Translation
song, poem; incantation, spell
Examples
.
The poet's song is long.
.
He wrote songs about the war.
vocaverunt.
With a song they called upon the gods.
.
In the songs of the ancients we read many things.
mutavit.
Nobody changed the words of the song.
Carmen, carminis is neuter, third declension, from cano, "I sing", with the r for s that Latin does regularly between vowels. Stem carmin-, so carmina, carminibus.
The range is the interesting part. A carmen is a song or a poem, but it is also a formula: the fixed wording of a law, an oath, a treaty, an oracle, or a spell. The Twelve Tables are a carmen; so is a charm muttered over a wound. That is not two words that happen to sound alike, it is one idea, that power lives in words said in exactly the right order. The Twelve Tables themselves punish anyone who "malum carmen incantassit". English charm comes straight from it through French, keeping the magic and losing the law.
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carmen: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "carmen" (song, poem; incantation, spell): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 8.