The Naughtiest Latin Curse Words

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  • Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
  • You can tell a lot about a culture by the words and ideas they consider obscene, and the Romans were no exception. In this video we dive into the Latin terms that were considered the absolute filthiest and examine their relationship to the Roman mindset.
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    #history #rome #spqr #ancientrome #roma #roman #romanempire #romanrepublic #romanhistory #badwords #cursing #cussing #historyoflanguage #language #writing #words #linguistics #latin #ancientlatin #romanculture #gender #sociology #anthropology #historyofrome #sopranos #thesopranos #machismo #macho #documentary #documentaries #documental #augustus #7words #cussing #culture #culturalheritage #cultures #italy #italian #italianculture #italia #italiano #culturaitaliana #curses #curses #cuss

КОМЕНТАРІ • 105

  • @tribunateSPQR
    @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +22

    What’s your favorite Latin word or expression?

    • @NathanDudani
      @NathanDudani Рік тому +9

      Fututo!

    • @CBrace527
      @CBrace527 Рік тому +10

      Te futueo et caballum tuum!

    • @Ancient__Wisdom
      @Ancient__Wisdom Рік тому +6

      Vescere bracis meis

    • @EnlightenedNox
      @EnlightenedNox Рік тому +7

      opta ardua pennis astra sequi
      It's quite an inspirational quote, and also because of the word pennis.

    • @starcapture3040
      @starcapture3040 Рік тому +3

      Nostra U just love the way it is spelled.

  • @ldamoff
    @ldamoff Рік тому +48

    It is amazing to me how many of these have made there way into the swearing of modern romance languages, and how others have become the clinical or santized way of mentioning the "unmentionable".

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +10

      Definitely makes the person cussing sound much smarter and dignified when they can do it in Latin

  • @FaeAstray
    @FaeAstray Рік тому +41

    "speculate upon the nocturnal activities of ones mother" cracked me up, thank you 😂

  • @GMan33195
    @GMan33195 Рік тому +28

    That was a fun video! I had no idea "cunnum lingere" was an absolute no-no in Roman times.

  • @davec1211
    @davec1211 Рік тому +28

    I love how this channel really shows the Romans humanity and presents them in a very down to earth way. It really brings them to life in a way that so much ancient Rome commentary doesn't i.e how ''trad'' accounts push this narrative that things were ''better'' before, somehow.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +2

      Thank you! Our goal is to present the Romans as real, authentic people and to recognize the incredibly diverse range of experiences that would have accompanied “being Roman”.
      And trust us, you will never catch us saying things were better then

    • @malahamavet
      @malahamavet 3 місяці тому +2

      the Romans are so similar to us in some ways that they already went through that phase of "in my days..."'
      they were debunking that already, and also went through the "why do we speak greek? were romans, we have to speak latin"
      which is the same debate we have whith English in non native speaking countries. They already solved that debate deciding greek is just cool and they love greek culture, while the older folks were complaining about the youth losing their latinness.
      Two topics that we keep dealing whith today in our own way. That's what I like about the Romans, they always surprise me whith things that we still do, both good and bad, showing that people are always people, and so called "new problems" or "the youth this, and that" arnt new at all, same whith curse words, graffiti and more. That's why I enjoy knowing about the lives of common people more than the famous figures above them

  • @cseguin
    @cseguin Рік тому +23

    Are "being frank" and "pardon my French" related?

    • @tankermottind
      @tankermottind 5 місяців тому +6

      They are but not in that way. "Frank" was a common word in western Germanic languages meaning "free" or "free man", which gives us the Frankish people and then Francia and then France through one derivation, and "frank speech" through another. Another word with a similar meaning, roughly "sweboz" in Proto-Germanic, also gave us the names of Sweden, Switzerland, and Swabia. Yet another word for free man in Germanic languages (but this time implying strictly the lowest rank of free men) gave us the names Carl, Charles, Carol, and all of their derivatives, as well as "churlish"--i.e. like an English ceorl, an adult male peasant who owned a small amount of land in his own right but was not a real gentleman.

