Re: NATLANG: Latin prefixes with er/ra

On Sunday, September 19, 2004, at 02:10 , Muke Tever wrote:

[snip]
> I see two patterns here:
>
> "Super" is the basic preposition, also used as an adverb,and the one most
> used as a prefix in Latin.
> "Supra" is a derived adverb; also used as a preposition.
Yep - _supra_ being derived, in fact, from the feminine ablative singular
of an adjective.

> Same seems to be the case with "inter"/"intra"
Oops - yes, indeed. I should have included that with _super_ in my
previous mail.

> "ulter" is an adjective, and "ultra" is its adverb and preposition, doesn'
> t seem to be (much?) used as a Latin prefix.
AFAIK _ultramundanus_ "that which is beyond the world" is the only one
from the Classical period.

> Same with "infer"/"infra".
True - and AFAIK "infra" was not used as a prefix in Classical Latin
("infer" certainly wasn't).
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>
On Sunday, September 19, 2004, at 04:52 , Roger Mills wrote:
[snip]
> Ya missed one: (*exter):extra
>
Yep - but no need for the asterisk with _exter_.

EXTER/ EXTRA

exter (alternative form 'exterus')
[adjective] = on the outside, outward, of another country.
 From this are derived:
i. [comparative] exterior
ii. [superlarive] extre:mus

extra:
i. [adverb] on the outside; except (follwed by 'quam'. i.e. extra quam =
'except that)

ii. [prep. with accusative] outside of, beyond; with the exception of
> I think I might have raised the same questions a long time ago, and Ray
> Brown no doubt clarified things....
I have some vague memory of this from many moons ago   :)

> My guess would be that at some point, the forms in -er were adjectival;
> the
> forms in -ra were adverbials regularly derived via the Feminine Ablative.
Spot on!

> Note that in addition to having comparatives in -ior, they _do_ have
> superlatives -- in -imus (and a few -emus): supremus, ultimus, infimus,
> intimus, extremus --
Yep.

> as well as some derivatives in -nal-: cf. Engl.
> supernal, infernal, internal, external.
The Classical Latin equivalents were: supernus, infernus, internus,
externus
The addition of the redundant -al- seems to be a medievalism.

But even with _exter/extra_ we have not exhausted the list of -er/-ra
words. If time allows today, I'll chase up a few more for you all ;)

Ray
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http://home.freeuk.com/ray.brown
ray.brown@freeuk.com
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"They are evidently confusing science with technology."
UMBERTO ECO				September, 2004