i.e., "at will" or "at one's pleasure". This phrase, and its Italian (beneplacito) and Spanish (beneplácito) derivatives, are synonymous with the more common ad libitum (at pleasure).
a capite ad calcem
from head to heel
i.e., "from top to bottom", "all the way through", or "from head to toe". See also a pedibus usque ad caput.
a contrario
from the opposite
i.e., "on the contrary" or "au contraire". Thus, an argumentum a contrario ("argument from the contrary") is an argument or proof by contrast or direct opposite.
An inference from smaller to bigger; what is forbidden at least is forbidden at more ("If riding a bicycle with two on it is forbidden, riding it with three on it is at least similarly punished.")
a pedibus usque ad caput
from feet to head
i.e., "completely", "from tip to toe", "from head to toe". Equally a capite ad calcem. See also ab ovo usque ad mala.
a posse ad esse
from being able to being
"From possibility to actuality" or "from being possible to being actual".
Based on observation, i. e., empirical evidence. Opposite of a priori. Used in mathematics and logic to denote something that is known after a proof has been carried out. In philosophy, used to denote something known from experience.
Presupposed independent of experience; the reverse of a posteriori. Used in mathematics and logic to denote something that is known or postulated before a proof has been carried out. In philosophy, used to denote something is supposed without empirical evidence. In everyday speech, it denotes something occurring or being known before the event.
Said of an argument either for a conclusion that rests on the alleged absurdity of an opponent's argument (cf. appeal to ridicule) or that another assertion is false because it is absurd. The phrase is distinct from reductio ad absurdum, which is usually a valid logical argument.
ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia
The inference of a use from its abuse is not valid
i.e., a right is still a right even if it is abused (e.g. practiced in a morally/ethically wrong way); cf.§ abusus non tollit usum.
ab aeterno
from the eternal
Literally, "from the everlasting", "from eternity", or "from outside of time". Philosophically and theologically, it indicates something, e. g., the universe, that was created from outside of time. Sometimes used incorrectly to denote something, not from without time, but from a point within time, i.e. "from time immemorial", "since the beginning of time". or "from an infinitely remote time in the past")
Legal term denoting derivation from an external source, as opposed to a person's self or mind—the latter of which is denoted by ab intra.
ab hinc
from here on
Also sometimes written as "abhinc"
ab imo pectore
from the deepest chest
i.e., "from the bottom of my heart", "with deepest affection", or "sincerely". Attributed to Julius Caesar.
ab inconvenienti
from an inconvenient thing
Neo-Latin for "based on unsuitability", "from inconvenience", or "from hardship". An argumentum ab inconvenienti is one based on the difficulties involved in pursuing a line of reasoning, and is thus a form of appeal to consequences. The phrase refers to the legal principle that an argument from inconvenience has great weight.
ab incunabulis
from the cradle
i.e., "from the beginning" or "from infancy". Incunabula is commonly used in English to refer to the earliest stage or origin of something, and especially to copies of books that predate the spread of the printing press c. AD 1500.
i.e., "from the outset", referring to an inquiry or investigation. Ab initio mundi means "from the beginning of the world". In literature, it refers to a story told from the beginning rather than in medias res ('from the middle'). In science, it refers to the first principles. In other contexts, it often refers to beginner or training courses. In law, it refers to a thing being true from its beginning or from the instant of the act, rather than from when the court declared it so. Likewise, an annulment is a judicial declaration of the invalidity or nullity of a marriageab initio: the so-called marriage was "no thing" (Latin: nullius, from which the word "nullity" derives) and never existed, except perhaps in name only.
i.e., from a (dead) decedent, who died without executing a legal will; cf.ex testamento
ab intra
from within
i.e., from the inside, as opposed to ab extra ("from without").
ab invito
against one's will
ab irato
from/by an angry person
More literally, "from/by an angry man". Though the form irato is masculine, the application of the phrase is not limited to men. Rather, "person" is meant because the phrase probably elides homo ("man/person"), not vir ("man"). It is used in law to describe a decision or action that is motivated by hatred or anger instead of reason and is detrimental to those whom it affects.
ab origine
from the source
i.e., from the origin, beginning, source, or commencement; or, "originally".
i.e., from the beginning or origin. Derived from the longer phrase in Horace's Satire 1.3: "ab ovo usque ad mala", meaning "from the egg to the apples", referring to how Ancient Roman meals would typically begin with an egg dish and end with fruit (cf. the English phrase soup to nuts). Thus, ab ovo means "from the beginning", and can connote thoroughness.
absens haeres non erit
an absent person will not be an heir
Legal principle that a person who is not present is unlikely to inherit.
absente reo(abs. re.)
[with] the defendant being absent
Legal phrase denoting action "in the absence of the accused".
absit iniuria
absent from injury
i.e., "no offense", meaning to wish that no insult or injury be presumed or done by the speaker's words. Also rendered as absit iniuria verbis ("let injury be absent from these words"). cf.absit invidia.
absit invidia
absent from envy
As opposed to "no offense", absit invidia is said in the context of a statement of excellence, to ward off envious deities who might interpret a statement of excellence as hubris. Also extended to absit invidia verbo ("may ill will/envy be absent from these words"). cf.absit iniuria verbis.[2]
Legal term pronounced by a judge in order to acquit a defendant following their trial. Te absolvo or absolvo te ("I forgive you") is said by Roman Catholic priests during the Sacrament of Confession, prior to the Second Vatican Council and in vernacular thereafter.
abundans cautela non nocet
abundant caution does no harm
i.e., "one can never be too careful"
ab uno disce omnes
from one, learn all
Refers to situations in which a single example or observation indicates a general or universal truth. Coined in Virgil, Aeneid II 65-6. Example: visible in the court of King Silas in the American television series Kings.
i.e., "from the founding of Rome", which occurred in 753 BC, according to Livy. It was used as a referential year in ancient Rome from which subsequent years were calculated, prior to being replaced by other dating conventions. Also anno urbis conditae (AUC), literally "in the year of the founded city".
abusus non tollit usum
misuse does not remove use
The misuse of some thing does not eliminate the possibility of its correct use. cf.ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia
ab utili
from utility
Used of an argument
abyssus abyssum invocat
deep calleth unto deep
From Psalms 42:7; some translations have "sea calls to sea".
no one ought to accuse himself except in the presence of God
Legal principle denoting that an accused person is entitled to plead not guilty, and that a witness is not obligated to respond or submit a document that would incriminate himself. A similar phrase is nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare ("no one is bound to accuse himself").
acta deos numquam mortalia fallunt
mortal actions never deceive the gods
Derived from Ovid, Tristia, I.ii, 97: si tamen acta deos numquam mortalia fallunt, / a culpa facinus scitis abesse mea. ("Yet if mortal actions never deceive the gods, / you know that crime was absent from my fault.")
acta est fabula plaudite
The play has been performed; applaud!
Common ending to ancient Roman comedies: Suetonius claimed in The Twelve Caesars that these were the last words of Augustus; Sibelius applied them to the third movement of his String Quartet No. 2, so that his audience would recognize that it was the last one, because a fourth would be ordinarily expected.