    • @cseguin
      @cseguin 5 місяців тому +2

      @@tankermottind I _was_ trying to be sarcastic - thanks for the info though - linguistics - such a fascinating and never ending subject to delve into.

  • @andrewphilos
    @andrewphilos Рік тому +20

    This video was hilarious! I love how you managed to talk about all of these dirty subjects while still trying to maintain your casual, pedagogical style. Personally, I think you nailed it! ;)

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +5

      Thanks, it was a thin tightrope to walk but I’m glad you think we pulled it off

  • @charleshamilton9274
    @charleshamilton9274 10 місяців тому +10

    Second-year Latin in my prep school. 1972. We were a sheltered and deeply naive group of hormonal teenagers. Then, one cold morning, we translate, “…every man’s wife and every woman’s husband.” First, complete silence. Then, complete chaos as this revolutionary concept swept over the class like a tsunami. That day, eons after being penned, belonged to Gaius Scribonius Curio.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  10 місяців тому +1

      That's the wonderful thing about the Romans, 2000 years later, they can still make us laugh

  • @EugenioFilippi
    @EugenioFilippi Рік тому +10

    Having studied Latin in school and also Catullus I have to say it was an excellent video.... Cheers

  • @edwardmiessner6502
    @edwardmiessner6502 Рік тому +7

    You forgot the word _crux,_ which meant "pole, impaling stake, 'cross'" [1] or a combination thereof [2] and which Cicero said "should be kept from the eyes and ears of any Roman". It was used as a curse word in the quite rude plays of Terence and especially Plautus. Words and phrases such as _"Crux!"_ (torture-stake), _"I in crucem!"_ (Go onto a pole), _"I in malam crucem!"_ (Go onto a wicked 'cross'),_ and the top of them all, _"I in maximam malam crucem!"_ (Go onto the biggest wicked impaling stake), were hurled to insult and sometimes degrade the character it was directed at. I'm sure the Romans hurled these epithets in real life, too. [3]
    Hence the judicial _"Ibis in crucem"_ (You shall go to the 'cross', etc), when directed at you, meant you were going to be executed in the most obscene, painful, tortuous, shaming and degrading manner possible. You hung there naked for days. You might sport an involuntary erection. And it doesn't stop with your death: crucified individuals were usually left to rot on the cross and be eaten by vermin and carrion predators.
    [1] Seneca the Younger, _Dialogue_ 6 _(De Consolatione ad Marciam)_ 20.3
    [2] Seneca the Younger, _Moral Epistles_ 101.10-14
    [3] Hence the graffito _"In cruce figarus"_ (Get fixed with a pale/'cross'-and-pale) in Pompeii, see also the Pozzuoli Graffito, Vivat Crux Graffito, and the Periere Gem.

  • @emark8928
    @emark8928 Рік тому +13

    "Such a man...has allowed his mouth to be tainted." Literally, LOL.

    • @emark8928
      @emark8928 Рік тому +2

      Huh huh. He said, 'taint'.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +4

      We're trying our hardest to keep it PG, to appease the almighty algorithm so a little wordplay was necessary

    • @vladtheimpala5532
      @vladtheimpala5532 Рік тому

      I’ve always thought of that as a chin rest.

  • @skin4700
    @skin4700 3 місяці тому +3

    As a Croatian man our language has a wierd connection to roman latin. Bucco is buka here and it means the same thing today. So does mater

  • @MathewSteeleAtheology
    @MathewSteeleAtheology Рік тому +12

    Speaking something into being is still so entrenched in our culture, most people wouldn't even realize how much we put the idea before the reality.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +5

      Just one more aspect of modern life that can be traced back to Rome

  • @esoqueexiste
    @esoqueexiste 10 днів тому +2

    As an Argentinian I most say... I did not needed the translation for any of the individual words
    If you told me those where just how they say those things in the neighbor countries, I would believe you

  • @odinfromcentr2
    @odinfromcentr2 Місяць тому +2

    The more things change, they more they... really don't, in a lot of ways.

