“Translation of each word” is also called a “gloss”, and I think it’s absolutely vital for trying to read works in translation.
Lots of words and phrases have multiple meanings and connotations in their origin language and it’s not usually possible for a translation to bring the richness into the target language.
(I’m going to butcher this because I don’t have the text in front of me, but) Thomas Aquinas composed several hymns for the feast of Corpus Christi, one of which is “O salutaris hostia”, which contains a reference to “fer auxilium” which is often translated to “bring help”.
The choice of the word “fer” isn’t the most obvious choice for “bring”, though. Some translators have speculated that Aquinas chose “fer” because of how close it is to “ferculum”, which is a litter or wooden frame upon which spoils are carried, which refers to the crucifixion.
.... I think that’s right.
Anyway if you have a gloss along with a translation, it’s easier to include context like that as footnotes on individual words/phrases.
> The choice of the word “fer” isn’t the most obvious choice for “bring”, though.
Well, if you asked me how to say "bring" in Latin, that would be my first choice, and the irregularity of the verb tells us that it's very common in general, though not necessarily for this.
Lewis and Short has "In general, to bear, carry, bring"; "In particular, to move, bring, lead, conduct, drive, raise", which seems to hit the concept of "bringing help" squarely in the center. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=fero&la=la#lexi...
Lots of words and phrases have multiple meanings and connotations in their origin language and it’s not usually possible for a translation to bring the richness into the target language.
(I’m going to butcher this because I don’t have the text in front of me, but) Thomas Aquinas composed several hymns for the feast of Corpus Christi, one of which is “O salutaris hostia”, which contains a reference to “fer auxilium” which is often translated to “bring help”.
The choice of the word “fer” isn’t the most obvious choice for “bring”, though. Some translators have speculated that Aquinas chose “fer” because of how close it is to “ferculum”, which is a litter or wooden frame upon which spoils are carried, which refers to the crucifixion.
.... I think that’s right.
Anyway if you have a gloss along with a translation, it’s easier to include context like that as footnotes on individual words/phrases.