There's an old phrase "Sanctas clavis fores aperit" which is generally translated as "The key opens holy doors" or some such. Why holy door(s) rather than a holy key? Are we looking at cases here? I seem to recall our old Latin teacher from half a century ago - on account of his venerable age and long white beard we were convinced that he was a native speaker - trying unsuccesfully to entice us towards the land where the ablatives live, but I've the faintest whiff of a recollection that an -as ending suggests accusitive, in which case we're perhaps heading off towards a key which in a holy way is opening doors? I am wholly lost and hope that someone can unlock this one for me.
Sanctas clavis fores aperit
- Thread starter Redaksjon
- Start date
Yes, we are.
That's correct. More precisely, it's feminine accusative plural (of the first declension). The noun fores is also feminine, plural and accusative. So sanctas agrees with fores, and that's how we know the door(s) is/are* holy rather than the key.
*While plural, the noun fores often refers to a single (double) door.
No, it's just "holy door(s)".
By the way, I love this:
Thank you so much. A great relief to have that explained!