One of the Latin Proverbs that came up yesterday was:
Plures necat crapula quam gladius
In English: The hangover kills more than the sword.
Here's a blurb from that link in case you don't go there:
The Latin word crapula, like the words for so many of the finer things in life, is borrowed from Greek, "kraipale," meaning a headache, and in particular, a drunken headache. By extension, the word then comes to refer not just to the effects to drinking to excess, but to the drinking itself. Today's proverb could thus be translated as "Excessive drinking kills more than the sword does." But it sounds more fun to just say hangover!
And yes, if you are looking to improve your English vocabulary, "crapulous" is indeed an English word, along with a whole long list: crapulence, crapulency, crapulental, crapulosity, and crapulousness. Eegad, I love the Oxford English dictionary!
Do you ever feel "crappy"?
I say that all the time when I'm not feeling that great. I'll have to watch out....some may think I'm nursing a hangover! ; )
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3 comments:
I love word origins! I have had that "crappy" headache even when all I had to drink was soda! :)
tee hee! I read this just in time to print off a page and bring it to dd's Latin class this morning. My dad, the teacher, will get a big kick out of it.
I love the OED too. DH jokes about me getting engrossed in reading the dictionary, but that one is really good!
Wow-I LOVE word origins and Latin is so fascinating. How cool that you have studied this.
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