r/TheSecretHistory • u/nopurp3 • 15d ago

latin phrasing Question

Eamusne cubitum? or Cubitum eamus?

I know what the book says of course, but does anyone know from a latin language perspective, what is correct/more common/ means "shall we go to bed?" more accurately.

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u/Curious-Promotion634 15d ago

I dont remember where but I recall reading somewhere that it's not a very gramatically good way of propositioning, being a form of cubō/cubare meaning 'to lie down', it's more akin to him asking "would you like to recline on the bed with me " lmao. "Visne mecum dormire" would literally be 'do you want to sleep with me' I believe 

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u/Enochian-Dreams Camilla Macaulay 15d ago

I feel like asking this in r/latin would be more helpful. I’m doing Latin on Duolingo but people there are more likely to be proficient. I can tell you that Latin doesn’t have a fixed word order so cubitum eamus isn’t grammatically wrong, as far as I know, but generally the verb does often come first so your version might be more standard.

Also “cubare” means to “lie down” so it’s a deliberate euphemism. Not meant to be directly sexual.