Re: Please translate or explain the phrase
Quote:
Originally Posted by translations.nm.ru
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogboy182
Then it should have been "was the homo sapien". No 'S'.
"Homo sapiens" is a Latin phrase meaning "sentient man". It's singular. In English, when it refers to humans as a species, it is often used with plural verbs, but it is singular nevertheless.
I'm no expert on Latin, so please excuse my ignorance. I just remember seeing it used in a plural form, to refer to humans in plural, as a species. If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong.
Can you point to a Latin reference showing it as singular? Not that I'm doubting, just curious, because I remember hearing "sapien" being used as singular by university lecturers, and "sapiens" being used as plural. And unfortunately I'm traveling now, without a handy-dandy authoritative dictionary to check.