The actual crime that is committed, as opposed to the intent, thinking, and rationalizing that procured the criminal act; the external elements of a crime, rather than the internal elements (i.e. mens rea).
ad absurdum
to absurdity
In logic, to the point of being silly or nonsensical. See also reductio ad absurdum. Not to be confused with ab absurdo ("from the absurd").
ad abundantiam
to abundance
Used in legal language when providing additional evidence to an already sufficient collection. Also used commonly as an equivalent of "as if this wasn't enough".
i.e., "a rough road leads to the stars", as on the Launch Complex 34 memorial plaque for the astronauts of Apollo 1. Used as a motto by the State of Kansas and other organisations
ad augusta per angusta
through difficulties to honours
i.e., to rise to a high position overcoming hardships.
ad captandum vulgus
to captivate the mob
i.e., to appeal to the masses. Often said of or used by politicians. Likewise, an argumentum ad captandum is an argument designed to please the crowd.
ad clerum
to the clergy
Formal letter or communication in the Christian tradition from a bishop to his clergy. An ad clerum may be an encouragement in a time of celebration or a technical explanation of new regulations or canons.
i.e., "from Heaven all the way to the center of the Earth". In law, it may refer to the proprietary principle of cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos ("whosesoever is the soil, it is his up to the sky and down to the depths [of the Earth]").
ad eundem
to the same
An ad eundem degree (derived from ad eundem gradum, "to the same step or degree") is a courtesy degree awarded by a university or college to an alumnus of another. Rather than an honorary degree, it is a recognition of the formal learning for which the degree was earned at another college.
Provides the term argumentum ad hominem, a logical fallacy in which a person themselves is criticized, when the subject of debate is their idea or argument, on the mistaken assumption that the soundness of an argument is dependent on the qualities of the proponent.
i.e., enduring forever. Used to designate a property which repeats in all cases in mathematical proof. Also used in philosophical contexts to mean "repeating in all cases".
i.e, "according to what pleases" or "as you wish". In music and theatrical scripts, it typically indicates that the performer has the liberty to change or omit something. Ad lib is often, specifically used when one improvises or ignores limitations. Also used by some restaurants in favor of the colloquial "all you can eat or drink". Libitum comes from the past participle of libere ("to please").
ad limina apostolorum
to the thresholds of the Apostles
i.e., to Rome. Refers specifically to the quinquennial visit ad limina, a formal trip by Roman Catholic bishops to visit the Pope every five years.
Legal phrase referring to a party appointed by a court to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party who is deemed incapable of representing himself or herself, such as a child. An individual who acts in this capacity is called a guardian ad litem.
ad locum (ad loc.)
at the place
Used to suggest looking for information about a term in the corresponding place in a cited work of reference.
ad lucem
to the light
frequently used motto for educational institutions
i.e., "to the point of disgust". Sometimes used as a humorous alternative to ad infinitum. An argumentum ad nauseam is a logical fallacy in which erroneous proof is proffered by prolonged repetition of the argument, i. e., the argument is repeated so many times that persons are "sick of it".
ad oculos
to the eyes
i.e., "obvious on sight" or "obvious to anyone that sees it"
ad pedem litterae
to the foot of the letter
i.e., "exactly as it is written", "to the letter", or "to the very last detail"
ad perpetuam memoriam
to the perpetual memory
Generally precedes "of" and a person's name, used to wish for someone to be remembered long after death
ad pondus omnium (ad pond om)
to the weight of all things
i.e., "considering everything's weight". The abbreviation was historically used by physicians and others to signify that the last prescribed ingredient is to weigh as much as all of the previously mentioned ones.
i.e., "according to the harm" or "in proportion to the harm". The phrase is used in tort law as a measure of damages inflicted, implying that a remedy (if one exists) ought to correspond specifically and only to the damage suffered. cf.damnum absque iniuria.
ad referendum (ad ref)
to reference
i.e., subject to be proposed, provisionally approved, but still needing official approval. Not the same as a referendum.
Said of a work that has been expurgated of offensive or improper parts. Originates from editions of Greek and Roman classics which King Louis XIV of France had censored for his heir apparent, the Dauphin. Also rarely in usum Delphini ("into the use of the Dauphin").
Used in reference to the ending of a political term upon the death or downfall of the officer (demise as in their commission of a sufficiently grave immorality and/or legal crime).
Someone who, in the face of a specific argument, voices an argument that he does not necessarily accept, for the sake of argument and discovering the truth by testing the opponent's argument. cf.arguendo.
The word aetatis means "aged" or "of age" (e.g. "aetatis 36" denotes being "of age 36" or "aged 36 years old") Appears on portraits, gravestones, monuments, etc. Usually preceded by anno (AAS), "in the year # [of his age/life]". Frequently combined with Anno Domini, giving a date as both the age of Jesus Christ and the age of the decedent. Example: "Obiit anno Domini MDCXXXVIo (tricensimo sexto), [anno] aetatis suae XXVo (vicensimo quinto)" ("he died in the 1636th year of the Lord, [being] the 25th [year] of his age[/life]").
Legal term derived from fides ("faith"), originating at least from Medieval Latin to denote a statement under oath.
age quod agis
do what you do
i.e., "do what you are doing," or "do well whatever you do." Figuratively, it means "keep going, because you are inspired or dedicated to do so." This is the motto of several Roman Catholic schools, and was also used by Pope John XXIII in the sense of "do not be concerned with any other matter than the task in hand;" he was allaying worry of what would become of him in the future: his sense of age quod agis was "joy" regarding what is presently occurring and "detachment" from concern of the future.[8]
Refers both to the innocence of a lamb and to Christ being a sacrificial lamb after the Jewish religious practice. It is the Latin translation from John 1:36, when St. John the Baptist exclaimes "Ecce Agnus Dei!" ("Behold the Lamb of God!") upon seeing Jesus Christ.
Said by Julius Caesar (Greek: ἀνερρίφθω κύβος, anerrhíphthō kýbos) upon crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC, according to Suetonius. The original meaning was similar to "the game is afoot", but its modern meaning, like that of the phrase "crossing the Rubicon", denotes passing the point of no return on a momentous decision and entering into a risky endeavor where the outcome is left to chance.
Legal defense where a defendant attempts to show that he was elsewhere at the time a crime was committed (e.g. "his alibi is sound; he gave evidence that he was in another city on the night of the murder.")
From Isaiah 40: "But those who wait for the Lord shall find their strength renewed, they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not grow faint."
Term used for the university one attends or has attended. Another university term, matriculation, is also derived from mater. The term suggests that the students are "fed" knowledge and taken care of by the university. It is also used for a university's traditional school anthem.
i.e., another self, a second persona or alias. Can be used to describe different facets or identities of a single character, or different characters who seem representations of the same personality. Often used of a fictional character's secret identity.
From Psalm 72:8, "Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae" (KJV: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth"). National motto of Canada.
i.e., an adviser, or a person who can obtain or grant access to the favour of a powerful group (e. g., the Roman Curia). In current U.S. legal usage, an amicus curiae is a third party who is allowed to submit a legal opinion in the form of an amicus brief to the court.
