Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin

Rating:
Summary: I use it almost daily
Review: As a canon lawyer and a Catholic traditionalist when it comes to the liturgy, I needed a good Latin-English dictionary that gives the ecclesiastical meaning of specific words. This has become the book I use. Unlike the other reviewers, I don't know how well it works with the Latin Vulgate, but I can attest that it works well with the Code of Canon Law and other canonical texts. It also works well with liturgical texts, whether we're talking rubrics, legal texts pertaining to the liturgy, or liturgical texts. This book should be in the library of every serious Catholic scholar.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly useful reference
Review: For a small dictionary this book has proven extremely useful for working on medieval ecclesiastical texts. I picked it up at random and was soon using in preference to the more unwieldy Niermayr (still best for tough terms). DEL is particularly good at giving short definitions that are significantly different from classical usage such as found in Lewis and Short. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference on Vulgate Latin
Review: I bought this dictionary solely for reading the Latin Vulgate, for the on-line Vulgate reading group that I run. Although I have some knowledge of Greek, I wanted a good and easy-to-use resource that provides the Latin translations. This dictionary succeeds admirably, although you should have a decent basic Latin dictionary like Cassell's also. I have never found a word in the Vulgate that was not defined in either Cassell's or this dictionary. Even "problem words" (usually directly transliterated into Latin from Greek) are there - for example, "telonium".

In addition to good word coverage, it also explains idiomatic usages of words, especially with prepositions. Look at the example pages and you'll some examples of idiomatic uses of words with the preposition "ad".

Rating:
Summary: none better
Review: If you want to read the Vulgate and don't have 180 dollars to spend on Lewis & Short, this is the dictionary for you. Neither Cassel's nor the Chambers-Murray nor even the Oxford Latin dictionary will suffice; their vocabularies are restricted to classical authors. This is the best inexpensive Latin-English dictionary I've seen that lists words from after the 5th century AD. It simply has no competition!

Rating:
Summary: none better
Review: If you want to read the Vulgate, neither Cassel's nor the Chambers-Murray dictionary will suffice. This is the only Latin-English dictionary I've seen that lists words from after the 5th century AD. It simply has no competition!

Rating:
Summary: So convenient for Ecclesiastical Translations
Review: It can be difficult to use a classical dictionary when translating ecclesiastical texts. This dictionary makes it so much easier by focusing on the words that are more common in later, ecclesiastical Latin. The translation of common ecclesiastical phrases is wonderful, too.

I highly recommend it for those who are interested in Catholic theology, liturgy, or Canon Law.

Rating:
Summary: So convenient for Ecclesiastical Translations
Review: It can be difficult to use a classical dictionary when translating ecclesiastical texts. This dictionary makes it so much easier by focusing on the words that are more common in later, ecclesiastical Latin. The translation of common ecclesiastical phrases is wonderful, too.

I highly recommend it for those who are interested in Catholic theology, liturgy, or Canon Law.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful, but not the best resource
Review: The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin is helpful-IF you already are past the intermediate level and know the grammar and a good deal of vocabulary already.

This is a one-way dictionary (Latin-English only, not English Latin) which makes it difficult when attempting to learn Ecclesiastical Latin. Thus if you want to find the meaning of an English word in Latin by looking it up you can't find it. I know some seminarians who take Latin, and all of them agree this dictionary is worthless for those trying to learn it. You are better off with a classical dictionary. I myself have taught Latin for 2 years, and can say pedagogically this dictionary is of little help.

However, if you already know the language, or perhaps you know Classical Latin and want to learn Ecclesiastical usage, this can be an excellent resource for translating the Breviary, Vulgate, Church Councils, Canon Law, Old certificates and Official Catholic Directories since in those you are reading the Latin and can look up its meaning. This dictionary includes not only nouns adjectives and verbs but phrases, constructions and nuances in Ecclesiastical documents.

Worthless to the Student
Valuable to the reader of Church Latin.

Rating:
Summary: Good summary of Important Latin phrases
Review: This is a great dictionary for those who have trouble putting together words and phrases common in many Ecclesiastical books such as the Vulgate Bible, the Latin Denzinger, and other Catholic books primarily in Latin. Although, I would not use this dictionary as your exclusive reference, it is handy to keep along with your regular Latin dictionary.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Lexicon
Review: This is a very fine dictionary for scholarly or ecclesiastical use. Is is useful in working on Church documents and particularly the Vulgate. I highly recommend it for any persons working on Latin texts of an ecclesiastical nature.