LATIN INTERJECTIONS!!!!

[ginlindzey]

I put this document together back in 2006. Patrick Owens took a cursory look at it last year (2016) when he was busy and made a couple of edits. When he sent it back to me I had to put it aside because I was busy.

Anyway, I was thinking that besides having a PDF file that I could simply post the contents here so it is more handy for people. Enjoy!

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Interjections! Show Emotion! Halleluia! Amen!

 

Lists of interjections can be found on the internet and elsewhere, but usually they contain nothing more than a list of the words. I have tried to gather examples of usage when provided from Lewis and Short’s A Latin Dictionary, so that we can begin to employ these interjections in our own classes in a more accurate fashion.

 

ā/āh – (an exclamation of pain or grief) ah! ha! oh! āh nescīs quam doleam; (of entreaty to avert an evil) āh, nōlī!; (of indignation or reproach) āh stulte! āh rogitās?; (of admonition) āh nē mē obsecrā; (of consolation) quid? āh volet, certō scio.

aha – (of reproof or denial) aha! aha, tacē

ai – (denoting grief) ah!

apage – go! scram! apage, istās ā mē sorōrēs

atat/attat/attatatae/atatte – (an exclamationi of joy, pain, wonder, fright, warming) oh! ah! alas! lo! strange! attata, cavē cadās amābō

(h)au – (an exclamation of pain or grief) ouch! au, nūllan tibi lingua’st?

babae/papae/tatae – (an exclamation of wonderment of magnitude) (in delight) great! wonderful!; (in pain) ouch! how painful!; (in astonishment or surprise) wow! papae! iugularās hominem; (dialogue from a play:) Sa: fac tū hōc modō, St: at tū hōc modō, Sa: babae! St: tatae! Sa: papae! St: pāx!

ēcastor/mēcastor – by Castor! (for women usually) ēcastor vērō!; salvē, mēcastor, Parmeniō!

ecce – (with the accusative) see! look! here! quid mē quaeris? ecce mē!; ecce odium meum! (with the nominative) ecce homo!

eccerē – (ecce plus rē – ablative of rem) there! see there in fact!

edepol/pol – by Pollux! indeed! pol, mē miserum, patrōne, vocāres!

ehem – (expressing pleasant surprise) ha! aha! ehem, optumē!; ehem, pater mē, tū hīc erās?

ēheu – (expressing pain, often followed by quam) oh! oh no! ēheu, quam ego nunc tōtus displiceō mihi!

eho – (often expressing rebuke) look here! see here! eho puer!

ehodum – look here now!

ei/hei – (expressing fear or dismay) ah! oh!

ēia/hēia – (expressing joy or surprise in admiring an object) ah ah ha! good! (gentle remonstrance or persuasion) hēia, mē Iūnō, nōn decet tē; (in strong affirmation) ēia, crēdō; (expressing haste, often with age) quick! come on! ēia age!

em/hem – (expressing joy or surprise in a good or bad sense, in offering some object or fact to s.o., often followed by a dative) here (there) you are! hem! quid ego audiō?; hem, Pamphile, optimē tē mihi offers; hem tibi maledictīs prō istīs

ēn/em – (in questions) really? (in commands) come on! (to call attention) hey! (with nominatives) ubi rōrāriī estis? ēn sunt; ēn crīmen, ēn causa; ēn quid agō

eu – (sometimes ironic) fine! great!

euax – (expressive of delight at some tidings or events) hurray!

euge/eugae/eugepae – terrific! bravo! euge, euge, perbene!

euhoe – (shout of joy at the festivals of Bacchus) euhoe euhoe euhius

fī – phew! (at a bad smell) fī fī fītet!

fu/fue/fūfae – (expression of disgust) yuck!

ha/hahae/hahahahae – (expression of joy, satisfaction, or laughter) haha! thank heaven! hahae, nunc dēmum mī animus in tūtō locō’st; (exclamation of laughter or derision) Chr: hahahe! Me. quid rīsistī?; hahahe, iam teneō, quid sit

(h)ercle/mehercle/mehercule/mehercules – (expressing strong feeling, used by men as an oath) by Hercules! neque, mehercules, hoc indigne ferō; vērē, mehercule hoc dīcam

heu – (expressing pain or dismay; absolute or with accusative) oh! ah! heu mē miserum

heus – (to draw attention) say there! hey! heus, Traniō, etiam nē aperīs?

huī – (exclamation of astonishment or admiration) wow! trīginta? huī percāra est!

io – (expressing joy) (NB: two syllables - the i is not a consonant) ho! iō triumphe / triumphāle!

medius fidius/mediusfidius – (fidius - surname of Jupiter; medius - from deus) by the gods of truth! most certainly! nē ille, medius fidius

nē – (only joined with personal pronouns ego, tū, and with ille, iste, and hic; also connect with other affirmative particles hercle, edepol, mecastor, medius fidius) indeed, certainly, surely! nē ego homō īnfēlix fuī; nē tū hercle; nē ille hercle; edepol nē ego

ō – (the commonest expression of joy, astonishment, desire, grief, indignation; usually with vocative or accusative; often 3 times) oh! ō pater, ō patria, ō Priamī domum; ō soror, ō coniunx, ō fēmina sōla; ō Romule; ō Tite

oh/ohoho – (expression for the most various emotions of the mind, for surprise, both joyful and painful; for great pleasure or sorrow) oh! oh, iniquus es; oh periī; oh probus homō

ōhē/ohē – whoa! ohē, inquam sī quid audīs

oho – (an exclamation of surprise or joy) oho! aha! oho, amābō, quid illūc nōn properās?

oi/oiei – (an exclamation of complaint, of one weeping) oi! alas!

papae – (see babae above)

pāx – quiet! enough! pāx, abī!

pol – (see edepol above)

prox – (comic representation of a fart) dum etinor, prox! iam paene inquināvī pallium / as I struggle to my feet, bang! I darn near soiled my clothes!

st – shh! sst! st st tacēte, quid hoc clamōris?

tat/tatae – (see babae above)

tuxtax – (a word meant to imitate sound of blows) whack, wam; tuxtax meō tergō erit

vae – (an exclamation of pain or dread, often with dative) woe! vae miserō mihi; vae victīs

vah/vaha – (exclamation of astonishment, joy, anger) ah! oh! vah! apage tē ā mē! vah! periī!

This list was originally compiled by Ginny Lindzey, Dripping Springs High School, Austin, TX, 2006; revised 2017.