  • @thewiseguy6750
    @thewiseguy6750 Рік тому +10

    Commenting on this to show I was here before you got 100 million subscribers! Your videos are of the greatest quality and there is no doubt in my mind that you will get there!
    I especially enjoy the fact that you focus more of your attention into everyday matters of Rome and politics. I have always found these topics more intriguing, thought-provoking and with more modern applications than war topics and descriptions of battles which appear to be more popular among the general public.
    Thank you for all that you do guys, wish you all the best!!!

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +2

      Thank you so much! It’s so great to hear this positive feedback and to see that others are just as interested in content that explores other aspects of Roman society and culture.
      We also feel that a nuanced understanding of the ideas and beliefs that existed in the ancient world (both their benefits and shortcomings) is more applicable to modern life than outdated discussing military tactics.

  • @inregionecaecorum
    @inregionecaecorum Рік тому +6

    Ah the Catulline verse, an insult for connoiseurs. Your victim does not have a clue what you have just said to them.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +2

      haha ... It's The best way to cut someone down to size while simultaneously elevating yourself imo.

  • @ErmisSouldatos
    @ErmisSouldatos 6 місяців тому +2

    Cinaedus comes from the greek κίναιδος, which has the word αιδώς, maining shame, so it meant something like "person who engages in the shameful act" and meant homosexuality.

  • @Chris-op7yt
    @Chris-op7yt Рік тому +4

    ha ha. to this day some words are deemed unspeakable and similar bs. they're just words, to be used in right contexts.

  • @seanfaherty
    @seanfaherty Рік тому +3

    Roman dissing raps we’re not a thing I knew about before this.
    It’s interesting to me that you say we swear using the words we care about.
    We went from sex to God back to sex and now race and gender are the forbidden words.
    How do non Indo-European people swear ?
    I think the Arabs still swear with religious words but what about the Chinese. All the good Chinese insults I’ve heard usually involve your genealogy or parents specifically but I’m sure there are lots different ways of swearing.
    Anybody know of any ?

    • @aisle_of_view
      @aisle_of_view Рік тому +1

      French Canadians swear over religious symbolism "La Cav" (The Cave), etc.

  • @grandsome1
    @grandsome1 Рік тому +5

    So when I say "merde" , "enculer", "foutre", pardon my French. I'm not vulgar, I'm participating in a 2000 year old tradition.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +4

      Exactly, simply paying homage to the past. In fact, more people should do it

  • @patricktilton5377
    @patricktilton5377 Рік тому +3

    Funny how some of these words never made it into CASSELL'S LATIN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY.

  • @ziiigarrr
    @ziiigarrr Рік тому +6

    I cannot wait to curse like the ancient Romans.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +2

      It’s just one of the small things we can do to keep their legacy alive

    • @charleshamilton9274
      @charleshamilton9274 10 місяців тому +1

      Curse like a Roman. Walk like an Egyptian. - The Bangles

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  10 місяців тому

      @@charleshamilton9274 would make a good remix

  • @hemidas
    @hemidas Рік тому +7

    Nothing new under the sun.

  • @mediocreman6323
    @mediocreman6323 5 місяців тому +2

    11:33 - yep, they found a lot of grafitto with that word in Pompeii. And I mean _a lot…_ For all the pain of lives being lost, to have this snapshot of Roman life preserved is of immeasurable value.

  • @budgielove17
    @budgielove17 24 дні тому +1

    knowing the culture and history behind these words is SO interesting, this video was so well done

  • @Ancient__Wisdom
    @Ancient__Wisdom 5 місяців тому +2

    Now I can cuss in a new language

  • @BernasLL
    @BernasLL 7 місяців тому +2

    We still use estultíssima in portuguese ahah. Fellare (felaciar) as well. Very high brow though. Merda and futuere, of course as well. Cu (culus), cacare (to poo), pedo (fart), cunnus, as well.

  • @stevenmarcato1325
    @stevenmarcato1325 Рік тому +6

    Latin is not dead. It is used frequently in Vatican City where the Church has created a dictionary of new Latin words for modern items, things, actions, etc. There are some of us who are bilingual and have raised our children to speak Latin effectively making them "native speakers" .

