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Latin phrases
10 September 2001
| latin phrase | 'Literal' | applied definition |
| a fortiori | To draw the inference that because a certain thing is true | then another thing must be true as well. |
| a priori | Evident by logic alone. | |
| ad astera per aspera | To the stars through difficulties.' | |
| ad infinitum | 'To infinity.' | |
| ad litteram | 'To the letter' | Exactly |
| ad nauseam | 'To sickness' | Overdone |
| ad rem | To the point. (Without digression) | |
| ab ovo/ab initio | 'From the beginning.' | |
| ad ovo osque ad mala. | 'From soup to nuts.' | A complete meal. |
| ad quod damnum | 'To what damage?' | |
| ad valorem | 'According to value.' | |
| advocatus diaboli | 'Devil's advocate' | |
| aere perennius | 'More lasting than brass.' | |
| agenda | 'Things to be done.' | |
| alea iacta est | 'The die has been cast. ' | |
| amor patriae | Love of country.' | Patriotism. |
| anguis in herba | 'Snake in the grass' | |
| anno regni | 'In the year of the reign.' | |
| annus mirabilis | 'Year of miracles' (Or any great event.) | |
| argument ad absurdum | 'Argument based on absurdity.' | |
| argumentum ad hominem | 'Against the man.' Attacking an individual as opposed to refuting his argument. | |
| ars artis gratia | 'Art for the sake of art.' | |
| ars longa, vita brevis | 'Art is long, life is short.' | |
| ave et vale | 'Goodbye and farewell.' | |
| bene factum | 'Well done.' | |
| bona fide | 'In good faith. ' | |
| brevium noctium | Short night. | |
| cadit quaestio | 'The argument falls.' | |
| carpe diem | 'Seize the day.' | |
| casus belli | 'Occasion of war.' The immediate cause of a quarrel. | |
| caveat emptor | 'Buyer beware.' | |
| cogito ergo sum | 'I think therefore I am.' (Rene Decartes) | |
| compos mentis | 'Of sound mind.' | |
| condemnant qui non intelligent. | They condemn who do not understand. | |
| consilio et armis | 'By plans and weapons.' | |
| coram populo | 'In the presence of the people' | Publically. |
| corpus forte | 'Strong body.' | |
| corpus vile | Fit only to be the object of an experiment. | |
| cui bono | For whose benefit?/For what purpose?. | |
| cum grano salis | 'With a grain of salt.' | |
| cum propris suis alis volat | 'He flies with his own wings.' Self-made. | |
| de dicto | 'About the saying.' Relating to the expression of a thought | rather than to he who said it. |
| de fide | 'From faith.' | |
| de novo | 'From the beginning.' | |
| de profundis | 'From the deep' | From the depths of misery or dejection. |
| decus et tutamen | 'An ornament and a safeguard.' | |
| Dei gratia | 'Grace of God.' | |
| Deo gratias | 'Thanks be to God.' | |
| Deo volente | God willing.' | |
| Deus ex machina | 'God from the machine.' | In the end, all things are settled. |
| dies trae | 'Day of Wrath.' | |
| disjecta membra | 'Scattered fragments.' Numerous partial selections from a literary work. | |
| dixi | 'I have spoken.' | |
| dulce et decorum est pro patria mori | 'It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.' | |
| dum spiro | spero. | 'While I breathe, I hope.' |
| dum volvo | video disco | 'While I turn, I see and learn.' |
| e pluribus unum | 'One out of many.' | |
| ecce homo | 'Behold the man.' (Friedrich Nietzche publication) | |
| editio princeps | 'First edition.' | |
| ergo | 'Therefore.' | |
| esse quam videri | 'To be rather than to seem.' | |
| et alia | 'And others.' | |
| ex animo | 'From the heart.' | |
| ex nihilo nihil fit | 'From nothing comes from nothing.' | |
| ex officio | 'Out of office.' | |
| ex silentio | 'From silence.' Cannot affirm or deny due to lack of evidence to the contrary. | |
| ex voto | 'From a vow.' Honoring a promise. | |
| exempli gratia (eg) | 'For the sake of example.' | |
| exeunt | 'They all go out.' An exit by a character in a play. | |
| exeunt omnes | 'They all go out.' | |
| facile princeps | 'An obvious leader.' | |
| fecit/fec | 'He/She made it.' Artist's signature. | |
| festine lente | 'Make haste, slowly.' | |
| fidei defensor (FD) | 'Defender of the faith.' | |
| floruit | 'Flourished.' | Used to indicate the period when a historical figure, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was most active. |
| fons et origo | Source. | |
| genius loci | 'Genius of the place.' The guardian spirit of a place/the special atmosphere of a particular place.' | |
| gloria in excelsis Deo | 'Glory to God in the highest' | |
| gloria Patri | 'Glory to the Father.' | |
| habeas corpus | 'Has a body.' | |
| hic jacet | 'Here lies.' | |
| honoris causa | 'For the sake of honour.' | |
| ignotum per ignotius | ||
| id est (IE) | 'That is.' Example. | |
| idem | 'The same.' Refers to something already cited. | |
| in absentia | 'In the absence of.' | |
| in aeternum | 'Eternally.' | |
| in camera | 'In chambers.' In private. | |
| in Deo speramus | 'In God we trust.' | |
| in extenso | 'At full length.' | |
| in extremis | 'In the furthest reaches.' In dire straits/at the point of death. | |
| in hoc signo vinces | 'In this sign, you will conquer.' | |
| in loco parentis in place of a parent: | ||
| in vacuo | 'In vacuum.' | In the absence of other conditions |
| in vino veritas | 'With wine comes the truth.' | |
| index librorum prohibitorum | Church's list of forbidden books. | |
| infra | 'Below.' | |
| inter mortous qu rere vivum | 'Bring the dead to life'? | |
| laborare est orare | 'Work is prayer.' | |
| modus operandi | 'Method of operating.' | |
| modus vivendi | Method of living.' | |
| nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio | ||
| non compos mentis | 'Not of sound mind' | |
| obiter dicta | Something said in passing. Legal term: An opinion held by a judge that has only incidental bearing on the case and is therefore not binding. | |
| per saltum | 'By a leap.' (As opposed to gradual.) | |
| post hoc, ergo propter hoc | 'After, therefore because of' | Cause is ascribed to preceeding conditions which were irrelevent to the supposed effect |
| prima facie | 'At first sight.' | |
| pro forma | 'For form's sake.' | A decision had already been made, but the usual channels were carried out anyway. |
| quod erat faciendum (QEF) | 'That which was to have been shown.' | End of calculation |
| saeva indignato | ||
| sine die | 'Without a date.' | Without setting a date. |
| sine capite | 'Without a head.' | |
| tabula rasa | 'Blank slate.' | Someone with no preconceptions of a matter. |
| tempus fugit. | 'Time flies.' |