nounthird declension
pōns asinōrum
pōns asinōrum m (genitive pontis asinōrum)
Classical[ˈpõːs a.sɪˈnoː.rũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔns a.s̬iˈnɔː.rum]
Meaning
- Medieval LatinNew Latina method for finding the middle term in an Aristotelian syllogism, or a diagrammatic representation of this method
- Medieval LatinNew Latinthe geometric theorem (Euclid's fifth) that the two angles opposite the equal sides of an isosceles triangle are also equal
- Medieval LatinNew Latina difficult early test that must be passed if further progress is to be made
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | pōns asinōrum | pontēs asinōrum |
| genitive | pontis asinōrum | pontium asinōrum |
| dative | pontī asinōrum | pontibus asinōrum |
| accusative | pontem asinōrum | pontēs asinōrum pontīs asinōrum |
| ablative | ponte asinōrum | pontibus asinōrum |
| vocative | pōns asinōrum | pontēs asinōrum |
Origins
Literally “bridge of donkeys”, attributed to Jean Buridan (14th century) but first attested in Petrus Tartaretus (d. 1522), who cites it as a common appellation for the device in syllogistic reasoning “because of its apparent difficulty”, i.e. it separates experts from “donkeys”. The application to Euclid appears to postdate its use in logic.
Descendants
- GermanEselsbrücke
- Indonesianjembatan keledaifrom Dutch ezelsbrug
- Finnishaasinsilta
- Hungarianszamárhíd