prominent & august

[Mher]

Hi, friends. As always, I need your precious help. I do not like the denotative meaning of "august" in the given context. Which is its closest synonym in this sentence. Would you replace it with "impressive"?

"I have mentioned some few of the more prominent and august calamities on record; but, in these, it is the extent,not less than the character of the calamity, which so vividly impresses the fancy." (http://poestories.com/read/premature)

 

[teechar]

Note that "august" is spelt with a lower case "a". It's an adjective meaning "of great significance."
Its pronunciation is also different from "August."

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/august_1
;-)

 

[Mher]

Note that "august" is spelt with a lower case "a". It's an adjective meaning "of great significance."
Its pronunciation is also different from "August."

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/august_1
;-)

Yes, but do you like "significant calamities"? It sounds like an oxymoron. What about using "noteworthy"?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes, noteworthy is a good alternative. But august is fine. It's old-fashioned but not wrong. It looks like it's a Poe quote, and it's poetic, like Poe.

Can you tell us why you want to change it?

 

[Mher]

Yes, noteworthy is a good alternative. But august is fine. It's old-fashioned but not wrong. It looks like it's a Poe quote, and it's poetic, like Poe.

Can you tell us why you want to change it?

Yes, it is a Poe quote. I just think that there is nothing "august" or "significant" in the phenomenon of calamity. Calamities result in loss of lives, and I intuitively find it difficult to characterize them as "august." Of course, in the context of what Poe is trying to deliver to the readers it could sound usual, but when I translate that word into Armenian, I can see something weird in the Armenian equivalent of "august calamity."

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes, it is a Poe quote. I just think that there is nothing "august" or "significant" in the phenomenon of calamity. Calamities result in loss of lives, and I intuitively find it difficult to characterize them as "august." Of course, in the context of what Poe is trying to deliver to the readers it could sound usual, but when I translate that word into Armenian, I can see something weird in the Armenian equivalent of "august calamity."

As you know, many words don't translate perfectly from one language to another. And language changes, so translating something written over a hundred years ago is tricky. English speakers wouldn't use the word august that way today, but we get the gist. To us, it sounds quaint.

I think you're interpreting it correctly. And yes, you would probably choose different words in Armenian. We would in twenty-first century English!