Nietzscheian alternative worldview to that represented through memento mori ("remember you must die"): Nietzsche believed amor fati was more affirmative of life.
Originally from Virgil, EcloguesX, 69: omnia vincit amor: et nos cedamus amori ("love conquers all: let us too surrender to love"). The phrase is inscribed on a bracelet worn by the Prioress in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur?
Do you not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?
Written by Axel Oxenstierna in a letter to encourage his son, a delegate to the negotiations that would lead to the Peace of Westphalia, who worried about his ability to hold his own amidst experienced and eminent statesmen and diplomats.
anglice
in English
Used before the anglicized version of a word or name. For example, "Terra Mariae, anglice, Maryland".
Abbreviation of Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi ("in the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ"), the predominantly-used system for dating years across the world; used with the Gregorian Calendar and based on the perceived year of the birth of Jesus Christ. The years before His birth were formerly signified by a. C. n (ante Christum natum, "before Christ was born"), but now use the English abbreviation "BC" ("before Christ"). For example, Augustus was born in the year 63 BC and died in AD 14.
Variation on annus mirabilis, recorded in print from 1890.[10] Notably used in a speech by Queen Elizabeth II to describe what a bad year 1992 had been for her. In Classical Latin, this phrase actually means "terrifying year". See also annus terribilis.
Used particularly to refer to the years 1665 and 1666, during which Isaac Newton made revolutionary inventions and discoveries in calculus, motion, optics and gravitation. Annus Mirabilis is also the title of a poem by John Dryden written in the same year. It has since been used to refer to other years, especially to 1905, when Albert Einstein made equally revolutionary discoveries concerning the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, mass-energy equivalence, and the special theory of relativity. (See Annus Mirabilis papers)
annus terribilis
dreadful year
Used to describe 1348, the year the Black Death began to afflict Europe.
Said of an expression or term that describes something which existed before the phrase itself was introduced or became common. Example: Alan Turing was a computer scientist ante litteram, since the field of "computer science" was not yet recognized in Turing's day.
"Spirit of Wine" in many English texts. Used to refer to various native distilled beverages, such as whisky (uisge beatha) in Scotland and Ireland, gin in the Netherlands, brandy (eau de vie) in France, and akvavit in Scandinavia.
One who prescribes, rules on, or is a recognized authority on matters of social behavior and taste. Said of Petronius. Sometimes found in the singular as arbiter elegantiae ("judge of taste").
arcana imperii
the secrets of power
Originally used by Tacitus to refer to the state secrets and unaccountable acts of the Roman imperial government
An opaque circle around the cornea of the eye, often seen in elderly people. When it is found in patients less than 50 years old it is termed arcus juvenilis
Or, "for the sake of argument". Said when something is done purely in order to discuss a matter or illustrate a point. E. g., "let us assume, arguendo, that your claim is correct."
An aesthetic ideal that good art should appear natural rather than contrived. Of medieval origin, but often incorrectly attributed to Ovid.[13]
ars gratia artis
art for the sake of art
Translated into Latin from Baudelaire's L'art pour l'art. Motto of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While symmetrical for the logo of MGM, the better word order in Latin is "Ars artis gratia".
Seneca, De Brevitate Vitae, 1.1, translating a phrase of Hippocrates that is often used out of context. The "art" referred to in the original aphorism was the craft of medicine, which took a lifetime to acquire.
Motto of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers of the British Army and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) Branch of the Canadian Forces
Artis Bohemiae Amicis
Friends of Czech Arts
Award of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic for the promotion of the positive reputation of Czech culture abroad
asinus ad lyram
an ass to the lyre
Desiderius Erasmus, Adagia (AD 1508); meaning "an awkward or incompetent individual"
asinus asinum fricat
the jackass rubs the jackass
Used to describe 2 persons who are lavishing excessive praise on one another
assecuratus non quaerit lucrum sed agit ne in damno sit
the assured does not seek profit but makes [it his profit] that he not be in loss
Refers to the insurance principle that the indemnity can not be larger than the loss
astra inclinant, sed non obligant
the stars incline us, they do not bind us
Refers to the distinction of free will from astrological determinism
Motto of the State of Alabama, adopted in 1923; translated into Latin from a paraphrase of the stanza "Men who their duties know / But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain" from William Jones, "What Constitutes a State?"
From Virgil, Aeneid, Book 10, 284, where the first word is in an archaic form, audentis fortuna iuvat. Allegedly the last words of Pliny the Elder before he left the docks at Pompeii to rescue people from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79. Often quoted as audaces fortuna iuvat. Also the motto of the Portuguese Army Commandos and the USS Montpelier in the latter form.
From Horace's Odes, 2, 10. Refers to the ethical goal of reaching a virtuous middle ground between two sinful extremes. The golden mean concept is common to many philosophers, chiefly Aristotle.
auri sacra fames
accursed hunger for gold
From Virgil, Aeneid, Book 3, 57. Later quoted by Seneca as quod non mortalia pectora coges, auri sacra fames ("what do not you force mortal hearts [to do], accursed hunger for gold").
auribus teneo lupum
I hold a wolf by the ears
Common ancient proverb, this version from Terence. It indicates that one is in a dangerous situation where both holding on and letting go could be deadly. A modern version is "to have a tiger by the tail".
The Southern Lights, an aurora that appears in the Southern Hemisphere. It is less well-known than the Northern Lights (aurorea borealis). The Aurora Australis is also the name of an Antarctic icebreaker ship.
Title of a distich by Iohannes Christenius (1599–1672): "Conveniens studiis non est nox, commoda lux est; / Luce labor bonus est et bona nocte quies." ("Night is not suitable for studying, daylight is; / working by light is good, as is rest at night."); in Nihus, Barthold (1642). Epigrammata disticha. Johannes Kinckius.
Denotes an absolute aspiration to become the Emperor, or the equivalent supreme magistrate, and nothing else. More generally, "all or nothing". A personal motto of Cesare Borgia. Charlie Chaplin also used the phrase in The Great Dictator to ridicule Hynkel's (Chaplin's parody of Hitler) ambition for power, but substituted "nullus" for "nihil".
aut consilio aut ense
either by meeting or the sword
I. e., either through reasoned discussion or through war. It was the first motto of Chile (see coat of arms), changed to Spanish: Por la razón o la fuerza. Name of episode 1 in season 3 of Berlin Station.
aut cum scuto aut in scuto
either with shield or on shield
Or, "do or die" or "no retreat". A Greek expression («Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς») that Spartan mothers said to their sons as they departed for battle. It refers to the practices that a Greek hoplite would drop his cumbersome shield in order to flee the battlefield, and a slain warrior would be borne home atop his shield.
Hail, Emperor! Those who are about to die salute you!
From Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, Claudius 21. A salute and plea for mercy recorded on one occasion by naumachiarii–captives and criminals fated to die fighting during mock naval encounters. Later versions included a variant of "We who are about to die", and this translation is sometimes aided by changing the Latin to nos morituri te salutamus.
