Mop

syntaxianus

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Mop in Latin? Useful for everyday Latin and for the metaphorical usage (mopping up). It is not present in the Morgan neo-Latin dictionary I consulted.

Portuguese: esfregona
Spanish: fregona
German: Mop
French: serpillière
Italian: mocio
Catalan: frec
Greek: σφουγγαρίστρα
Dutch: zwabber
Icelandic: moppa
 
 

Terry S.

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From Smith's English-Latin Dictionary:

mop (subs.): perh. pēniculus (strictly, a brush): cf. Pl. Men. 1, 1, 1 juventus nomen fecit mihi Peniculo, ideo quia mensam detergeo, or, spongia (sponges being used for similar purposes: v. SPONGE

mop (v.) dētergeo, 2 (to sweep or wipe clean): cf. preced. art.
 

syntaxianus

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Thank you, Terry S. Helpful. But the shape of the peniculus seems unlike that of a mop.

Perhaps scopa textilis (cloth broom) could be proposed as a neologism?

And speaking of peniculus, I have often thought it inadequate for the bristled (hirsutus) brushes we often use: shoe brush / hairbrush / toothbrush / paint brush (for walls not portraits) / hand brush / nail brush / coat brush / scrub brush . Neo-latinists would be well-served to have a common word for this kind of brush, if there is none that has yet arisen. Perhaps some Renaissance encyclopedic dictionary has already given us one.
 

syntaxianus

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And speaking of peniculus, I have often thought it inadequate for the bristled (hirsutus) brushes we often use: shoe brush / hairbrush / toothbrush / paint brush (for walls not portraits) / hand brush / nail brush / coat brush / scrub brush . Neo-latinists would be well-served to have a common word for this kind of brush, if there is none that has yet arisen. Perhaps some Renaissance encyclopedic dictionary has already given us one.
UPDATE:

An old German dictionary (Latein-Deutsch und Deutsch-Latein / Handlexicon, vornehmlich für Schulen · Volume 5 / By Immanuel Johann Gerhard Scheller · 1807) offers scopula saetosa: bristly little broom. This led me to Leverett's suggestion of seta. And sure enough, under saeta in L&S, in the last meaning given we see:

A brush made from bristles: parieti siccato cera Punica cum oleo liquefacta candens saetis inducatur, Plin. 33, 7, 40, § 122; cf. Vitr. 7, 9, 3.
 

Clemens

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It’s very possible there is no word for what exactly is called a mop in English, if such a thing didn’t exist. A serpillière isn’t exactly a mop either.
 

syntaxianus

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It’s very possible there is no word for what exactly is called a mop in English, if such a thing didn’t exist. A serpillière isn’t exactly a mop either.
Yes, indeed, as for many other items invented later. Paper clips come to mind. The need is for conversational Latin enthusiasts who should have some authoritative source for everyday words that do not have a chance to emerge naturally from a speech community. It stymies conversation not to be able to refer to the most ordinary items. Secondly, there are those who translate works into Latin for the linguistic challenge or pedagogical exercise of it. Thirdly, there are those who by translating something into Latin can actually make a work more accessible to more language groups (although software translation is improving at a rapid pace, and this is going to be less of a motivation). Fourth, there are those who do not accept the death of Latin and see that it is a modern language with its own appeal and utility; they would want an expanding lexicon. A fifth and most idealistic group thinks in terms of re-instating Latin as some kind of neutral lingua franca; unlikely in the extreme as this proposition is, they still would need such words if it is ever going to be considered or if it is going to work even in some very limited way.

Addendum: Sixthly, such an exercise is culturally and historically interesting, amusing, and informative. I never thought of the history of the mop till now. Seventhly, such a search can lead one to new lexical discoveries, as with the word brush, in this thread.
 
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Clemens

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Yes you're right. When I was a student, an older Jesuit told me that when he was young, they were required to speak in Latin at all communal meals and they used the word rēs a lot.
 
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