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Theme for this month: False cognates

As you know, there are a whole lot of Latin words for which the definition is easily memorable because of the similarity to an English word. Of course, it is not advisable usually to translate with that cognate (especially if you have Ms. Conklin :D), but it provides a mental hook for the word. However, some Latin words are tricky, with meaning something slightly different or even the opposite of the cognate. Even 3 days into my first college Latin class, I have been tricked by this first one:

profano, profanare, profanavi, profanatum

Definition: To offer [in front of a temple, shrine, etc.), to deconsecrate, to desecrate, profane

Sententia: Origo Gentis Romanae, anonymous from the late 4th century A.D., Chapter VI, section 5

Tum Trecaranus sub Aventino Inventori Patri aram dedicavit appelavitque Maximam et apud eam [Ara Maxima] decimam sui pectoris profanavit.

Then Trecaranus (Hercules) dedicated an altar beneath the Aventine to the Father Discover and he named it Maxima and offered a tenth of his herd at it.

So, this is what we are currently reading in my Latin class as we study the early history of Rome from the viewpoint of Latin literature. Its authorship is unknown, but it a part of a series of three pamphlets about the history of Rome. This chapter is about the cattle of Hercules being stolen by Cacus, and consequently being returned by Evander. In order to carry out his theft, Cacus led the cattle in backwards so that there would not be hoofprints going into the cave. In the version of the story in this chapter, Evander, "a man of most excellent justice," then punished Cacus and returned the cattle. As a result, Hercules dedicated the Ara Maxima and offered a tenth of his herd to the Father Discoverer, a god. I promise that not all of these sententia will be from what I'm reading in class, though!

"Profano" is not found in the Aeneid, though "profanus," a related adjective, is found on the now defunct AP Latin Language syllabus. Etymologically, it comes from "pro-," forth," + "fanum," "temple," + "-o," a verbal ending. Thus, it merely means to put something in front of a temple, either in a positive fashion (offerings) or a negative one (defiling said temple).

I am currently taking a historical linguistics class, and so hopefully by the end of this month I will be able to explain better why these changes in meaning occur! The best I can say now is that as the Latin words were borrowed into French and then English, the meaning "to desecrate" was preferred in some way, and so only that sense of the word was used in English. By the reckoning of my Oxford Latin Dictionary, it seems that "profano" was used more often to mean "to desecrate," which could account for that.

Best of luck to you all of you just starting school again, whether high school or college!