Customer Reviews

Chambers Murray Latin-English Dictionary

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a teacher of Latin for over 30 years, I highly recommend this dictionary. It is the most complete resource for the money available!! Since serious scholars do not need English to Latin transfers, this should not be a concern. Not only are the number of English meanings for Latin words of large and complete extent, but there are quotations from ancient writers to support how the Latin is used in context. My students from grades 7 through graduate school have used this dictionary with success. The only better one is the large Lewis-Short hardback dictionary.

I ordered this dictionary after reading the reviews. I agree with the reviewer from Little Rock; the dictionary is very useful and contains a wealth of information on Latin words. It has been a great help for me in translating poets like Martial and Statius. I have difficulty understanding why the reviewer from Israel did not know this was a Latin to English only dictionary; the title clearly explains the purpose of this book. Also, the entries are a standard dictionary size font; they are not unusually small. Unless you want to buy a copy of the Oxford Latin Dictionary... then this dictionary will suit the needs of translating from Latin into English.

This dictionary is the very best dictionary in its class in terms of ability to concisely inform the reader of how a word was used and which authors used it. It is useful to all groups of Latin followers as a result of this.

Personally, I have used this book for the last two years for Prose Composition (translation from Eng to Latin) and it has been faultless, solving many classroom arguments. If you're looking for a dictionary and don't want to spend the earth, buy this dictionary.

probably the best bargain in terms of pocket latin dictionaries. not the cheapest, but provides not only definitions, but also a good overview of usage in different authors. will never compete with the large Oxford Latin Dictionary, but far superior to the Oxford Pocket version

I own a number of Latin dictionaries including the Oxford Latin Dictionary (which a serious Latin scholar should always have access to), Lewis and Short, a hefty tome in itself, Cassell's, Langensheidt's pocket, and this one. I was first introduced to it as an undergraduate Classics major by a professor who recommended it for a course, but under the title of Smith's Smaller Latin Dictionary when it was available in hardback. I have had a copy of Chambers-Murray in my classroom for the last 5 years and find it a valuable tool when we are reading a passage because of the large number of references to authors. For instance, today in class we were reading from Juvenal's 10th Satire and the word praetoria came up in the passage about Hannibal. When we looked it up, there was a reference to what it meant in Juvenal, but when we looked in Cassell's there was no similar reference. As to a previous reviewer's complaint about missing pages, such things happen, and I imagine even a good press run can produce some lemons. This binding has stood up well so far.

This is an excellent Dictionary that accompanied me through 8 semesters of Latin. It is larger than Cassell's and eliminates the English to Latin section in the back of the book.

It is larger; I found entries others did not, only the mammoth unabridged is better.

Paperback and durable; withstands hurling attacks at the chalkboard in frustration over Tacitus.

It contains references and quotations of texts. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE. A Latin dictionary will have several translations for the same word, but when you see a quotation for the very line you are attempting to translate there in the dictionary, you begin to sing the praises of this book.

For example p.368:

inter-cedo, cedere, cessi, cessum,

to go or come between "inter legiones impedimenta", Caes.

"Of time" to intervene, pass : happen in the meantime "saepe in bello parvis momentis magni casus" Caes.

to be or exist between persons "ira inter eas" Ter. : "inter nosmet ipsos vetus usus" Cic. Ep.

Once you learn that Cic. Ep. means Cicero's epistles, and when you happen to read them, you have the best definition for your translation. You will find that this dictionary will help you get an understanding of how the individual authors used their vocabulary, which will be important later on when you attempt to compare syntax from one to the other.

This is a more mature dictionary with 9 point font. I would recommend it to someone who will be studying the advanced texts or teaching a class in a remote building (not wanting to lug an unabridged with them). Otherwise, stick with a smaller, simpler one like Cassell's.

I bought this book based on good reviews here, but I've been disappointed by it. I keep looking up words only to find later that their real definition isn't quite what this dictionary said. Also, at the top of each page, this dictionary doesn't print full guide words, but only their first three letters. For instance, page 352 is not "ingluvies to inhio," but "ing to inh." I don't think this really makes things any easier, and it is annoying for words with common beginnings like "con" or "pro." There are 28 pages of "con"!

This is hands down the best (and most useful) Latin dictionary on the market. Since it gives only Latin to English, it is more extensive than one would guess from its size alone. In an age when our Latin classes no longer emphasize composition in Latin, but focus exclusively on translation from Latin into English, this is a first-rate and essential reference tool. No student should need such a dictionary at the beginning of Latin study, but this should be recommended to all good high school Latin II and second semester college Latin students.

Each entry contains a good definition or definitions of the Latin word followed by representative Latin quotations (a feature not typical of other dictionaries). In addition, the compilers usually indicate the family of Latin words to which a given word belongs. This etymological feature allows one to disagree with the definitions of the compilers and to formulate one's own definitions.

In addition, the cost is so reasonable that it should be accessible to all students who desire to use it.

I would go so far as to say that for all but the most arcane Latin scholars, this is every bit as good as the monumental Lewis and Short lexicon.

Finally, if the students need some kind of English to Latin dictionary, they can buy the least expensive other Latin-English/English-Latin dictionary available, preferably used, and rip out its Latin to English section.

This is indubitably the dictionary of choice for any serious Latin student.

--Dr. Robert Zaslavsky, author of the recently published "The First Latin Course"

This dictionary is Latin to English only. It is tremendous vaue for money and formidable competition for even fairly large dictionaries. Even though I own the Oxford Latin Dictionary (O.L.D.), a huge tome, I use my Chambers Murray most of the time and rarely need to consult the weighty Oxford volume. This dictionary is so good it suffices for many of the needs of a serious scholar of Latin, although of course such a scholar will also need access to the O.L.D. or Lewis and Short. There are plenty of definitions under each heading, and I have not found the frustration of many other dictionaries of this (apparent) size of having to move to a larger dictionary because I could not locate an entry for the word in question.

My only gripe would be that it does not clearly distinguish between third declension nouns (genitive plural in -um) and third declension -i stem nouns (genitive plural in -ium). But this is a common failing and will not affect one's ability to use the dictionary for translation.

The same dictionary is in print, ISBN 0550190031: less than sixteen dollars on Amazon. The folks trying to sell this paperback for more than six times that price should be shot.