Indian English; and the adjective of white is wheat, which is old English. |
| ADJECTIVE | LATIN ADJECTIVE |
|---|---|
| all-round | radical |
| all-knowing | omniscient |
| all-powerful | omnipotent |
| moving everywhere | omnibus |
| old ancient | |
| underground subterranean | |
| equal in side equilateral | |
| equal in balance equivalent | |
| equal in weight, mass equipoised | |
| equal in number equinumeral | |
| two double | |
| grass-eating graminivorous | |
| insect-eating insectivorous, pestivorous | |
| meat-eating carnivorous | |
| fish-eating piscivorous | |
| long-lasting chronic | |
| date-wise chronological | |
| (1) Many of the entries here represent instances where the adjective form of a classical word has entered the English language, but the noun form has not entered the English language or has not remained in it. For example, the Latinate adjective mundane remains in the English language, but the noun mundus either has not entered the language or does not remain. |
(2) -itis is an old adjectival suffix. –Eds.
(3) Originally meaning “foot”, as it still does in the case of animals. –Eds.
(4) Golden [in the sense of “made of gold”] is bad English. A gold ring means a ring made of gold. A golden ring means a ring whose colour is like that of gold.
(5) In ancient times some towns took special steps to check the [spread] of disease coming from sheep. That is why even nowadays we use the term quarantine period for post-disease care.
CHAPTER 17: DIMINUTIVES
In order to create diminutives in English, suffixes such as the following (-let, -kin, -et, -ock, -ling, -ule, etc.) are used.
| NOUN | DIMINUTIVE |
|---|---|
| hill | hillock |
| book | booklet |
| duck | duckling |
| river | rivulet |
| goose gosling | |
| arm armlet1 | |
| leaf leaflet | |
| ankle anklet1 | |
| cut cutlet | |
| man mankin | |
| helm helmet | |
| globe globule | |
| grain granule | |
| (1) Small objects related to the arm or ankle. –Eds. |