A Beatitude from Matthew 5:3 in the Vulgate: beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum "Blessed in spirit [are] the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens".
Originally from Ovid, Heroides 13.84,[17] where Laodamia is writing to her husband Protesilaus who is at the Trojan War. She begs him to stay out of danger, but he was in fact the first Greek to die at Troy. Also used of the Habsburg marriages of 1477 and 1496, written as bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube (let others wage war; you, happy Austria, marry). Said by King Matthias.
In other words, "well-intentioned", "fairly". In modern contexts, often has connotations of "genuinely" or "sincerely". Bona fides is not the plural (which would be bonis fidebus), but the nominative, and means simply "good faith". Opposite of mala fide.
bona notabilia
note-worthy goods
In law, if a person dying has goods, or good debts, in another diocese or jurisdiction within that province, besides his goods in the diocese where he dies, amounting to a certain minimum value, he is said to have bona notabilia; in which case, the probat of his will belongs to the archbishop of that province.
bona officia
good services
A nation's offer to mediate in disputes between two other nations
United Kingdom legal term for ownerless property that passes to The Crown
boni pastoris est tondere pecus non deglubere
it is a good shepherd's [job] to shear his flock, not to flay them
Tiberius reportedly said this to his regional commanders, as a warning against taxing the populace excessively.
bono malum superate
overcome evil with good
Motto of Westonbirt School
bonum commune communitatis
common good of the community
Or "general welfare". Refers to what benefits a society, as opposed to bonum commune hominis, which refers to what is good for an individual. In the film Hot Fuzz, this phrase is chanted by an assembled group of people, in which context it is deliberately similar to another phrase that is repeated throughout the film, which is The Greater Good.
bonum commune hominis
common good of a man
Refers to an individual's happiness, which is not "common" in that it serves everyone, but in that individuals tend to be able to find happiness in similar things.
Cacoēthes[19] "bad habit", or medically, "malignant disease" is a borrowing of Greek kakoēthes.[20] The phrase is derived from a line in the Satires of Juvenal: Tenet insanabile multos scribendi cacoethes, or "the incurable desire (or itch) for writing affects many". See hypergraphia.
An optical device used in drawing, and an ancestor of modern photography. The source of the word camera.
Cane Nero magna bella Persica
Tell, oh Nero, of the great wars of Persia
Perfectly correct Latin sentence usually reported as funny from modern Italians because the same exact words, in today's dialect of Rome, mean "A black dog eats a beautiful peach", which has a ridiculously different meaning.
Capability of achieving goals by force of many instead of a single individual.
caput inter nubila (condit)
(she plunges) [her] head in the clouds
So aggrandized as to be beyond practical (earthly) reach or understanding (from Virgil's Aeneid and the shorter form appears in John Locke's Two Treatises of Government)
Originally an alchemical reference to the dead head or worthless residue left over from a reaction. Also used to refer to a freeloader or worthless element.
Caritas Christi
The love of Christ
It implies a command to love as Christ loved. Motto of St. Francis Xavier High School located in West Meadowlark Park, Edmonton.
Caritas Christi urget nos
The love of Christ impels us or The love of Christ drives us
An exhortation to live for today. From Horace, Odes I, 11.8. Carpere refers to plucking of flowers or fruit. The phrase collige virgo rosas has a similar sense.
carpe noctem
seize the night
An exhortation to make good use of the night, often used when carpe diem, q.v., would seem absurd, e.g., when observing a deep-sky object or conducting a Messier marathon or engaging in social activities after sunset.
The Roman senator Cato the Elder ended every speech after the Second Punic War with ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam, literally "For the rest, I am of the opinion that Carthage is to be destroyed."
especially used by Doctors of Medicine, when they want to warn each other (e.g.: "cave nephrolithiases" in order to warn about side effects of an uricosuric). Spoken aloud in some British public (paid) schools by pupils to warn each other of impending authority.
The purchaser is responsible for checking whether the goods suit his need. Phrases modeled on this one replace emptor with lector, subscriptor, venditor, utilitor: "reader", "signer", "seller", "user".
It is a counter to caveat emptor and suggests that sellers can also be deceived in a market transaction. This forces the seller to take responsibility for the product and discourages sellers from selling products of unreasonable quality.
Or simply "faster than cooking asparagus". A variant of the Roman phrase velocius quam asparagi coquantur, using a different adverb and an alternative mood and spelling of coquere.
cepi corpus
I have taken the body
In law, it is a return made by the sheriff, upon a capias, or other process to the like purpose; signifying, that he has taken the body of the party. See also habeas corpus.
certiorari
to be made certain
From certiorari volumus, "we wish to be made certain." A prerogative writ, by which a superior court orders an inferior one to turn over its record for review. Now used, depending on the jurisdiction, for an order granting leave to appeal a decision (e.g. to the Supreme Court of the United States) or judicial review of a lower court's order.
certum est quod certum reddi potest
it is certain, whatever can be rendered certain
Or "... if it can be rendered certain." Often used in law when something is not known, but can be ascertained (e.g. the purchase price on a sale which is to be determined by a third-party valuer)
cessante ratione legis cessat ipsa lex
when the reason for the law ceases, the law itself ceases
A rule of law becomes ineffective when the reason for its application has ceased to exist or does not correspond to the reality anymore. By Gratian.
A writ whereby the king of England could command the justice of an eyre (a medieval form of circuit court) to permit an attorney to represent a person who is employed in the king's service and therefore cannot come in person.
clarere audere gaudere
[be] bright, daring, joyful
Motto of the Geal family.
clausum fregit
he broke the enclosure
A legal action for trespass to land; so called because the writ demands the person summoned to answer wherefore he broke the close(quare clausum fregit), i.e., why he entered the plaintiff's land.
The means of discovering hidden or mysterious meanings in texts, particularly applied in theology and alchemy.
clerico admittendo
for being made a clerk
In law, a writ directed to the bishop, for the admitting a clerk to a benefice upon a ne admittas, tried, and found for the party who procures the writ.
clerico capto per statutum mercatorum
In law, a writ for the delivery of a clerk out of prison, who is imprisoned upon the breach of statute merchant.
clerico convicto commisso gaolae in defectu ordinarii deliberando
In law, a writ for the delivery of a clerk to his ordinary, that was formerly convicted of felony; by reason that his ordinary did not challenge him according to the privilege of clerks.
clerico intra sacros ordines constituto non eligendo in officium
In law, a writ directed to the bailiffs, etc., that have thrust a bailiwick or beadleship upon one in holy orders; charging them to release him.
A medical euphemism for the doggy-style sexual position.
collige virgo rosas
pick, girl, the roses
Exhortation to enjoy fully the youth, similar to Carpe diem, from "De rosis nascentibus" (also titled "Idyllium de rosis"), attributed to Ausonius or Virgil.[28]
It is frequently abbreviated comb. nov.. It is used in the life sciences literature when a new name is introduced, e.g. Klebsiella granulomatis comb. nov..
