Is anyone here fluent in Latin?

[MediocreAuthor]

So many of us are familiar with the Latin expression "Homo homini lupus" which means "Man is a wolf to man."

That's a shortened version of "Homo homini lupus est"

For one of my stories, I was considering the quote "Man is a wolf to women" but although I'm struggling to find a translation that seems succinct and poetic.

The best I've found through Google translate is "Mankind is a wolf to woman" which it translates as "Homo lupus ad femina" although I don't know how correct that is.

Can anyone help? I realize Latin is a dead language, but I don't want to butcher the corpse.

(My highschool Latin class isn't helping much here)

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Vir lupus est mulieri.

I suppose that works, but it's a little wordy.

Homo lupus ad femina isn't much better, but it seems a bit closer to the original, and it adds "femina" which is more easily identifiable as "female."

Is "Homo lupus ad femina" nonsense in actual Latin? Is it improperly conjugated or whatever?

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Vir lupus est mulieri.

Or

Vir mulieri lupus est.

Ohhh! I tried "Homo mulieri lupus est"

That's closer to the original, and it works in Google translate. Does anyone know if that sounds okay in actual latin?

 

[alohadave]

Ohhh! I tried "Homo mulieri lupus est"

That's closer to the original, and it works in Google translate. Does anyone know if that sounds okay in actual latin?

Does it have to strictly, grammatically correct or can it just sound reasonably close?

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Does it have to strictly, grammatically correct or can it just sound reasonably close?

I'll take what I can get, but I'd prefer it make some sense, and not be grammatically incoherent

 

[MediocreAuthor]

For the context of the story "human/person" kind of fits, because women who have already "drank the Kool aid" so to speak, willingly betray their free sisters in exchange for their own selfish benefits.

Homo = human/person

 

[oneagainst]

Just as a note, having never taken Latin at school, Homo homini lupus stopped me in my tracks, mid story. I had to come out, look it up, and then get back into it again. Like the other thread on portraying non-English characters, there's a flip side

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Just as a note, having never taken Latin at school, Homo homini lupus stopped me in my tracks, mid story. I had to come out, look it up, and then get back into it again. Like the other thread on portraying non-English characters, there's a flip side

Who's story featured that quote? Now I'm curious

 

[oneagainst]

Who's story featured that quote? Now I'm curious

I'm bound to silence through the solemn oath of the beta reader. None shall pass!

 

[MediocreAuthor]

I'm bound to silence through the solemn oath of the beta reader. None shall pass!

Well shit! Now I don't wanna use it. If theirs posts first, I'll look like a copy cat!

Maybe they'll post it first, and everyone will look it up... They'll be ready for mine

 

[oneagainst]

Well shit! Now I don't wanna use it. If theirs posts first, I'll look like a copy cat!

Maybe they'll post it first, and everyone will look it up... They'll be ready for mine

Don't delay, tempus fugit. Carpe diem and get in there first... Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat after all

 

[EmilyMiller]

So many of us are familiar with the Latin expression "Homo homini lupus" which means "Man is a wolf to man."

That's a shortened version of "Homo homini lupus est"

For one of my stories, I was considering the quote "Man is a wolf to women" but although I'm struggling to find a translation that seems succinct and poetic.

The best I've found through Google translate is "Mankind is a wolf to woman" which it translates as "Homo lupus ad femina" although I don't know how correct that is.

Can anyone help? I realize Latin is a dead language, but I don't want to butcher the corpse.

(My highschool Latin class isn't helping much here)

Homo feminae lupus est.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Homo feminae lupus est.

I agree with this being the best option if you want to mirror "Homo homini lupus est".

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Homo feminae lupus est.

I agree with this being the best option if you want to mirror "Homo homini lupus est".

I agree that sounds the best, but Google Translate says it means "A woman's man is a wolf."

Is that a fuck-up with Google? Again, I don't speak Latin. How did y'all reach that translation?

