Expert: Maria - 10/1/2008

Question
Hi Maria,

I would like for these phrases to be translated from English to Latin:

(1) twinkling stars (or shining stars, meaning stars in the sky, not the human variety)
(2) light and beauty (am I able to correctly use the phrase "lux et belle" or something along those lines?)

Thank you!!

~Amy

Answer
Hello,

“twinkling stars” in the sense you say  can be translated as follows:

-Fulgida astra” as well as “Astra fulgentia”

-Fulgida sidera” as well as “Sidera fulgentia”

-Fulgidae stellae” as well as “Stellae fulgentes”.

All the above translations are correct, of course, and thus you can choose the one you prefer.

As for “light and beauty”, its correct translation is the following:

-Lux et pulchritudo”(not ‘belle’ which is wrong. See below)

Best regards,
Maria
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Note that:

-twinkling = FULGIDA  (nominative neuter plural  of FULGIDUS agreed with ASTRA or SIDERA) / FULGENTIA (nominative neuter plural of FULGENS agreed with ASTRA or SIDERA)  / FULGIDAE (nominative feminine plural of FULGIDUS agreed with STELLAE) / FULGENTES (nominative feminine plural of FULGENS agreed with STELLAE).

- stars = ASTRA (nominative neuter  plural of ASTRUM, 2nd.declension) / SIDERA  (nominative neuter  plural of SIDUS , 3rd.declension ) / STELLAE (nominative feminine  plural of STELLA, 1st.declension).
Note that all the nominatives plural ASTRA, SIDERA and STELLAE mean "stars".

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-light  = LUX (nominative, 3rd.declension)

-and = ET

-beauty = PULCHRITUDO (nominative, 3rd.declension).

Note that  the word “belle”  you  used to translate “beauty” is an adverb in Latin , NOT a noun, and means ” prettily / pleasingly”, “kindly”.
This Latin adverb derives from the adjective ‘bellus’ meaning “pretty”, “agreable”, “polite”, while the noun PULCHRITUDO corresponds exactly to the English noun ‘beauty’.