What is the word-by-word translation of cum grano salis? with a grain of salt

Question

What is the word-by-word translation of cum grano salis? with a grain of salt

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: The task asks for the word-by-word translation of cum grano salis, with the given answer being 'with a grain of salt'.

Option availability: The provided data shows answer_options as an empty list, so there are no multiple dropdown options for us to analyze individually. Because no alternative choices are present, we cannot evaluate each option for correctness or incorrectness in a side-by-side manner.

Understanding the phrase:cum grano salis is a Latin expression built from three parts. 'cum' translates to 'with'. 'grano' is the ablative singular of 'granum', meaning 'grain'. 'salis' is the genitive form of 'sal', meaning 'salt'. Put together, the literal word-by-word rendering is 'with a grain of salt'.

Conceptual use: This phrase is commonly used in English to indicate that one should consider something skeptically or not take it at face value, i.e., to view a statement with some doubt or caution.

Why the lack of options matters: Without answer options to evaluate, we cannot contrast the literal translation with alternative renderings or common misinterpretations. If a distractor existed, we would assess whether it preserves the case, number, and preposition usage shown in the Latin, or whether it introduces errors like 'with salt grain' or missing preposition.

If you had multiple choices, we would examine each against the literal breakdown (cum = with, grano = grain, salis = of salt) and against typical English idiomatic rendering, noting that the idiom in English matches the literal sense when referring to skepticism rather than a physical measurement. Regardless of option presence, the canonical word-by-word translation remains 'with a grain of salt'.

CLA 030 001 WQ 2025 Homework 39: Latin Phrases, p. 262

What is the word-by-word translation of cum grano salis? with a grain of salt

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