Expert: Maria - 6/27/2009

Question
Hi Maria,
I am so glad I found you!  I am writing a novel that takes place in first
century Rome, and I would like to use a bit of Latin here and there for flavor.  
Could you please tell me a common term of endearment that a Roman father
would use when addressing his young daughters (plural)?  the phrase would
be something like, "Settle down, now ________"  Would some form of
carissim(a)(e) be appropriate?  Thanks so much for the help!

Answer
Hello,

a common term of endearment that a Roman father  would use when addressing his young daughters, can be “meae puellae!” (literally, “my young girls!”) or “carissimae” (literally, “my darling girls”).

Therefore,  if  the phrase would be something like, "Settle down, …” in the sense of “Become calm…”, you could say:

-“Quieto estote animo, meae puellae!”
Or:
-“Quieto estote animo, carissimae!”

Best regards,
Maria
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Note that:

-Settle down = QUIETO ESTOTE ANIMO.The imperative, 2nd.person plural, is ESTOTE (from SUM), while the ablative BONO ANIMO can correspond to "down" in the English expression "to settle down".

-“my young girls = MEAE PUELLAE  or CARISSIMAE (both in the vocative feminine plural)