Collegiate Questions—Intermediate

Question 1

Which is the odd one out among the states Iowa, Maryland, New York, and Arizona, because it has no Latin motto at all?

Answer 1

IOWA

B1: Of the Ivy League institutions UPenn, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, which does not have a Latin motto?

CORNELL

B2: Give the mottos of any two of UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia.

ANY TWO OF:
UPENN: LĒGĒS SINE MŌRIBUS VĀNAE
PRINCETON: DEĪ SUB NŪMINE VIGET
COLUMBIA: IN LŪMINE TUŌ VIDĒBIMUS LŪMEN

Question 2

Of the medical abbreviations b.i.d., gtt., p.c., t.i.d., and h.s., which is the only one that does not refer to time, but rather means “drops”?

Answer 2

GTT.

B1: Give the Latin and English for three of the above abbreviations.

[SEE BELOW]

B2: Give the Latin and English for the remaining two.

B.I.D: BIS IN DIĒ – TWICE A DAY;
GTT.: GUTTAE – DROPS;
T.I.D. TER IN DIĒ – THREE TIMES A DAY;
P.C.: POST {CIBŌS / CIBUM} – AFTER MEALS;
H.S.: HŌRĀ SOMNĪ – AT BEDTIME

Question 3

Forms of what Latin word fill in the blanks of the following phrases: dum [blank] est spēs est; curriculum [blank] — which is often abbreviated CV —; and ars longa, [blank] brevis?

Answer 3

VĪTA

B1: What Latin word combines with vīta to form an amusing euphemism that refers to hard liquor?

AQUA

B2: What sort of person would be described by the Latin phrase integer vītae?

HONORABLE / RIGHTEOUS / VIRTUOUS / PURE etc

Question 4

Which of the following, if any, is not a motto associated with modern Britain in some way: dominus illūminātiō mea; fideī dēfensor; hinc lūcem et pōcula sacra; or dominō optimō maximō?

Answer 4

DOMINŌ OPTIMŌ MAXIMŌ

B1: Identify the referents of the three British mottoes in the toss-up.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY, BRITISH MONARCH, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

B2: What two word Latin phrase meaning “the end of the world” featured an island that ancient mariners indicated to be near Britain?

ULTIMA THŪLĒ

Question 5

What three-word Latin phrase is a rough translation of the formula that Euclid’s Elements used after each theorem it proved, contains a passive periphrastic, and is often abbreviated Q.E.D.?

Answer 5

QUOD ERAT DĒMŌNSTRANDUM
[ACCEPT QUOD ERAT FACIENDUM BEFORE “D.” IS READ, AND EXPLAIN THAT THAT IS A MORE LITERAL TRANSLATION OF EUCLID’S FORMULA]

B1: What similar phrase, a more literal translation of Euclid’s Greek, is abbreviated Q.E.F.?

QUOD ERAT FACIENDUM

B2: What five-word Latin phrase also features a passive periphrastic and means roughly “there’s no accounting for taste”?

DĒ GUSTIBUS NŌN EST DISPUTANDUM