The Latin Sexual Vocabulary [Paperback]

J. N. Adams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A sterling scholarly achievement by a distinguished philologist: shrewd, learned, concise and rigorous. It contributes to the study of poetry [and] literary history.

(London Review of Books )

A serious scholarly examination of a much-neglected aspect of Roman literature.

(Classical World )

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801841062
• ISBN-13: 978-0801841064
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Academic Work, December 28, 2000

By 

J. P. Johnson (Ewing, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Latin Sexual Vocabulary (Paperback)

Do not be deceived: this is a scholarly work which deals with Latin sexual terms in a clinical and analytical manner. I purchased this book for a college Latin course and discovered it to be bereft of titillation, although the bright orange cover and stark, simple black lettering of my edition raised more than a few eyebrows when I studied in the student center. But if you are curious what the Roman terms for some of our expletives were, or if you want to learn Roman epithets and sexual insults which do not even possess an English equivalent, then this is the book for you. It is also indispensable for reading and understanding the works of Horace and especially Catullus in the original Latin.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough and well-conceived guide to Latin erotica., February 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Latin Sexual Vocabulary (Paperback)

A brilliant approach to a risque topic. Untouched by other linguists, the Latin sexual vocabulary is a jewel that J.N. Adams exposes. A must have for anyone who enjoys snuggling-up with a good Latin romance.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for reading some authors, but no diachronic view, October 22, 2004

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Latin Sexual Vocabulary (Paperback)

J.N. Adams' LATIN SEXUAL VOCABULARY is a quite extensive philological examination of sexual terminology in Latin, covering every word that has come down to us in ancient literature. It gives etymological origins whenever possible, as a great many terms came into Latin from Greek, and he also gives us common euphemisms and circumlocutions used whenver the terms themselves were to be avoided. The core of the book is divided into four sections: "Mentula and its synonyms," "Designations of the female genitalia," "Culus and its synonyms," and "The vocabulary relating to sexual acts."

Adams' work is necessary reading for Latinists who wish to understand as much as possible the cruder prose of the satirists, among others. One would not get the most out of Juvenal or Petronius without the familiarity with the vocabulary which this book gives. Curiously, those with an interest in anthropology or sociology might also profit from the work, as so many sexual concepts held to be modern inventions can be traced to Roman times.

If I have one complaint about the book, it is that it shows neither the origin of some items in Proto-Indo-Europe nor the continuance of this vocabulary in Romance. A mention of how, for example, Latin "futuere" survives in Spanish "joder" would have been a great help in putting this aspect of Latin in historical context.

For Latin philologists who desire a greater understanding of the saucier authors, Adam's work is worth reading. Historical linguists, however, will be disappointed by its lack of a diachronic view, as I was. I might also mention that a similar work is available on Greek sexual terms, Henderson's The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy.