In my Arabic grammar I encounter the preposition fiy- illustrated in a “relationship of comparison” (rapport de comparaison).

Blachere’s jouissance is matA( from root m-t-( meaning “to carry away” and, in derived forms, “to enjoy.” Its usages meander through enjoyment, property, and stuff. The notion of “precarious” is absent; however, the syntax example is one of many Blachère takes from the Koran. Julio Cortés points out that the immense corpus of commentary crucially supplements how Koranic terms are understood. The delights of this life are deemed ephemeral by common consent.

Here’s the exploding rabbit hole: My dictionary defines the idiom matA(u-l-mar’a, whose second word means “woman,” as cunnus. It’s tagged anat. for “anatomical.”

There’s an ancient English word for cunnus that’s cognate with French con and Spanish coño. I once mocked Western scholars born in Victorian times who resorted to Latin in citing salty medieval verses (especially those composed by women). I’m less exercised now about Roman empire slang. I confess my mother-tongue’s alternative to cunnus grates on my ear. I’m content to let sleeping Latin lie.

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