11-10-2011, 05:05 AM
I know this has been brought up before but I have been studying this for a while. A few years ago a re-enactor friend of mine, who BTW does not speak, understand and refuses to use latin when drilling his fellow re-enactors informed me that the term First Spear is incorrect when referring to the Primus Pilus of the Legion. I have since been told by others the former translation is in error and 'File' is the proper usage. Why then does my New College (second edition) Latin English dictionary 1994, say the following:
Pilum-a: Javelin
Pilus-i:a maniple or a company of the triarii;Company of veteran reserve;chief centurion pf a legion;Primus Pilus,Senior centurion of the triarii and therefor the Leion; hair;non pili facere: to care not a whit for.
There is no mention of a file, albeit no mention of spear, but the javelin in Latin comes closest.
FILE in Latin is:for iron woking: lima-ae/ woodworking;scobina-a/ papers:scapus/cabinett;[i]scrinium[/i]/row:ordo/in single: aper ordinem
No Pilus DOES NOT mean File. Primus Pilus cannot mean First File, so where does the notion that it does come from?
hock:
Pilum-a: Javelin
Pilus-i:a maniple or a company of the triarii;Company of veteran reserve;chief centurion pf a legion;Primus Pilus,Senior centurion of the triarii and therefor the Leion; hair;non pili facere: to care not a whit for.
There is no mention of a file, albeit no mention of spear, but the javelin in Latin comes closest.
FILE in Latin is:for iron woking: lima-ae/ woodworking;scobina-a/ papers:scapus/cabinett;[i]scrinium[/i]/row:ordo/in single: aper ordinem
No Pilus DOES NOT mean File. Primus Pilus cannot mean First File, so where does the notion that it does come from?
hock:
