Érettségi Latin key terms

The Roman state and its public affairs, literally 'the public thing'. In exam prose it often means the Republic as a form of government, contrasted with regnum (monarchy) or the Empire.

Supreme military and judicial power held by consuls, praetors and dictators; also used for the territory over which Rome ruled. Distinct from auctoritas, which was informal prestige rather than legal power.

One of two annually elected chief magistrates of the Roman Republic who commanded armies and presided over the Senate. The office gave its name to the year, so dates are often given by the consuls in office.

The Roman council of elders, originally advisory but in practice the guiding body of the Republic, controlling finance and foreign policy. Its decrees (senatus consulta) were not laws but were normally obeyed.

A magistrate elected by the plebeians, whose person was sacrosanct and who could veto any act of a magistrate. The office was used by the Gracchi to push reform, and later became a foundation of imperial power.

The common citizen body of Rome, as opposed to the patrician aristocracy. In exam texts the word often marks social conflict, as in the 'Conflict of the Orders' or the phrase plebs Romana.

Literally 'fathers': the patrician senators, and by extension the Senate itself. Phrases like patres conscripti refer to the assembled Senate, and patres familias means heads of households.

The fixed sequence of public offices a Roman aristocrat climbed: quaestor, aedile or tribune, praetor, then consul. Knowing the order helps you identify a person's rank and political stage in a historical passage.

The central open square of Rome, used for markets, courts, elections and public speeches. In texts it is both a real place and a symbol of political life, opposed to the private sphere of the domus.

The male head of a Roman household, holding legal authority (patria potestas) over children, slaves and property. Understanding this role is essential for passages about family, inheritance and marriage.

Roman marriage, a private arrangement rather than a state ceremony, contracted mainly for producing legitimate children. Divorce and remarriage were common among the elite, which often matters in biographical texts.

The Roman virtue of dutiful respect towards gods, country and family, especially parents. Aeneas is its model in the Aeneid, where the epithet pius marks his obedience to fate rather than mere religious feeling.

Manly excellence, courage and moral worth, the core aristocratic ideal. In historical prose it often denotes military bravery, while in philosophical texts it can mean virtue in the Greek sense (aretē).

Customs and traditional moral habits, regarded as the unwritten foundation of Roman order. Phrases like mores maiorum ('the ways of the ancestors') appear in speeches defending tradition against innovation.

The chief priest of the Roman state religion, responsible for the calendar and sacred law. The title was held by Julius Caesar and later adopted by emperors, so it appears in both historical and religious passages.

A member of the priestly college who interpreted the will of the gods from the flight of birds and other signs. The phrase augurium can mean both the sign and the office itself.

A sacrifice offered to the gods, usually an animal, wine or grain, performed at altars and public festivals. In poetry the word often signals a turning point, since a rejected sacrifice shows divine anger.

Vergil's epic in twelve books on Aeneas' journey from Troy to Italy and the founding of the Roman line. It is the central set text for verse translation and for questions on epic style and Augustan ideology.

Publius Vergilius Maro, Augustan poet and author of the Eclogues, Georgics and Aeneid. He became a school author immediately after his death, which explains his strong presence in Hungarian Latin teaching.

A song or poem, and in a narrower sense a lyric poem. It appears in titles like Horace's Carmina and in phrases such as carmen componere, so context decides whether song or written poetry is meant.

A line of verse, or a row in prose. In poetry questions you must scan the line, so recognising versus helps you separate metrical discussion from ordinary narrative.

Poetic metre, the measured pattern of long and short syllables. The hexameter of epic and the elegiac couplet of love poetry are the two metres most often scanned in the exam.

A metrical foot of one long syllable followed by two short ones, the building block of the dactylic hexameter. A spondee (two longs) may replace it, which is why scanning begins by marking the final foot.

A participial phrase in the ablative standing outside the main clause, with its own subject, e.g. urbe capta ('when the city had been captured'). Translate it as a temporal, causal or concessive clause.

A verbal adjective sharing features of verb and adjective, such as amans or captus. Recognising its tense and voice is the key to translating participial constructions accurately.

The subjunctive mood, used in subordinate clauses of purpose, result, fear and indirect questions, and in indirect speech after a main verb. Its tense follows sequence of tenses rules, so check the main verb first.

Indirect speech, where statements become accusative-and-infinitive and questions and commands take the subjunctive. The tense of the infinitive shows the time relative to the reporting verb, not to the reader.

The construction in which a subject accusative is joined to an infinitive, used after verbs of saying, thinking and perceiving. It is the backbone of reported speech and of many prose translations.

A subordinate clause introduced by cum with a subjunctive verb, translated 'when' or 'after'. Distinguish it from cum with the indicative, which simply states the time without implying circumstance.

The infinitive, a verbal noun expressing the action without person or number. Latin has present, perfect and future infinitives in active and passive, and their form signals relative time in indirect speech.

The Latin case expressing separation, means, manner, place and comparison, often called the 'adverbial' case. Identifying which of these functions applies is a frequent exam task.

A grammatical case: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative and vocative in Latin. The ending alone is ambiguous, so case must be determined from syntax and agreement.

A declension, one of the five patterns of noun endings. Knowing the stem vowel of each declension lets you predict endings and spot irregular nouns such as domus or vis.

A conjugation, one of the four regular verb patterns plus the mixed and irregular types. The theme vowel determines endings, so identifying the conjugation quickly fixes the correct form.

A verb with passive form but active meaning, such as loqui ('to speak') or sequi ('to follow'). Its perfect participle, however, is passive in sense, which often confuses translation.

A passive verbal adjective in -ndus meaning 'to be done', used to express obligation or purpose, e.g. Carthago delenda est. It also appears in phrases like ad urbem defendendam.

A set expression whose meaning cannot be read off word by word, such as operam dare ('to pay attention') or gratias agere ('to thank'). Examiners test these as fixed vocabulary items.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, orator, consul of 63 BC and author of speeches, letters and philosophical works. His prose is the standard model for the periodic sentence and for indirect-speech exercises.

Titus Livius, author of the Ab urbe condita history of Rome in 142 books, of which about a quarter survive. His narrative style, with speeches and dramatic episodes, is a common source for prose translation.

Gaius Valerius Catullus, a late Republican poet of lyric and invective verse, famous for his love poems for Lesbia. His hendecasyllables and elegiac couplets are often read in Hungarian schools.