The AB Urbe Condita Construction in Greek

In Latin a noun and participle are sometimes combined in such a way that the weight of the meaning seems to lie in the participle rather than in the noun. This peculiar relationship between participle and noun may be seen in the well-known phrase of dating, ab urbe condita, which for want of an exact definition is often used to identify the construction. Analysis of the words shows that what is really an abstract idea has been expressed in concrete terms. Logical expression would call for an abstract noun in place of the participle, with a second noun in the genitive case, and a translator is forced to have recourse to some such device in order to render the meaning, e.g. ‘from the founding of the city’. Participles of this type can be found in Latin in all the cases except the vocative and in combination with a large number of prepositions

Linguistics · Participle · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy

• Roman Republican Augury

  Lindsay G Driediger-Murphy•Roman Republican Augury•2019

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