Disputatio:Fenestra (geographia)

Problem?

I think this article is problematic. The source used for the Latin term is Whitaker's Words, which is not reliable. In this case, Whitaker took the definitions of "fenestra" straight from Lewis & Short. Unluckily for Whitaker, in defining "fenestra" (II.4) Lewis & Short did not mean a geographical inlet: in the mid 19th century the English word had other senses, now almost forgotten.

I don't think Latin has a word exactly corresponding to English "inlet" -- it has "aestuarium" and "sinus" (and the later loanword "fiordum") and I don't know any other term in between. If there is one, that's great. If not, this information needs instead to be adapted into articles on those other terms. I notice that the number of languages in which there is an article corresponding to en:Inlet is quite small, and that the English article itself is only a dictionary definition plus examples. Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 09:26, 24 Iulii 2014 (UTC)

In view of the ancient connection of ostium 'door, entrance(way), mouth' and Ostia 'harbor & port of Rome', perhaps ostium would work. Indeed, it's one of the options in White's dictionary:

White's: inlet, s. aditus, us, m., Cic., Ov.; accessus, us, m., Caes. Virg.; fauces, ium, f. plur., Cic., Caes.; ostium, ii, m., Cic., Virg.

Another option might be aestuarium, the only option given in two modern dictionaries:

Cassell's: inlet, of the sea, aestuarium.

Traupman: inlet s aestuarium

A Latin term for inlet will be needed by the time an article corresponding with en:Palm Beach Inlet is added. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 11:55, 24 Iulii 2014 (UTC)

Mihi quidem imaginem istam spectanti de sinu vel de maris insinuatione agi videtur. Neander (disputatio) 12:44, 24 Iulii 2014 (UTC)

Along with Andrew I doubt the need for an article on "inlet", which would be dictionary-like and which would probably replicate material in sinus, etc. We could add more information about the terminology to those articles, and if we need to translate "inlet", we can do that on a case-by-case basis. But then again, I'm a lumper. Lesgles (disputatio) 18:55, 24 Iulii 2014 (UTC)

I guess I am too. But I must admit that if a term different from "aestuarium" is needed, Iacobus's "ostium" is not bad :) Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 19:12, 24 Iulii 2014 (UTC)