# Providing Excellent Support



## mallje

I am designing a commemorative coin for my maintenance department, and we want to have "Providing Excellent Support" in Latin around the edge of the coin. 

Are you able to help me get a reliable translation? I don't trust the computer translators.

Thank you!


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## Scholiast

salvete!


mallje said:


> I don't trust the computer translators.


Quite right! They are a menace.
For the required purposes, [_pro_]_ auxiliis insigne latis_ would do the trick. The preposition _pro_ is optional: with it, it means "In return for..."; without it, the phrase stands on its own meaning "Support(s) having been excellently provided" - a grammatical form, known as the "ablative absolute", alien to English but in Latin, highly idiomatic, and capable of being understood equally in a temporal ("after...") or a causal ("because of...") sense, or indeed both together.
I hope this is helpful.
Σ


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## mallje

Thanks for the explanation. That helps!


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## mallje

What would you say about, "Praeclare Adiuvare"?


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## wtrmute

_Praeclare adiuvare_ literally means "to help splendidly", and it sounds more like a motto or a rule than an admission that the recipient of the medal _has_ helped splendidly.  The problem here is the infinitive _adiuvare_; I think that a present participle in the ablative would be better: _praeclaro adiutante_.


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## mallje

Interesting. At this point, it would come down to our preference as to which text to include, but I think I prefer _auxiliis insigne latis. _It seems to be a more comprehensive text.


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## Scholiast

Greetings

With all respect to wtrmute,


wtrmute said:


> praeclaro adiutante


does not do the trick. It means only "with [someone] famous helping".

Σ


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## mallje

Good to know, thanks for chiming in.


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## mallje

Scholiast, what do yo think about _providente praeclarus suscipio_?


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## mallje

...or what about, _provisor auxili optime_?


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## Scholiast

Greetings again


mallje said:


> Scholiast, what do yo think about _providente praeclarus suscipio_?


This, I am sorry to say, is almost wholly meaningless - "with [someone] foreseeing, I the famous [one] am undertaking".


mallje said:


> _provisor auxili optime_?


This is a mite better - but it would have to be _auxil_*ii*, and the adverb _optime_ has no verb or adjective to qualify. Moreover, _provisor_ does not mean "provider" (nor does the verb, _providere_ mean "to provide"). They mean "A seer/to see in advance", thus "provide" in the sense that a testator "provides" in his will for the future well-being of his heirs.

I honestly think the best suggestion was my first (#2).

Σ


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## mallje

Very good - thanks again.


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