Lusor fritillum movet.

You can break it down like this:

• lusor = player; this is the subject
• fritillum = dice-box; this is the direct object
• movet = moves / shakes; this is the verb

So the basic structure is:

subject + object + verb

That gives: The player moves the dice-box.

Lusor is in the nominative singular, which is the form usually used for the subject of a sentence.

The dictionary form is also lusor, so here the subject is one player.

Latin often marks a word’s job by its ending, not just by its position in the sentence.

Fritillum is in the accusative singular, which is the form commonly used for a direct object.

The direct object is the thing being acted on. In this sentence, the player is acting on the dice-box, so fritillum is the object.

Because it is the accusative singular form of fritillus.

This noun belongs to the second declension. Its forms go like this:

• nominative singular: fritillus
• accusative singular: fritillum

So the -um ending helps show that the word is the direct object.

Movet is:

• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood
• third person singular

It comes from the verb moveo, movere, meaning move.

So movet means he/she/it moves or is moving.

Because lusor is singular, the verb is singular too.

Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So lusor can mean:

• the player
• a player

And fritillum can mean:

• the dice-box
• a dice-box

You decide which is best from the context or from the translation already given.

Yes. Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical roles.

So these can mean the same basic thing:

• Lusor fritillum movet
• Fritillum lusor movet
• Movet lusor fritillum

The most neutral reading here is probably still The player moves the dice-box, but different word orders can add emphasis.

For example:

• Fritillum lusor movet might emphasize the dice-box
• Movet lusor fritillum might emphasize the action moves/shakes

Yes. In Latin, the verb ending often tells you the subject.

The ending -t in movet means third person singular: he/she/it.

That means Latin often does not need a separate subject pronoun.

Still, in this sentence, the noun lusor is stated explicitly, so we know exactly who is doing the action: the player.

Lusor is a third-declension noun.

Its basic meaning is player or sometimes gambler, depending on context.

In this sentence it is nominative singular, so it means one player as the subject.

A learner may notice that lusor does not end in -us, even though it is masculine. That is normal: third-declension nouns often have a wider variety of endings than second-declension nouns.

Not always. The verb moveo has a broad range of meanings, such as:

• move
• set in motion
• shake
• sometimes more figuratively, stir or affect

So in a sentence about a dice-box, English might translate movet as moves or shakes, depending on what sounds most natural.

In a simple Classical-style pronunciation, you could say it roughly like this:

• lusor = LOO-sor
• fritillum = frih-TIL-loom
• movet = MO-weht

A few useful points:

• v is pronounced like English w in Classical Latin
• u is like oo
• e is a short pure vowel, not like the English name E

So the whole sentence is roughly:

LOO-sor frih-TIL-loom MO-weht