Posted
July 8, 2025
Category
Enriching the LLT, Library of Latin Texts
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On 4 July, the new version of the Library of Latin Texts received its fourth update. It should be noted that all texts are now included in the new version along with additional and improved metadata.

In the previous blogpost, we explained why we introduced the background information offered on various levels within the new database structure. In this blog post, we will focus on the lexicological resources that make both searching the LLT and investigating individual word-forms easier, more versatile, and more productive.

Latin Lemmas

Available in the Database of Latin Dictionaries since 2023, our database of Latin lemmas is based on (currently) seven dictionaries and includes approximately 100,000 entries. With over 6,000,000 valid morphological analyses, the Latin lemmas constitute one of the largest collections of their type. They are used both in full-text queries and in lexicological pop-ups. 

Use in Full-Text Queries

By typing an ampersand (&) in front of any Latin form in the main search field, that form gets expanded to all lemmas it could potentially be a form of. E.g., if you type &dominus instead of dominus, your query will retrieve dominus, domine, dominum,etc.

Use in the Lexicological Pop-Up

When consulting a text passage in the LLT, you can click on any Latin word in that passage. A pop-up will give you lexicological information, including:

  • One or more lemma’s the word in question could be a form of;
  • For each lemma:
    • An abbreviated description, based on the article(s) in Lewis & Short (1879) and Gaffiot (1934);
    • Clicking on any of the descriptions mentioned above brings you directly to the Database of Latin Dictionaries (if your institution has access to it);
    • The various possible morphological analyses of the word.

It is important to note that, currently, this tool is limited to the lemmas covered by Lewis & Short (1879) and Gaffiot (1934). Coverage will be expanded over future updates.

The Vocabularies

For each person, text, and collection, the LLT now offers the possibility to consult a full vocabulary list, i.e. a list of all unique word-forms as used in the textual corpus in question. The vocabularies allow researchers to study the lexical choices made within a specific corpus and see the frequency of each specific form within it.

Work-Specific Vocabularies

For each work, you can consult and search through the complete list of unique word-forms that occur within it.

You can sort these forms alphabetically or by frequency.

Clicking on the frequency reveals all occurrences within the work.

Person-Related Vocabularies

The vocabulary offered for each person within the database works in the same way as the work-specific vocabularies, with one difference: each role the person performs (e.g. author, translator, or reviser) is presented separately. You can:

  • Select one or more roles;
  • Compare their vocabularies side-by-side (e.g. works where Augustine is the genuine author vs works wrongly attributed to him).

The Entire LLT’s Vocabulary

Under the More section of the new LLT, you can find a Statistics page. Currently, this page mainly contains the vocabulary of the entire LLT. Again, this vocabulary functions in the same way as that of a single work, but it offers a unique overview of the complete history of Latin literature.

Future Developments

First, the BREPOLiS Latin Lemmas remain an ever-growing collection and a continuous work in progress. With each future update, more lemmas and (sometimes unexpected) forms will be covered and linked to the DLD.

Secondly, we are determined to further enhance the capabilities of the work-, person-, and database-level vocabularies by adding more statistical analyses. Again, updates will include new functionalities over the coming months and years.