 

[MediocreAuthor]

If you don't trust free advice, maybe try GPT; it's quite good with languages.

That's a really good idea

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

GPT says...

"Homo feminae lupus est" is Latin for "Man is a wolf to women". It's a metaphorical statement that might be used to suggest that men can be dangerous or predatory towards women, or that they might take advantage of women in some way. The specific interpretation would depend on the context in which the phrase is being used. However, this phrase is not a common or standard expression in Latin, and it may have been created or used for a specific purpose or context.

Sounds legit to me.

Also, it has a nice rhythm to it.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

I think I'll go with the shortened "Homo feminae lupus"

It's closer to "Homo Homini Lupis" which does technically mean the same thing, just abridged, apparently. (At least, according to ChatGpt)

Thank all of you for your input!

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I agree that sounds the best, but Google Translate says it means "A woman's man is a wolf."

Is that a fuck-up with Google? Again, I don't speak Latin. How did y'all reach that translation?

Femina declines to feminae in both genitive (woman's) and dative cases (to/for the woman). So could go either way. Given the original male expression is a known phrase, I think it's close enough.

It's not like Clemens and Quintus are going to pop up to tell us off if it's not in fact idiomatic for the time.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Femina declines to feminae in both genitive (woman's) and dative cases (to/for the woman). So could go either way. Given the original male expression is a known phrase, I think it's close enough.

It's not like Clemens and Quintus are going to pop up to tell us off if it's not in fact idiomatic for the time.

#teamGrumio

 

[Kumquatqueen]

#teamGrumio

Grumio and Metella definitely had a thing going.

 

[MillieDynamite]

According to an online translation, Man is a wolf to women, which translates as Homo lupus est mulieribus

EDIT:
I believe this Google translates, so I'll be seeing a million links to "Learn Latin in Ten Days," "Latin for Dummies," and "The Lost Art of Latin in Modern Society," or some such tauri stercore when every I go to google for anything.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

A lot of strange Latin here. "Homo homini lupus est" refers to humans being wolves to each other, not "man" as in "male human." A more accurate translation of that phrase would be "Mankind is a wolf to Mankind," but it doesn't read as poetically as "Man is a wolf to Man." "Ad" is deictic, and refers to direction, as in "going towards;" the dative is the appropriate approach here as it refers to the recipient of an action. You do need to to consider, though, which is of greater importance: correct Latin grammar and meaning, or the impression a casual reader will get from scanning the phrase and not bothering to look it up. If you want accuracy for your phrase, "vir" and "mulier" are the better choices. If you want the sense of both men and women being wolves to women, then "homo" and "mulier" would be appropriate. "Mulier," by the way, in Classical Latin applies only to humans females; "femina" refers to any female.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

A lot of strange Latin here. "Homo homini lupus est" refers to humans being wolves to each other, not "man" as in "male human." A more accurate translation of that phrase would be "Mankind is a wolf to Mankind," but it doesn't read as poetically as "Man is a wolf to Man." "Ad" is deictic, and refers to direction, as in "going towards;" the dative is the appropriate approach here as it refers to the recipient of an action. You do need to to consider, though, which is of greater importance: correct Latin grammar and meaning, or the impression a casual reader will get from scanning the phrase and not bothering to look it up. If you want accuracy for your phrase, "vir" and "mulier" are the better choices. If you want the sense of both men and women being wolves to women, then "homo" and "mulier" would be appropriate. "Mulier," by the way, in Classical Latin applies only to humans females; "femina" refers to any female.

So how does "Homo feminae lupus" sound to you? Poetic with out sounding moronic?

 

[Tio_Narratore]

So how does "Homo feminae lupus" sound to you? Poetic with out sounding moronic?

It sounds good, given that you want "people" to be wolves to women. Using "feminae" does make it more accessible to the average reader. I like the "est," though, but that's just my old Latin Master speaking. Have fun.