Nolite silentium in bibliotheca turbare.

Nolite is the standard way to make a negative command when you are speaking to more than one person.

It comes from nolo, nolle, nolui = to be unwilling / not to want.
Latin often expresses don’t do X as:

• noli + infinitive = don’t ... (to one person)
• nolite + infinitive = don’t ... (to more than one person)

So:

• Noli tacere = Don’t be silent / Don’t keep quiet (to one person)
• Nolite turbare = Don’t disturb (to several people)

Using non by itself would not normally be how Latin gives this kind of command.

Nolite is the 2nd person plural imperative of nolo.

That means it is a command addressed to you all.

So in this sentence, the speaker is talking to more than one person:

• nolite = do not (you plural)

If the command were addressed to only one person, Latin would use noli instead:

• Noli silentium in bibliotheca turbare.

After noli / nolite, Latin normally uses an infinitive to complete the negative command.

So the pattern is:

• noli + infinitive
• nolite + infinitive

Here:

• turbare = to disturb

So literally the structure is something like:

• Be unwilling to disturb the silence in the library
• more naturally: Do not disturb the silence in the library

This is a very common Latin construction.

Turbare is the present active infinitive of turbo, turbare, turbavi, turbatus.

Its basic meaning is to disturb, to throw into disorder, or to upset.

In this sentence, it depends on nolite:

• nolite turbare = do not disturb

Silentium is the direct object of turbare.

The verb turbare takes an object: you disturb something.
Here, the thing being disturbed is the silence.

So:

• silentium = accusative singular
• it answers the question what are they not to disturb?
• answer: the silence

Its nominative and accusative singular happen to look the same because silentium is a neuter noun.

Because here in means in in the sense of location: in the library.

With in, Latin uses:

• ablative for location: in the library
• accusative for motion toward: into the library

So:

• in bibliotheca = in the library (where?)
• in bibliothecam = into the library (to where?)

Since this sentence describes where the silence is being disturbed, not movement into the library, the ablative is correct.

Bibliotheca is ablative singular here, after in of location.

The noun is a first-declension feminine noun:

• nominative: bibliotheca
• genitive: bibliothecae

Its meaning is library.

So:

• in bibliotheca = in the library

Latin usually has no definite article like English the.

So silentium can mean:

• silence
• the silence

and bibliotheca can mean:

• library
• the library

The exact English translation depends on context. In a sentence like this, English naturally uses the:

• Do not disturb the silence in the library.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

So Nolite silentium in bibliotheca turbare is clear because:

• nolite gives the command
• turbare is the infinitive
• silentium is the object
• in bibliotheca shows location

A different order could still make sense, for example:

• Nolite in bibliotheca silentium turbare.

That said, the given order is natural and keeps silentium close to turbare, which helps the reader understand the phrase as a unit: disturb the silence.

Yes. Latin has more than one way to express prohibitions, but noli / nolite + infinitive is one of the most common and straightforward, especially for learners.

Other negative-command patterns exist, but for this sentence:

• Nolite silentium in bibliotheca turbare

is a very normal and idiomatic way to say Do not disturb the silence in the library.

You would change nolite to noli:

• Noli silentium in bibliotheca turbare.

Everything else stays the same.

So:

• noli = do not (to one person)
• nolite = do not (to more than one person)

The dictionary form is:

• silentium, silentii (neuter)

It is a second-declension neuter noun meaning silence.

In this sentence, the form silentium is accusative singular, though it looks the same as the nominative because neuter nouns often have identical nominative and accusative forms in the singular.

It works well in Latin too. The phrase silentium turbare is quite understandable and natural: literally, to disturb the silence.

Latin often uses verbs like turbare with nouns that describe a state or condition, so the expression is not strange. It communicates the idea clearly: don’t break or disrupt the quiet atmosphere in the library.