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Marcus Julius

Carpediem

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I ran on the word "Carpediem" recently, and was wondering what does it mean. Does it mean "Seize the day"? Is it even Latin?

 

And if so, what are the exact words for "seize" and "day"? And if not, what is "Seize the day" in latin? Any help would be most appreciated.

 

Marcus Julius

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I ran on the word "Carpediem" recently, and was wondering what does it mean. Does it mean "Seize the day"? Is it even Latin?

 

And if so, what are the exact words for "seize" and "day"? And if not, what is "Seize the day" in latin? Any help would be most appreciated.

 

Marcus Julius

 

Yes it is Latin and Carpe Diem is generally though not quite accurately translated in English as "Seize the Day". The original quote from Horace would be more appropriate as "Pluck the Day". I believe the similar looking "Capere" would be better associated with seize... but I'll leave that to our more knowledgeable linguists to settle.

 

Here's some basics courtesy of wiki.

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Aah, so it's not written as a single word....

 

Thank you for the reply :)

 

P.S Is "Pluck the day" used in similiar fashion as "Seize the day"?

 

Marcus Julius

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Carpe is from carpo (kar-po). Diem is from dies (di-es).

 

The think I find odd is to what form is carpe. I know it's in the singular ablative(might be wrong), but there is no construction for a present tense verb to be used all by itself. Only answer I have is if its a supine or an ablative absolute, but I rule those out because it's not even in supine form(carptus) and it's not and absolute since it's not in participial form.

 

Can someone answer my question?

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Carpere is merely the infinitive of carpo. Carpe is the imperative form.

 

"(You-understood) Seize the day!" And "sezie" and "pluck" in the context are too similar to differentiate.

 

Ahh indeed, thank you for the clarification.

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