Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 December 18

= December 18 =

One-word translation for Bellatrix?
Is there a one-word translation in English for the Latin word bellatrix? Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 02:00, 18 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Amazon? -- Jayron  32  02:41, 18 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Not exactly, given the extra connotations of scantily-clad barbarians with a breast cut off, while I want a plain literal translation, like warriess. but a very good suggestion indeed! μηδείς (talk) 02:59, 18 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Merriam Webster has "warrioress" — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rojomoke (talk • contribs)
 * "warrioress" actually is attested (OED):


 * 1594  R. Carew tr. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne iii. 110   Now to the combat had this warriouresse Plighted her selfe.
 * 1596  Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. vii. sig. S2,   Eftsoones that warriouresse with haughty crest Did forth issue, all ready for the fight.
 * 1652–62  P. Heylyn Cosmogr. (1682) i. 126   Mathildis, that famous Warriouress, who carried so great a stroke in the state of Italy.
 * 1755  W. Huggins & T. H. Croker tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso I. xxii. lxxxviii,   He quickly turns, and in his turning view'd, Sight of his warrioress belov'd to gain.
 * 1887  A. T. de Vere Ess. Poetry I. ii. 58   The virgin warrioress assails the castle.


 * 1598  J. Dickenson Greene in Conceipt 37   With hir tongue shee was as tall a warriouresse as any of hir sexe.
 * And -- Atethnekos (Discussion, Contributions) 06:04, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, and duh on my account. I simply assumed warrioress couldn't be a real word. μηδείς (talk) 17:30, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Pseudo-synonyms?
Is there a term for words that are synonymous with the same third word, but with different senses of that word (and that might therefore confuse a non-native speaker who is using a thesaurus)? An example would be "standard" and "meeting" -- these have different meanings, but are both synonymous with "convention". Neon Merlin  03:04, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

What is 'foodirati' in the following sentence?
However, fairly widespread arsenic-based pesticide use, supported by federal and state agricultural agencies, began much earlier, in the mid-1800s --- the very period that the current foodirati see as the "natural farming" past.---Ms. Winter 2013, p.43.122.19.123.34 (talk) 08:19, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * It's a slangy word meaning something like "those who claim to be experts on food". It's a bit disparaging, the implication is that these people are claiming to be experts but are really only following trends in food. --Viennese Waltz 08:23, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * I agree that it may be disparaging in that sentence, but don't think it is in general. StuRat (talk) 08:26, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Nonce portmanteau of "foodie" and "literati"/"glitterati", I would assume... AnonMoos (talk) 08:36, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Bible translation: shall not kill or not murder?
When Exodus 34:12 says "thou shall not []." What would be the best translation? Why do some say kill and others murder? Is it ambiguous in the original Hebrew/Greek or just a plain bad translation? OsmanRF34 (talk) 19:42, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Thou shalt not kill is our article on the commandment - see, in particular, Thou shalt not kill for a discussion of the various words used in the Hebrew Bible for "killing". Tevildo (talk) 20:23, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Note that, in English, "kill" doesn't just apply to humans, but also animals, plants, bacteria, and any other life form. Since this obviously wasn't meant to prohibit the killing of plants and animals, "kill" is a poor translation. StuRat (talk) 23:21, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

How to cite sources with long titles?
I've got a question about presenting book titles or series titles in citations. How do you present a title that spans several lines and doesn't contain punctuation marks (or few punctuation marks). Here's an example of a series title that appears on the title page of a book I'm using: The Northern World North Europe and the Baltic c. 400–1700 AD Peoples, Economics and Cultures So how do you place a title like this in one line in a citation template. Do you just jam it all into one line without punctuation marks? Do you use semicolons between line breaks? Periods? What do you do if there was a colon after the first line, but no punctuation marks in the other two lines? Is there a rule to follow?--Brianann MacAmhlaidh (talk) 19:46, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * There is almost certainly a rule, but what it is will depend on which style guide you are supposed to follow. For example, if APA, they put a colon before the subtitle and additional information such as edition, volume number, etc in parentheses. Yours would probably come out (there are other rules about capitalization, italics, etc.) as: The northern world: North Europe and the Baltic c. 400-1700 AD (Peoples, Economics and Cultures). 184.147.136.249 (talk) 20:20, 18 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.--Brianann MacAmhlaidh (talk) 00:01, 19 December 2013 (UTC)