cliii

Theme for the remainder of the week: Random words

alazon, alazonis, m.

Definition: braggart

Sententia: So I have decided that I will just have a classical sentence from now on, since it'll be more useful for you readers. I'll try to pick interesting ones, though.

From Miles Gloriosus, Act 2, l. 8-9

"Alazon Graece huic nomen est comoediae,

id nos Latine gloriosum dicimus."

A Braggart Greek is the name to this comedy, we call it in Latin "gloriosus" (boastful).

In this beginning to the Second Act, the narrator, the slave of the Miles Gloriosus, is addressing the audience and introducing the characters.

So, "alazon" is actually not a real Latin word. That is, it is not found in the Oxford Latin Dictionary. This is not because it is a made-up Latin word from Harry Potter or something, but because it is a Greek word just used once in Miles Gloriosus, a play by Plautus. It is, however, surprisingly found in my smaller Harper Collins Latin dictionary, which is my defense for having it as the LVD today. Despite not being an actual Latin word, I can definitely see why Plautus chose to use it--it has a nice ring to it which makes it an excellent word to insult people with (in addition to the fact that it worked in context). Not that I'm encouraging you to go off insulting people in Latin (or more accurately, in Greek)!