labi
The English phrase 'glide' is translated into Latin as labi.
The verb labi is used to describe moving in a soft, smooth or effortless manner. It also encompasses the action of slipping or sliding.
Meaning: To move softly, smoothly, or effortlessly (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The perfect participle form of this verb is lapsus, which is used to describe someone or something that has glided or slipped.
Did you know?
- While labi means to glide or slip, it is also the root for the word 'ellipsis' in grammar, referring to a 'slipping' or omitting of words from a sentence.
- The word lapsus is the root of the English word 'collapse', which originally described the act of gliding downward or falling together.
- In Latin literature, labi is often used metaphorically to describe the passage of time or the fading of youth, imagining life as something that glides away.
Example conversation
Lucius and Claudia are watching a swan on a lake.
- LuciusVidene quomodo cygnus labi possit?Do you see how the swan can glide?
- ClaudiaIta, Claudia videt hoc miraculum.Yes, Claudia sees this miracle.
- LuciusTam leniter per lacum labi videtur.It seems to glide so smoothly across the lake.
- ClaudiaEst vera facies pacis, Luci.It is the true face of peace, Lucius.
