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Jorge_Stolfi · 08-08-2026, 02:37 PM

(08-08-2026, 11:07 AM)Aga Tentakulus wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.At this point, we have to assume that the author isn’t too particular about double letters, or that it was spelled differently 500 years ago. But ‘cere’ means (wax) candle

Indeed. (In Italian too "cero" is a candle for religious use.)

But "ceree" is the vocative case, used when addressing or invoking someone. As in "O ceree, cur es tam cereus?" = "O wax candle, why are you so waxy?"

To say "now take a wax candle" one would say "Nunc cape cereum".

To say "recite it while holding a wax candle" one would say "Recita id cereum tenens."

To say "now let a candle be lit" one would say "Nunc accendatur cereus."

So we must assume that "cere" is an abbreviation of "cereum" or "cereus". Okaaay....

Quote:And it does appear in other curses as well.

But not spelled as "cere", does it?

All the best, --stolfi

PS. I asked my faithful lalamo to try to read line 2 "anchiton oladabad multod te cere portad" as Latvian. It says it could be "atsitiens ola dabā muldēt te cere portals" meaning something like "rebounding organic egg meal here lilac bush gateway". Well, why not? Big Grin