Hey, I'm a guy. So I do think about the Roman Empire a lot. I'm also the owner of a rambunctious dog that is going to Dog University for training. I figured like so many words the commands I'm trying to get through to him are based on Latin.
There are lots of cool mosaic images of dogs from the Roman era. This one looks a lot like mine including the excessive pulling on the leash.
Maybe, also being a guy or at least sort of a guy after that trip to the vet, the dog is thinking in Latin. Let's go through the basic commands....
Sit! Not Latin. From Setjan a Proto-Germanic word. In modern German Sitzen.
Stay! Latin. From Stare, to stand still. And while the hound often stares at me when he thinks there are treats around, that word comes from an entirely different, and again German, source.
Come! German yet again. Preserved in the easily understood "Kommen Sie hier".
Down! Old English, probably originally German. Ofdune meaning, down a hill. Dunes, as in sand dunes, preserve the ancient word dun for a hill.
Interesting that despite the pervasive influence of Latin in our language almost anything in the way of - ahem - barking out orders is German.
That's not to say that the Romans did not have a lot to say about dogs. The very name Fido comes from the Latin for faithful. And I found various other dog related words of Latin origin. Collar. Also, Hank's all time favorite word, Treat. The actual word Dog is considered to be one of the great mysteries of etymology.
From Roman times to now. Some things change. Some do not. Here's a front hallway from Pompeii;
Cave Canem. Beware of Dog. Hank keeps just as close a watch. From Wikicommons, photo credit Sailko.
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