How Well Do You Know Latin Vocabulary?

"Fenestra," or "window," led to the English word, "defenestration." Defenestration means throwing someone out of the window!

The Latin word "lumen" inspired English words such as "illuminate" and "luminous." It's similar to the other Latin word for light, "lux," which is more commonly used in old Christian hymns and texts.

"Mens, mentis" is the inspiration for the name of the famous high-IQ community, Mensa. "Mens" also means "intellect" and inspired words such as "mental" and "demented."

A crescendo -- the part of a musical composition in which the intensity or volume of the music begins to increase -- is named after the Latin word "crescere," which means "to increase" or "to grow."

The motto of the Marine corps, "Semper Fidelis," means "Always Faithful" in Latin. Fidelis is the root of the English word "fidelity."

An interesting alternative translation for "occultum" is "place of concealment." Those two translations go a long way in explaining the roots of the English word "occult."

"Laetitia" means "joy." This word was trending in 2016 when Pope Francis published an exhortation titled, "Amoris laetitia," or "Joy of Love."

A popular egg white substitute called "aquafaba," or quite literally, "bean water," is made from boiling chickpeas in water.

"Carno, carnis" means "flesh." It's the root of English words such as "carnal" and "carnivore."

The word "anima," meaning "life" or "soul," has permeated the English language through such words as "animated," "animation" and "animatronic." The nature of "anima" was greatly debated by Greek and Roman philosophers.

"Decimus" gave rise to the word "decimate." Decimation was a disciplinary practice employed by the Romans against rebellious troops in which every tenth man was cut down.

The word "osculor," meaning "kiss," is related to the Latin word for mouth, "os." It gave rise to the word "osculation," which describes a couple kissing.

The word "castra," or "camp," is frequently found in Roman accounts of military operations. Their armies had to "castra ponere," or pitch camp, during military campaigns.

While today's meaning of "suave" has more to do with smooth sophistication, the original meaning was "gentle" or "sweet."

"Conjunx" means "wife." It's related to the Latin verb "conjungere," which means "to join."

Many English words and expressions come from "mors." The word "mortgage," for example, is an adaptation of a Latin-derived French phrase meaning "death pledge."

"Claudere," meaning "to close" or "to shut," is the root of "claustrophobia," the fear of small, closed-in spaces.

The word "virtus" has many translations, including "virtue," "manliness" and "courage." It was considered by the Romans to be a predominantly male characteristic, which is why it was derived from their word for man, "vir."

Roman soldiers would establish "hiberna," or "winter quarters," during their military campaigns. The elements were unforgiving and hard on the soldiers, so they had to hunker down for the winter in foreign countries.

The "imperator," a chief or emperor, would issue "imperati," the orders his soldiers must follow without delay. Hence, we have the English word "imperative" -- something which is most urgent and of utmost importance.

The word "census" literally translated means "tribute." Today, it refers to the process of counting citizens for record-keeping and demographical information. In Roman times, it was used not only to count people but to collect tax from them.

"Ardeo, adere" means "to burn," "to blaze" or "to be inflamed." It's the inspiration for the English word "ardent" and is frequently used in conjunction with romance.

The Latin word for war, "bello," inspired English words such as bellicose and belligerent, both descriptions for someone who quickly starts fights.

The Latin word "fiducia" means "trust." It's the root of the English word "fiduciary," someone in a position of trust, frequently from a monetary standpoint.

The pinch hitter for Latin, "res" has many meanings. Today, it's known because of the expression "in medias res," which describes when a story begins "in the middle of things."

The eagle was the symbol of Roman legions, and Roman standard bearers would hoist high the image of the eagle in battle. Its alternate meaning is "standard," referring to the long pole that held the eagle's image.

The word "subpoena" comes from the Latin word "poena," meaning punishment. It is also related to the word "penalty."

"Docere," meaning "to teach," is the root of the word "doctrine." A doctrine is an important teaching in a particular religion or set of beliefs.

A "patria" is the land of one's fathers, the country to which you have strong feelings of loyalty and belonging. This word gave rise to words like "patriot" and "patriotic."

"Incendere" means "to set fire to" or "to burn" something. It's the root of "incendiary," something that will start fires or a person who wants to start fires (literal or metaphorical).

"Vox, vocis" means "voice." It's the root of words like "vocal," "invoke" and "vocation."

The Roman phalanx was formed when soldiers interlocked their shields to protect themselves and their fellow soldiers from projectile weapons. It was a successful strategy on the battlefield.

"Sentire" means "to think," "to feel" or "to perceive." It is the basis of the word "sentient," which describes creatures that are self-aware.

"Novus" means "new." An example of its influence on English is the word "novel," which refers to something new and exciting.

The word "verax," or "truth," inspired the English word "veracity," an adjective which describes the truthfulness of a thing.