One year with another; on an average. "Common" here does not mean "ordinary", but "common to every situation"
communibus locis
in common places
A term frequently used among philosophical and other writers, implying some medium, or mean relation between several places; one place with another; on a medium. "Common" here does not mean "ordinary", but "common to every situation"
communis opinio
common opinion
prevailing doctrine, generally accepted view (in an academic field), scientific consensus; originally communis opinio doctorum, "common opinion of the doctors"
compos mentis
in control of the mind
Describes someone of sound mind. Sometimes used ironically. Also a legal principle, non compos mentis (not in control of one's faculties), used to describe an insane person.
A required, indispensable condition. Commonly mistakenly rendered with conditio ("seasoning" or "preserving") in place of condicio ("arrangement" or "condition").
Where there are no specific laws, the matter should be decided by custom;[30] established customs have the force of laws.[31] Also consuetudo est altera lex (custom is another law) and consuetudo vincit communem legem (custom overrules the common law); see also: Consuetudinary.
Despising the secular world. The monk or philosopher's rejection of a mundane life and worldly values.
contra bonos mores
against good morals
Offensive to the conscience and to a sense of justice.
contra legem
against law
Especially in civil law jurisdictions, said of an understanding of a statute that directly contradicts its wording and thus is valid neither by interpretation nor by analogy.
In contract law, the doctrine of contractual interpretation which provides that an ambiguous term will be construed against the party that imposed its inclusion in the contract – or, more accurately, against the interests of the party who imposed it.
contra spem spero
I hope against hope
Title of a poem by Lesya Ukrainka; it derives from an expression found in Paul's Letter to the Romans 4:18 (Greek: παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι, Latin: contra spem in spe[m]) with reference to Abraham the Patriarch who maintained faith in becoming the father of many nations despite being childless and well-advanced in years.
No herb (or sage) grows in the gardens against the power of death
there is no medicine against death; from various medieval medicinal texts
contradictio in terminis
contradiction in terms
Something that would embody a contradiction with the very definition of one of its terms; for example, payment for a gift, or a circle with corners. The fallacy of proposing such a thing.
there can be no debate with those who deny the foundations
Debate is fruitless when you don't agree on common rules, facts, presuppositions.
cor ad cor loquitur
heart speaks to heart
From Augustine's Confessions, referring to a prescribed method of prayer: having a "heart to heart" with God. Commonly used in reference to a later quote by Cardinal John Henry Newman. A motto of Newman Clubs.
cor aut mors
Heart or Death
(Your choice is between) The Heart (Moral Values, Duty, Loyalty) or Death (to no longer matter, no longer to be respected as person of integrity.)
cor meum tibi offero domine prompte et sincere
my heart I offer to you Lord promptly and sincerely
A popular school motto and often used as a name for religious and other organisations such as the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.
coram
in the presence of
Used before a list of the names of the judges on a panel hearing a particular case.
coram Deo
in the presence of God
A phrase from Christian theology which summarizes the idea of Christians living in the presence of, under the authority of, and to the honor and glory of God; see also coram Deo.
coram episcopo
in the presence of the bishop
Refers to the celebration of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church where the bishop is present but does not preside over the service.[32]
Two kinds of writs of error, calling for the decision to be reviewed by the same court that made it. Coram nobis is short for quae coram nobis resident (let them, i.e. the matters on the court record, remain before us), and was the form historically used for the Court of King's Bench; the "us" means the King, who was theoretically the head of that court. Coram vobis is the analogous version ("let the matters remain before you") for the Court of Common Pleas, where the King did not sit, even notionally.
The fact that a crime has been committed, a necessary factor in convicting someone of having committed that crime; if there was no crime, there can not have been a criminal.
cras amet qui nunquam amavit; quique amavit, cras amet
May he who has never loved before, love tomorrow; And may he who has loved, love tomorrow as well
The refrain from the 'Pervigilium Veneris', a poem which describes a three-day holiday in the cult of Venus, located somewhere in Sicily, involving the whole town in religious festivities joined with a deep sense of nature and Venus as the "procreatrix", the life-giving force behind the natural world.
A concept about creation, often used in a theological or philosophical context. Also known as the 'First Cause' argument in philosophy of religion. Contrasted with creatio ex materia.
A very common misquote of Tertullian's et mortuus est Dei Filius prorsus credibile quia ineptum est (and the Son of God is dead: in short, it is credible because it is unfitting), meaning that it is so absurd to say that God's son has died that it would have to be a matter of belief, rather than reason. The misquoted phrase, however, is commonly used to mock the dogmatic beliefs of the religious (see fideism). This phrase is commonly shortened to credo quia absurdum, and is also sometimes rendered credo quia impossibile est (I believe it because it is impossible) or, as Darwin used it in his autobiography, credo quia incredibile.
credo ut intelligam
I believe so that I may understand
A motto of St Anselm, used as the motto of St. Anselm Hall, Manchester
Motto of the University of Chicago; often rendered in English as an iambic tetrameter, "Let knowledge grow from more to more, and so be human life enriched".
From Lucretius' De rerum natura book VI, where it refers in context to the motion of a thunderbolt across the sky, which acquires power and momentum as it goes. This metaphor was adapted as the state motto of New Mexico (adopted in 1887 as the territory's motto, and kept in 1912 when New Mexico received statehood) and is seen on the seal. Also the motto of Rocky Mount, Virginia and Omega Delta Phi.
cruci dum spiro fido
while I live, I trust in the cross, Whilst I trust in the Cross I have life
"Who benefits?" An adage in criminal investigation which suggests that considering who would benefit from an unwelcome event is likely to reveal who is responsible for that event (cf. cui prodest). Also the motto of the Crime Syndicate of America, a fictional supervillain group. The opposite is cui malo (Bad for whom?).
cui prodest
for whom it advances
Short for cui prodest scelus is fecit (for whom the crime advances, he has done it) in Seneca's Medea. Thus, the murderer is often the one who gains by the murder (cf. cui bono).
Whose the land is, all the way to the sky and to the underworld is his.
First coined by Accursius of Bologna in the 13th century. A Roman legal principle of property law that is no longer observed in most situations today. Less literally, "For whosoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to the sky and down to the depths."
The privilege of a ruler to choose the religion of his subjects. A regional prince's ability to choose his people's religion was established at the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.
cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare.
Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault
Copyright notice used in 16th-century England, used for comic effect in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare[34] where Lucentio is urged by his servant Biondello to "seize your privilege to declare her [Bianca] yours alone".
From the Bible, locution indicating a will to death ("I want to die").
cur Deus Homo
Why the God-Man
The question attributed to Anselm in his work of by this name, wherein he reflects on why the Christ of Christianity must be both fully Divine and fully Human. Often translated "why did God become Man?"
