Latin translation help

June 26, 2013 2:17 PM

Trying to write "Victory Over Dragons" in Latin. Google translate etc... keep telling me it is Victoriam Dracones which translates back to English as dragon's victory which is the opposite of what I want to say! Any help would be appreciated, trying to make a shield for my kid and sine I keep reminding him that getting the little things right is important I would like to get this right...
posted by GrumpyMonkey to Writing & Language (7 answers total)

"Victoriam Agitat Dracones"(?)
posted by jalexei at 2:25 PM on June 26, 2013

"Victoria adversus dracones" maybe?
posted by mdrew at 2:26 PM on June 26, 2013

"Victoriam Dracones" doesn't make much sense at all.

There's probably someone better at Latin hanging around here, but I'd say "Victoria contra dracones" or "Victoria in dracones".
posted by vanitas at 2:31 PM on June 26, 2013

Best answer: Instead of 'victoria' it might be more idiomatic in Latin to say "we have beaten the dragons."

dracones conquestāvimus

Or, if you want "we are going to beat the dragons" you can change one letter to

dracones conquestābimus

That sounds pretty metal to me!
posted by randomination at 2:35 PM on June 26, 2013 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Yes, google translate will not help with Latin. I think perhaps "victoria de draconibus" is most literal and idiomatic - "de" seems to be the preposition of choice for this idea (Lewis and Short points to "Africanus ob egregiam victoriam de Hannibale Poenisque appellatus," Livy 21, 46, 8).

if you want a motto for a coat of arms, what about "dracones victi" -- "dragons defeated"? That's another version of the sense randomination is getting at. Also the classic Roman jingoistic formulation: dracones delendi sunt! (Dragons must be defeated)
posted by Theophylactic at 2:40 PM on June 26, 2013 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: I love metafilter!
posted by GrumpyMonkey at 2:43 PM on June 26, 2013

"Dracones ite domum"?
posted by Ranucci at 7:29 PM on June 26, 2013 [6 favorites]