# avium ovis cibus hominibus datur



## melonidas

Hello latin friends,  can someone confirm this translation for: Avium ovis cibus hominibus datur  

El alimento de las aves es hecho por las ovejas de los hombres 

Gracias!


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## XiaoRoel

Mejor: se da a los hombre una comida (a base) de huevo de aves (traducción literal).


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## jrundin

I would translate:

"The birds' egg is given to people as food." 

Or, less literally, but more clearly: "Bird eggs are provided as food for people."


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## djmc

The Latin for egg is not ovis (which means sheep) but ovum. Thus you want avium ovum cibus hominibus datur.


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## jrundin

Yes, djmc! You're absolutely right! And I read right over that. My bad.
Alas, my native language is not Latin, and I often make errors! 

"ovis" could conceivably be ablative plural here of ovum, and it could be 
an instrumental ablative (ablative of means).

It's a stretch, but that would mean "Food is provided to humans through birds' eggs." 

Hmmm.


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## yenome

jrundin said:


> Yes, djmc! You're absolutely right! And I read right over that. My bad.
> Alas, my native language is not Latin, and I often make errors!
> 
> "ovis" could conceivably be ablative plural here of ovum, and it could be
> an instrumental ablative (ablative of means).
> 
> It's a stretch, but that would mean "Food is provided to humans through birds' eggs."
> 
> Hmmm.



"Ovis" is definitely ablative plural. If you change it to "ovum," then you have to put "cibus" in ablative instead: "Avium ovum cibo hominibus datur," "The egg of birds is given to humans as food."


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## jrundin

Hi, Yenome! 

I had taken the "cibus" as an appositive with the nominative "ovum" that I imagined. I think it could work that way. 

As an ablative of means, "ovis" is a bit awkward here. This really ought to be an ablative of source or origin, and
those usually have "ex" or some other preposition. Maybe I should have translated:
"Food is provided to people from birds' eggs."

I find this phrase to be awkward Latin no matter what I do with it.


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