Also da mihi facta, dabo tibi ius (plural "facta" (facts) for the singular "factum"). A legal principle of Roman law that parties to a suit should present the facts and the judge will rule on the law that governs them. Related to iura novit curia (the court knows the law).
damnant quod non intellegunt
They condemn what they do not understand
Paraphrase of Quintilianus, De Institutione Oratoria, Book 10, chapter 1, 26: "Modesto tamen et circumspecto iudicio de tantis viris pronuntiandum est, ne, quod plerisque accidit, damnent quae non intellegunt." [Yet students must pronounce with diffidence and circumspection on the merits of such illustrious characters, lest, as is the case with many, they condemn what they do not understand. (translated by Rev. John Selby Watson)
The ancient Roman custom by which it was pretended that disgraced Romans, especially former emperors, never existed, by eliminating all records and likenesses of them.
damnum absque injuria
damage without injury
Meaning a loss that results from no one's wrongdoing. In Roman law, a person is not responsible for unintended, consequential injury to another that results from a lawful act. This protection does not necessarily apply to unintended damage caused by one's negligence or folly.
In law, a de bene esse deposition is used to preserve the testimony of a witness who is expected not to be available to appear at trial and be cross-examined.
de bonis asportatis
carrying goods away
In law, trespass de bonis asportatis was the traditional name for larceny, i.e., the unlawful theft of chattels (moveable goods).
de dato
of the date
Used, e.g., in "as we agreed in the meeting d.d. 26th May 2006".
Said of something that is the actual state of affairs, in contrast to something's legal or official standing, which is described as de jure. De facto refers to "the way things really are" rather than what is officially presented as the fact of the matter in question.
de fideli
with faithfulness
A clerk of a court makes this declaration when he is appointed, by which he promises to perform his duties faithfully as a servant of the court.
de fideli administratione
of faithful administration
Describes an oath taken to faithfully administer the duties of a job or office, like that taken by a court reporter.[35]
de futuro
regarding the future
Usually used in the context of "at a future time".
Less literally, "there is no accounting for taste", because they are judged subjectively and not objectively: everyone has their own and none deserve preeminence. The complete phrase is "de gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum" ("when we talk about tastes and colours there is nothing to be disputed"). Probably of Scholastic origin; see Wiktionary.
"Official", in contrast with de facto; analogous to "in principle", whereas de facto is to "in practice". In other contexts, it can mean "according to law", "by right", and "legally".
de lege ferenda
of/from law to be passed
de lege lata
of/from law passed / of/from law in force
de medietate linguae
of half-tongue
from [a person's] language [group]; party jury; the right to a jury disproportionally chosen from the accused's ethnic group;[36] see struck jury.
A court does not care about small, trivial things. A case must have some importance in order for a court to hear it. See "de minimis non curat praetor". Also used as an adjective: "The court found that the alleged conduct was de minimis."
de minimis non curat praetor
The commander does not care about the smallest things.
Also, "The chief magistrate does not concern himself with trifles." Trivial matters are no concern of a high official; cf. aquila non capit muscas (the eagle does not catch flies). Sometimes rex (king) or lex (law) is used in place of praetor.
de mortuis aut bene aut nihil
about the dead, either well or nothing
Less literally, "speak well of the dead or not at all"; cf. de mortuis nil nisi bonum.
From de mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est ("nothing must be said about the dead except the good"), attributed by Diogenes Laërtius to Chilon. In legal contexts, this quotation is used with the opposite meaning: defamation of a deceased person is not a crime. In other contexts, it refers to taboos against criticizing the recently deceased.
de nobis fabula narratur
About us is the story told
Thus: "their story is our story". Originally it referred to the end of Rome's dominance. Now often used when comparing any current situation to a past story or event.
"Anew" or "afresh". In law, a trial de novo is a retrial of the issues as though they had not been tried before. In biology, de novo means newly synthesized, and a de novo mutation is a mutation that neither parent possessed or transmitted. In economics, de novo refers to newly founded companies, and de novo banks are state banks that have been in operation for five years or less. (Cf. ex novo)
de omni re scibili et quibusdam aliis
about every knowable thing, and even certain other things
The Italian scholar Giovanni Pico della Mirandola of the 15th century wrote the De omni re scibili ("concerning every knowable thing") part, and a wag added et quibusdam aliis ("and even certain other things").
Meaning from out of the depths of misery or dejection. From the Latin translation of the Vulgate Bible of Psalm 130, of which it is a traditional title in Roman Catholic liturgy.
In logic, de dicto statements regarding the truth of a proposition are distinguished from de re statements regarding the properties of a thing itself.
decessit sine prole
died without issue
Used in genealogical records, often abbreviated as d.s.p., to indicate a person who died without having had any children.
decessit sine prole legitima
died without legitimate issue
Used in genealogical records, often abbreviated as d.s.p.l., to indicate a person who died without having had any children with a spouse.
decessit sine prole mascula legitima
died without legitimate male issue
Used in genealogical records in cases of nobility or other hereditary titles, often abbreviated as d.s.p.m.l. or d.s.p.m. legit, to indicate a person who died without having had any legitimate male children (indicating there were illegitimate male children)
decessit sine prole mascula superstite
died without surviving male issue
Used in genealogical records, often abbreviated as d.s.p.m., to indicate a person who died without having had any male children who survived, i.e. outlived him.
decessit sine prole superstite
died without surviving issue
Used in genealogical records, often abbreviated as d.s.p.s., to indicate a person who died without having had any children who survived, i.e. outlived him.
decessit vita matris
died in the lifetime of the mother
Used in genealogical records, often abbreviated as d.v.m., to indicate a person who predeceased his or her mother.
decessit vita patris
died in the lifetime of the father
Used in genealogical records, often abbreviated as d.v.p., to indicate a person who predeceased his or her father.
decus et tutamen
an ornament and a safeguard
A phrase from Virgil's Aeneid. Inscription on British one-pound coins. Originally inscribed on coins of the 17th century, it refers to the inscribed edge of the coin as a protection against the clipping of its precious metal.
Part of the full style of a monarch historically considered to be ruling by divine right, notably in the style of the English and British monarch since 1521
In Catholic theology, pleasure taken in a sinful thought or imagination, such as brooding on sexual images. As voluntary and complacent erotic fantasizing, without attempt to suppress such thoughts, it is distinct from actual sexual desire.
A legal principle whereby one to whom certain powers were delegated may not ipso facto re-delegate them to another. A distinction may be had between delegated powers and the additional power to re-delegate them.
delirant isti Romani
They are mad, those Romans[!]
A Latin translation of René Goscinny's phrase in French ils sont fous, ces romains! or Italian Sono pazzi questi Romani. Cf. SPQR, which Obelix frequently used in the Asterix comics.
This was often used in conjunction with a signature at the end of letters. It was used in order to signify that "God willing" this letter will get to you safely, "God willing" the contents of this letter come true. As an abbreviation (simply "D.V.") it is often found in personal letters (in English) of the early 1900s, employed to generally and piously qualify a given statement about a future planned action, that it will be carried out, so long as God wills it (see James4:13–15, which encourages this way of speaking); cf. inshallah. Motto of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
descensus in cuniculi cavum
The descent into the cave of the rabbit
Down the rabbit hole; backtranslation, not a genuine Latin phrase; see Down the rabbit hole.
From the Greek ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός (apò mēchanēs theós). A contrived or artificial solution, usually to a literary plot. Refers to the practice in Greek drama of lowering by crane (the mechanê) an actor playing a god or goddess onto the stage to resolve an insuperable conflict in the plot. The device is most commonly associated with Euripides.
