The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Forum: how did this Latin word evolve?

2021-09-16T10:54:06.055Z


From a market place to discussion spaces on the web, Jean-Loup Chiflet retraces the journey of this word, now anchored in our everyday life.


What does forum mean?

To discover

  • Passionate about word games?

    Discover the Figaro games app

  • Digital event of the literary Figaro: "How to get published?"

    In the secret of publishing houses ”

Center of public life among the Romans of Antiquity - the agora of the Greeks -, the

forum

was originally a place for markets which became the space where legal and civil matters were handled, the place elections and civil and religious ceremonies, sessions of the Senate.

Read alsoCamera, this Latin word for everyday life

From Julius Caesar, monuments were added: triumphal arches, basilicas, temples, commemorative columns, etc.

The forums (because the model of the Roman forum was then established in many other cities of the Empire) included rostrums, platforms where the speakers were held.

So places of speech.

A debate, a conference ...

Nowadays, the word is used both to designate a debate, a conference or, with a little air of its Roman past, a commercial area (the Forum des Halles, in Paris) and, from the internet, a discussion space. on a website or on an online service that allows Internet users to discuss, ask questions or post answers on the proposed themes.

From

Give Us Our Daily Latin

. Find the entire book on our Figaro Store.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-09-16

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.