It is no secret that the Harry Potter series is heavily influenced by the classics. JK Rowling studied Latin as a subsidiary subject at the University of Exeter, and often draws upon classical myth, rhetoric, and nomenclature in her writing. In particular, Rowling usually draws her magical words from classical Latin, and many of the translations shed light on the fects (both magical and literary) of these incantations. To celebrate Rowling’s imminent birthday, let’s investigate the Latin behind these spells, charms, and curses.

　　《哈利波特》系列受古典文学的影响很深，这一点人尽皆知。J.K罗琳在爱赛特大学时辅修了拉丁文，而且经常在她的写作中借鉴经典的神话、修辞和命名法。特别的是，罗琳经常从古典拉丁文中提取她的魔法词汇，许多译文都阐释了这些咒语在魔法和文学层面的影响。

　　Accio

　　飞来咒

　　This summoning spell literally means ‘I summon’ or ‘I fetch’.

　　这个召唤咒字面上表示“我召唤”或“我拿来”。

　　Confundo

　　混淆咒

　　This spell, used to confuse an opponent, literally means ‘I stir up’, ‘I confuse’，or ‘I bring an end to by upsetting. The range of translations rlects the scope of the spell, which can be used either to fect mild or fatal confusion.

　　这个咒语用来混淆对手，字面意思为“我煽动”，“我使…迷惑”或“我终结了……”。译文的范围反映了这个咒语的能力，它能产生的混淆能力可能温和也可能致命。

　　Crucio

　　钻心咒

　　This translates as, ‘I torture’. This spell is used to cast the Cruciatus curse, a torturing spell that is one of the three unforgivable curses in Harry Potter.

　　这个被译为“我折磨”。这个咒语用来施放使人痛苦的诅咒，一个折磨人的咒语，被认为《哈利波特》里三大不可饶恕咒之一。

　　Wingardium Leviosa

　　漂浮咒

　　This is a basic levitation charm. The first word is a blend of the English ‘wing’ with a creative adaptation of the Latin comparative of arduus, meaning ‘steep.’ The second word also requires a stretch of linguistic imagination, being an adaptation of the Latin levo, meaning ‘I lift’. There has been some disagreement as to the pronunciation of the spell.

　　这是一个基本的漂浮咒。第一个词混合了英语单词“翅膀”和拉丁语词汇arduus比较级的创造性改编形式，arduus意为“陡峭的，急剧的”。第二个词也需要一个引申义，“我举起”。这个咒语的读音有一些分歧。

　　Diffindo

　　四分五裂

　　A severing charm, which translates to the English ‘I split’.

　　切割咒，被译作“我分裂了……”。

　　Expecto Patronum

　　呼神护卫

　　One of the most important spells in the series, it is used to summon a corporeal animal (called a patronus) as a sort of spirit-guardian against soul-sucking Dementors. Literally, it means ‘I wait for a patron’ or ‘I hope for a patron’. Patron is the closest single-word English translation of the Latin patronus, which more generally means ‘an influential person who has undertaken the protection of another’. This spell is particularly resonant with Harry, who, having lost his father when he was a baby, spends much of the series seeking a patronus.

　　《哈利波特》系列里最重要的咒语之一，它用来召唤一只有形动物(被称为守护神)作某种灵魂护卫，用来抵御摄魂怪。字面上，它表示“我等待一个保护者”或者“我期待一个保护者”。保护者这个词最接近拉丁文中的patronus，更常表示“一个有影响力的人担负着保护另一个人的责任”。这个咒语尤其能引起哈利的共鸣，他在婴儿时期失去了父亲，在这本书里花了很长时间来寻找庇护自己的人。

　　Expelliarmus

　　除你武器

　　A disarming charm. The word is a combination of the Latin expellere, meaning ‘to drive or force out’, and arma, meaning weapon.

　　一个解除武装的咒语。这个单词由拉丁语中意为“强制出局”的expellere和意为“武器”的arma两个词组合而成。

　　Finite Incantatum

　　反制咒

　　The main counter-spell, used to negate other spells. Finite is the Latin imperative plural (used when giving a command to a group of people) of the word ‘to end,’ and incantatum is the passive participle of the Latin incanto, meaning ‘having been bewitched’.

　　主要的反制咒，用来使其他咒语失效。Finite是拉丁语中结束的复数词，对一群人下达命令时使用，incantatem是拉丁语incanto的被动式，意为“被迷惑”。

　　Imperio

　　魂魄出窍

　　There is no Latin verb imperio, although the root imper-, can be seen in Latin words such as imperator (ruler), imperatum (command or instruction), and impero (`I demand’). This word casts the Imperius curse, another of the three unforgivable curses, which when used fectively allows the caster to control the target. “Total control…” explains Professor Moody to his Dence Against the Dark Arts demonstration, after he’s cast an imperius curse on a spider, “I could make it jump out the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats…”

　　尽管词根imper-在拉丁语单词中出现，比如imperator(统治者)、imperatum(命令或指示)和impero(我要求)，但imperio这个拉丁词并不存在。这个单词施放摄魂取念的咒语，是三大不可饶恕咒中的另外一个，当使用它时，施咒者能操控被施咒的人。穆迪教授在他的黑魔法抵御术演示中对一只蜘蛛使用这个咒语后，解释为“完全控制”，“我可以让它跳出窗口，淹死自己，进入你们其中一个人的喉咙……”

　　Lumos

　　荧光闪烁

　　A mock-Greek adaptation of the Latin lumen, meaning ‘light’. Used as a wand-lighting charm.

　　模仿希腊语，对拉丁语lumen进行了改编，意为光，是魔杖点亮灯光的咒语。

　　Petrificus Totalus

　　统统石化

　　A full body-binding curse. This is another of Rowling’s blends. Although petrificus is not a Latin word, the Greek borrowing petra means rock. The suffix –ficus, which ascribes a sense of making or becoming to its headword, is very common in Latin. In Modern English, this sense of the affix –fic is still present in words like terrific, certificate, or mummification. Totalus is an alteration of Latin totalis ‘total’. Often used to comic fect.

　　一个完全的束身咒语，这是另一个罗琳的混合语。尽管petrificus不是拉丁词，这个希腊借用语petra表示岩石。后缀-ficus把制造或变成意思归因于它的词头，在拉丁语中非常常见。在现代英语中，词缀-fic的意思还在terrific(极好的)，certificate(证书)或mummification(木乃伊化)这些词中存在。Totalus是拉丁词totalis(完全)的变体，通常带有喜剧效果。

　　Sectumsempra

　　神锋无影

　　Another blend. Sectum, the perfect passive participle of the verb seco, literally means ‘having been severed’. Sempra is an alteration of the Latin semper, which means ‘always’ or ‘continuously’. This curse, invented by Severus Snape in his youth, allows the wand to be used as a sort of long distance sword, following the movements of its holder to slash its target.

　　另一个混合语。Sectum，动词seco的完成被动分词，字面上表示“已经被切割”。Sempra是拉丁语semper的变体，意为总是或连续地。这个咒语是西弗勒斯·斯内普年轻时创造的，可以使魔杖成为一种长距离的剑，随之而来的是它的掌控者劈开目标物体的动作。

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