The principal slogan of the Crusades. Motto of Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey, United States.
Dicebamus hesterna die...
[As] we were saying yesterday...
Attributed to Fray Luis de León, the beginning of his first lecture after resuming his professorship at Salamanca University following four years of imprisonment by the Inquisition
dictatum erat (dict)
as previously stated
A recent academic substitution for the spacious and inconvenient phrase "as previously stated". Literally, has been stated. Compare also "dicta prius"; literally, said previously.
I.e. "from a rule without exception." Short for a dicto simpliciter, the a is often dropped because it is confused with the English indefinite article. A dicto simpliciter occurs when an acceptable exception is ignored or eliminated. For example, the appropriateness of using opiates is contingent on suffering extreme pain. To justify the recreational use of opiates by referring to a cancer patient or to justify arresting said patient by comparing him to the recreational user would be a dicto simpliciter.
Days under common law (traditionally Sunday), during which no legal process can be served and any legal judgment is invalid. The English Parliament first codified this precept in the reign of King Charles II.
In other words, the gods have ideas different from those of mortals, and so events do not always occur in the way persons wish them to. Cf. Virgil, Aeneid, 2: 428. Also cf. "Man proposes and God disposes" and "My Thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways", Isaiah 55, 8–9.
dis manibus sacrum (D.M.S.)
Sacred to the ghost-gods
Refers to the Manes, i.e. Roman spirits of the dead. Loosely, "to the memory of". A conventional pagan inscription preceding the name of the deceased on their tombstone; often shortened to dis manibus (D.M.), "for the ghost-gods". Preceded in some earlier monuments by hic situs est (H. S. E.), "he lies here".
A popular, eloquent expression, usually used in the end of a speech. The implied meaning is that the speaker has said all that had to be said and thus the argument is completed.
["...", ...] dixit
["...", ...] said
Used to attribute a statement or opinion to its author, rather than the speaker.
person's ability to commit a wrongful act with the knowledge that it is wrong; cf. doli incapax.
dolus specialis
special intent
"The ... concept is particular to a few civil law systems and cannot sweepingly be equated with the notions of 'special' or 'specific intent' in common law systems. Of course, the same might equally be said of the concept of 'specific intent', a notion used in the common law almost exclusively within the context of the defense of voluntary intoxication." (Genocide scholar William A. Schabas)[41]
A phrase used in the Roman Catholic liturgy, and sometimes in its sermons and homilies, and a general form of greeting among and towards members of Catholic organizations. See also Pax vobiscum.
dona nobis pacem
give us peace
Often set to music, either by itself or as the final phrase of the Agnus Dei prayer of the Holy Mass.
donatio mortis causa
a donation in expectation of death
A legal concept in which a person in imminent mortal danger need not satisfy the otherwise requisite consideration to effect a testamentary donation, i.e., a donation by instituting or modifying a will.
Used when someone has been asked for urgent help, but responds with no immediate action. Similar to Hannibal ante portas, but referring to a less personal danger.
According to legend, the words spoken by the cardinal verifying that a newly-elected pope was a man, in a test employed after the reign of pope Joan.
dura lex sed lex
[the] law [is] harsh, but [it is the] law
A shortening of quod quidem perquam durum est, sed ita lex scripta est ("which indeed is extremely harsh, but thus was the law written"). Ulpian, quoted in the Digesta Iustiniani, Roman jurist of the 3rd century AD.[46]
Literally, out of more (than one), one. The former national motto of the United States, which "In God We Trust" later replaced; therefore, it is still inscribed on many U.S. coins and on the U.S. Capitol. Also the motto of S.L. Benfica. Less commonly written as ex pluribus unum
From the canons of statutory interpretation in law. When more general descriptors follow a list of many specific descriptors, the otherwise wide meaning of the general descriptors is interpreted as restricted to the same class, if any, of the preceding specific descriptors.
Retired from office. Often used to denote an office held at the time of one's retirement, as an honorary title, e. g. professor emeritus and provost emeritus. Inclusion in one's title does not necessarily denote that the honorand is inactive in the pertinent office.
emollit mores nec sinit esse feros
a faithful study of the liberal arts humanizes character and permits it not to be cruel
Occam's razor or Law of Parsimony; arguments which do not introduce extraneous variables are to be preferred in logical argumentation.
entitas ipsa involvit aptitudinem ad extorquendum certum assensum
reality involves a power to compel certain assent
A phrase used in modern Western philosophy on the nature of truth.
eo ipso
by that very (act)
Technical term in philosophy and law. Similar to ipso facto. Example: "The fact that I am does not eo ipso mean that I think." From the Latin ablative form of id ipsum ("that thing itself").
Sometimes attributed to Seneca the Younger, but not attested: Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum, et tertia non datur (To err is human; to persist [in committing such errors] is of the devil, and the third possibility is not given.) Several authors contemplated the idea before Seneca: Livy, Venia dignus error is humanus (Storie, VIII, 35) and Cicero: is Cuiusvis errare: insipientis nullius nisi, in errore perseverare (Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault) (Philippicae, XII, 2, 5). Cicero, being well-versed in ancient Greek, may well have been alluding to Euripides' play Hippolytus some four centuries earlier.[48] 300 years later Saint Augustine of Hippo recycled the idea in his Sermones, 164, 14: Humanum fuit errare, diabolicum est per animositatem in errore manere.[49] The phrase gained currency in the English language after Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism of 1711: "To err is human, to forgive divine" (line 325).
Motto of George Berkeley for his subjective idealist philosophical position that nothing exists independently of its perception by a mind except minds themselves.
Truly being a thing, rather than merely seeming to be a thing. The motto of many institutions. From Cicero, De amicitia (On Friendship), Chapter 26. Prior to Cicero, Sallust used the phrase in Bellum Catilinae, 54, 6, writing that Catoesse quam videri bonus malebat ("preferred to be good, rather than to seem so"). Earlier still, Aeschylus used a similar phrase in Seven Against Thebes, line 592: ou gar dokein aristos, all' enai thelei ("he wishes not to seem the best, but to be the best"). Motto of the State of North Carolina.
est modus in rebus
there is measure in things
there is a middle or mean in things, there is a middle way or position; from Horace, Satires1.1.106; see also: Golden mean (philosophy). According to Potempski and Galmarini (Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 9471–9489, 2009) the sentence should be translated as: "There is an optimal condition in all things", which in the original text is followed by sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum ("There are therefore precise boundaries beyond which one cannot find the right thing").
Used similarly to et cetera ("and the rest") to denote names that, usually for the sake of space, are unenumerated/omitted. Alii is masculine, and therefore it can be used to refer to men, or groups of men and women; the feminine et aliae is proper when the "others" are all female, but as with many loanwords, interlingual use, such as in reference lists, is often invariable. Et alia is neuter plural and thus in Latin text is properly used only for inanimate, genderless objects, but some use it as a gender-neutral alternative.[50]APA style and MLA style uses et al. if the work cited was written by more than three authors; AMA style lists all authors if ≤6, and 3 + et al. if >6. AMA style forgoes the period (because it forgoes the period on abbreviations generally) and it forgoes the italic (as it does with other loanwords naturalized into scientific English); many journals that follow AMA style do likewise.