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +2

      That's incredible! Thanks for doing your part to keep the language alive

  • @ballhawk387
    @ballhawk387 Рік тому +2

    Interesting! I bet cunnum lingere were a hot "underground" commodity among the women who had associated experience.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому +3

      It definitely went on, was just something that everyone had to be hush hush about

  • @JohnSmith-se9yl
    @JohnSmith-se9yl 4 дні тому

    Extremely amusing! Your pronunciation is fantastic...
    Keep up the good work

  • @rick-hm9lv
    @rick-hm9lv Місяць тому

    Ahahaha! My favorite is cussing without actually cussing. Like instead of saying Kiss my ass, you say Tongue my fartbox

  • @tonybuk70
    @tonybuk70 Рік тому +15

    lingua latina non mortua est. materfutators

  • @Charlie-Em
    @Charlie-Em 7 місяців тому +2

    This is good stuff. Happy I found this channel

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  7 місяців тому +1

      Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the positive feedback!

  • @chr0matic556
    @chr0matic556 5 місяців тому +2

    i really enjoy this content and your narration :)

  • @DiomedesDioscuro
    @DiomedesDioscuro 16 днів тому

    O Apella? O Zeuxis? Those are no gods names.

  • @BernasLL
    @BernasLL 7 місяців тому +2

    Looking forward to that curse video. Would be interesting if you highlighted differences between regions.

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  7 місяців тому +2

      Thanks, Good idea!

    • @BernasLL
      @BernasLL 7 місяців тому +1

      ​@@tribunateSPQR I am also really interested into non roman state paganism in the late eastern roman empire (like we have inklings from Martin of Braga's Rusticorum and oh so many epigraphs like those you'll be showing us).
      Just saying, if one of these days you're looking for ideas :D

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  7 місяців тому +1

      @@BernasLL I’m fascinated by Roman religion as well and its interaction with other cults. There will certainly be more on this topic soon

    • @BernasLL
      @BernasLL 7 місяців тому +1

      @@tribunateSPQR Looking eagerly forward!

  • @tomswiftyphilo2504
    @tomswiftyphilo2504 Рік тому +3

    laete!

  • @Barker1214
    @Barker1214 Рік тому +3

    7:44. Why’d he say poop like that

  • @paranoidrodent
    @paranoidrodent 17 днів тому

    Culus definitely has a French cognate: cul.

    • @paranoidrodent
      @paranoidrodent 17 днів тому

      Futuere also has a French cognate: foutre. It’s still a common swear word in Quebec.

  • @Sergio1Rodrigues
    @Sergio1Rodrigues Рік тому +2

    this video was great

  • @nancytestani1470
    @nancytestani1470 Рік тому +2

    Very entertaining

  • @KGchannel01
    @KGchannel01 6 місяців тому +1

    Music to my ears!

  • @KAZVorpal
    @KAZVorpal Рік тому +3

    It's highly inaccurate to refer to the Greek names of the gods as "original". The idea that the Romans got their parallels to Greek mythology by imitating them is itself a myth, originating before it was understood that the Greeks and Latins were both Indo-European tribes, sharing a common origin.
    Zeu Patar and Ju-Pitar were not the same because the Romans copied the Greeks, but for the same reason that Zeus and the Sanskrit Dyaus sound almost the same. The same reason that counting to ten in Greek, Roman, and Sanskrit involve so many similar words. It's common origin, not that one is "original" and the other not.

  • @thomasvieth578
    @thomasvieth578 Рік тому +2

    Too many beeps

    • @tribunateSPQR
      @tribunateSPQR  Рік тому

      Just trying to stay on the right side of the almighty algorithm

  • @bbangssaem8781
    @bbangssaem8781 Рік тому +2

    This video gives a new meaning to "pedo"-phile

    • @Potacintvervs
      @Potacintvervs 4 місяці тому

      And that is why you should use the British spelling. A paedophile and a pedophile mean very different things.

  • @fredrickmarsiello4395
    @fredrickmarsiello4395 Рік тому +1

    Get on with it!