Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
una mayoría sin mordiente
English translation:
a docile / ineffectual / unassertive majority
Added to glossary by
Charles Davis
Jun 13, 2019 10:15
5 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Spanish term
una mayoría sin mordiente
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
History
Book on the Roman Empire
"El soporte legal o apoyo normativo a la nueva religión, condicionando, limitando o suprimiendo los privilegios del paganismo, supuso un amparador estímulo al bloque cristiano, el cual en su supuesta mayoría numérica, se encontraba, a juicio de Boissier: indeciso y temeroso ante una minoría pagana más firme y compuesta e integrada por personajes notables evaluando Gaudemet las diversas versiones sobre la dispar situación, en el sentido de que, bien fueran aquellos una mayoría sin mordiente o una minoría numérica cualquiera que fuera la razón, los cristianos integrantes del senado nada decidían."
Am thinking it means "a majority without teeth" (ie no real power)…?
What do others think, please?
Thanks!
Am thinking it means "a majority without teeth" (ie no real power)…?
What do others think, please?
Thanks!
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +4 | a docile / ineffectual / unassertive majority |
Charles Davis
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4 +2 | a majority with no teeth |
Francois Boye
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4 | a slim majority |
Frank Foley
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Change log
Jun 14, 2019 12:06: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+4
39 mins
Selected
a docile / ineffectual / unassertive majority
I think it means "without bite" rather than "without teeth", which is not quite the same thing. I don't think it's saying that they lacked power, the means of asserting themselves, but that they lacked the will to do so. The context refers to the "bloque cristiano" as "indeciso y temeroso", in contrast to the pagan minority, which was "más firme y compuesta". It's about their character rather than their situation. In principle, if they were in the majority, they had the means to prevail, but they failed to do so.
Actually I think the metaphor, "sin mordiente", refers not to biting literally with teeth but to the noun "mordiente" meaning a mordant, an acidic fixer in dyeing or tanning. They lacked "bite" in that sense. I find "sin mordiente" online applied to a boring and unadventurous performance by a rock group, a poor performance by a footballer: that sort of thing.
I've offered three possibilities along these lines; I hope that won't seem like cheating, but it's very difficult to choose and ultimately it's a matter of personal taste.
Actually I think the metaphor, "sin mordiente", refers not to biting literally with teeth but to the noun "mordiente" meaning a mordant, an acidic fixer in dyeing or tanning. They lacked "bite" in that sense. I find "sin mordiente" online applied to a boring and unadventurous performance by a rock group, a poor performance by a footballer: that sort of thing.
I've offered three possibilities along these lines; I hope that won't seem like cheating, but it's very difficult to choose and ultimately it's a matter of personal taste.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks everyone - especially Charles Davis - for all your help and thoughts!"
1 hr
a slim majority
Slim, or narrow, in numerical terms, taking the 2 phrases together, i.e. "bien [que] fueran aquellos una mayoría sin mordiente o una minoría numérica" : although they had either a slim majority [in the senate] or were in a small minority..."
It seems the author isn't sure they had a majority in the senate, so he's being cautious, as in "su **supuesta** mayoría numérica".
Notwithstanding the numbers, he concludes that they were a weak and timorous bunch in the Judaean People's Front. :-)
It seems the author isn't sure they had a majority in the senate, so he's being cautious, as in "su **supuesta** mayoría numérica".
Notwithstanding the numbers, he concludes that they were a weak and timorous bunch in the Judaean People's Front. :-)
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Charles Davis
: Very interesting suggestion, and true he's not sure they had a maj., but size of maj. irrelevant to ability to make decisions: 1 is enough. And I can't see how "sin mordiente" could refer to numbers. IMO idea is if they had maj. they lacked will to use it
39 mins
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+2
4 hrs
a majority with no teeth
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Adolfo Fulco
8 hrs
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THanks!
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agree |
neilmac
: I was about to post "toothless majority" myself (108 results in Google search)
1 day 55 mins
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