Disputatio:Detroitum
I wasn't sure how to Latinize the French and Indian war, which is what someone has questioned on the page. I thought Bellum Franciae Americanique Indi was a good Latinization, though. 128.187.97.20 18:21, 3 Maii 2013 (UTC)
Detroitum recensere
I apologise, as my Latin ability is minimal, at best. So I defer to the actual Latinists working diligently on this site. But "Detroitum" looks, well, wrong. Unless it's well historically attested in Pre-Modern Latin, it's just adding "place" (-um) at the end of the usual name. While I think that's probably better Latin than some of the other rather fanciful place-names I've seen on here, it seems unlikely that informed speakers Latin speakers (prior to our era) would do that. The translation would be "Destrictum", I think. Seeing as how "Detroit" is Latin for "[of the] strait", referring to the Straight of Magellan. Perhaps 18th century writers and cartographers would use "Detroitum" though. I really don't know. Quinto Simmaco (disputatio) 22:50, 8 Octobris 2017 (UTC)
- If you look at the first footnote, you will see that a late 19th century source really uses "Detroitum". The second footnote tells you that the Catholic Church officially uses the adjective "Detroitensis" currently. This is a good start, I hope you'll agree. But if you can find sources for "Destrictum" or any other Latin form of this name, please cite them!
- The "strait" in question, as you probably know, is the watercourse that joins Lake Huron to Lake Erie, now called Detroit River (see English Wikipedia for details). Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 09:02, 9 Octobris 2017 (UTC)
- Incidentally, whenever you see on Vicipaedia a Latin place-name that looks hard to believe, you could first check whether it's supported by a footnote citation, but if it isn't, you are welcome to flag it. The simplest way is to put the formula {{FD ref}} immediately after the name. Please feel free to do that. Our aim, like other Wikipedias, is to use and cite reliable sources. Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 11:38, 9 Octobris 2017 (UTC)
- French Détroit actually is derived from districtus, past participle of distringere 'to draw apart'; it is etymologically the same as district (there is a verb destringere, but it means 'to strip off'). Anyway, we must be governed by the sources, as Andrew says. Lesgles (disputatio) 22:54, 9 Octobris 2017 (UTC)
- Incidentally, whenever you see on Vicipaedia a Latin place-name that looks hard to believe, you could first check whether it's supported by a footnote citation, but if it isn't, you are welcome to flag it. The simplest way is to put the formula {{FD ref}} immediately after the name. Please feel free to do that. Our aim, like other Wikipedias, is to use and cite reliable sources. Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 11:38, 9 Octobris 2017 (UTC)