by Johanna
Dear Latin teacher,
How would you say "Dear teacher" - or "Dear Latin teacher" above a letter?! Thanks very much!
Johanna
Dear Johanna,
Roman letters used a formulaic greeting: Name of Sender in the nominative case, Name of Recipient in the dative case, then the letters S.D or S.P.D.
If you wrote a letter to your dear male teacher, it would begin thus:
Johanna Magistro suo carissimo S.P.D.
If to a dear female teacher, your letter would begin thus:
Johanna Magistrae suae carissimae S.P.D.
The abbreviation S.P.D. stands for Salutem Plurimam Dicit, which means something like "sends fondest greetings".
To put a more modern style to your Latin letter, it would be simply magistra carissima or magister carissime.
Thanks for asking a Latin Teacher!
Sincerely,
John
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