In modern usage, used to mean "and so on" or "and more".
et cum spiritu tuo
and with your spirit
The usual response to the phrase Dominus vobiscum used in Roman Catholic liturgy, for instance at several points during the Catholic Mass.[51] Also used as a general form of greeting among and towards members of Catholic organisations.
and in Arcadia [am] I / I [am/exist] even in Arcadia
Phrased from the perspective of the personification of death to indicate death's reality under even the most blissful of circumstances, associated in classical times with the then-pastoral Arcadia region of the Peloponnese in Greece; see alsomemento mori; also the name of paintings and TV episodes – see Et in Arcadia ego (disambiguation).
Also et sequentia ("and the following things": neut.), abbreviations: et seqq., et seq., or sqq. Commonly used in legal citations to refer to statutes that comprise several sequential sections of a code of statutes (e. g. National Labor Relations Act, 29U.S.C. § 159 et seq.; New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:25-17 et seq.).
et suppositio nil ponit in esse
and a supposition puts nothing in being
More usually translated as "Sayin' it don't make it so".
Or "Even you, Brutus?" or "You too, Brutus?" Indicates betrayal by an intimate associate. From William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, based on the traditional dying words of Julius Caesar. However, these were almost certainly not Caesar's true last words: Plutarch quotes Caesar as saying in Greek, the language of the Roman elite at the time, καὶ σὺ τέκνον (Kaì sù téknon?), translated as "You too, (my) child?", quoting from Menander.
This sentence synthesizes a famous concept of Hugo Grotius (1625).
evoles ut ira breve nefas sit; regna
arise, that your anger may [only] be a brief evil; control [it]
A bilingual palindrome, yielding its English paraphrase, "Anger, 'tis safe never. Bar it! Use love!"
ex abundanti cautela
out of an abundance of caution
In law, describes someone taking precautions against a very remote contingency. "One might wear a belt in addition to braces ex abundanti cautela".[52] In banking, a loan in which the collateral is more than the loan itself. Also the basis for the term "an abundance of caution" employed by United States President Barack Obama to explain why the Chief Justice of the US Supreme CourtJohn Roberts had to re-administer the presidential oath of office, and again in reference to terrorist threats.
ex abundantia enim cordis os loquitur
for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A phrase applied to the declarations or promulgations of the CatholicSupreme Pontiff (Pope) when, preserved from the possibility of error by the Holy Spirit(see Papal infallibility), he solemnly declares or promulgates ("from the chair" that was the ancient symbol of the teacher and governor, in this case of the Church) a dogmatic doctrine on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at least being intimately connected to divine revelation. Used, by extension, of anyone who is perceived as speaking as though with supreme authority.
"From harmful deceit"; dolus malus is the Latin legal term denoting "fraud". The full legal phrase is ex dolo malo non oritur actio ("an action does not arise from fraud"). When an action has its origin in fraud or deceit, it cannot be supported; thus, a court of law will not assist a man who bases his course of action on an immoral or illegal act.
Idiomatically rendered "on the face of it". A legal term typically used to state that a document's explicit terms are defective absent further investigation. Also, "contempt ex facie" means contempt of court committed outside of the court, as contrasted with contempt in facie.
More literally "from grace". Refers to someone voluntarily performing an act purely from kindness, as opposed to for personal gain or from being compelled to do it. In law, an ex gratia payment is one made without recognizing any liability or obligation.
ex hypothesi
from the hypothesis
Denoting "by hypothesis"
ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; ex luce ad tenebras (e.i.)
from ignorance into wisdom; from light into darkness
By virtue or right of office. Often used when someone holds one office by virtue of holding another: for example, the President of France is an ex officioCo-Prince of Andorra. A common misconception is that all ex officio members of a committee or congress may not vote; but in some cases they do. In lawex officio can also refer to an administrative or judicial office taking action of its own accord; in the latter case the more common term is ex proprio motu or ex meru motu, for example to invalidate a patent or prosecute infringers of copyright.[55]
Theological phrase contrasted with ex opere operato, referring to the notion that the validity or promised benefit of a sacrament depends on the person administering it
A theological phrase meaning that the act of receiving a sacrament actually confers the promised benefit, such as a baptism actually and literally cleansing one's sins. The Catholic Church affirms that the source of grace is God, not just the actions or disposition of the minister or the recipient of the sacrament.
ex oriente lux
light from the east
Originally refers to the sun rising in the east, but alludes to culture coming from the Eastern world. Motto of several institutions.
ex oriente pax
peace comes from the east (i.e. from the Soviet Union)
Shown on the logo as used by East Germany's CDU, a blue flag with two yellow stripes, a dove, and the CDU symbol in the center with the words ex oriente pax.
[arising] out of the relation/narration [of the relator]
The term is a legal phrase; the legal citation guide called the Bluebook describes ex rel. as a "procedural phrase" and requires using it to abbreviate "on the relation of", "for the use of", "on behalf of", and similar expressions. An example of use is in court case titles such as Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar.
In general, the claim that the absence of something demonstrates the proof of a proposition. An argumentum ex silentio ("argument from silence") is an argument based on the assumption that someone's silence on a matter suggests ("proves" when a logical fallacy) that person's ignorance of the matter or their inability to counterargue validly.
From a dishonorable cause an action does not arise
A legal doctrine which states that a claimant will be unable to pursue a cause of action if it arises in connection with his own illegal act. Particularly relevant in the law of contract, tort and trusts.
exceptio firmat (or probat) regulam in casibus non exceptis
The exception confirms the rule in cases which are not excepted
A juridical principle which means that the statement of a rule's exception (e.g., "no parking on Sundays") implicitly confirms the rule (i.e., that parking is allowed Monday through Saturday). Often mistranslated as "the exception that proves the rule".
excusatio non petita accusatio manifesta
an excuse that has not been sought [is] an obvious accusation
More loosely, "he who excuses himself, accuses himself"—an unprovoked excuse is a sign of guilt. In French, qui s'excuse, s'accuse
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article. (Discuss) (August 2024)
Exempli gratiā is usually abbreviated "e. g." or "e.g." (less commonly, ex. gr.). The abbreviation "e.g." is often interpreted (Anglicised) as 'example given'. The plural exemplōrum gratiā to refer to multiple examples (separated by commas) is now not in frequent use; when used, it may be seen abbreviated as "ee.g." or even "ee.gg.", corresponding to the practice of doubling plurals in Latin abbreviations. E.g. is not usually followed by a comma in British English, but it often is in American usage. E.g. is often confused with i.e. (id est, meaning 'that is' or 'in other words').[57] Some writing styles give such abbreviations without punctuation, as ie and eg.[a]
Exemplum virtutis
a model of virtue
exercitus sine duce corpus est sine spiritu
an army without a leader is a body without a spirit
Third-person plural present active indicative of the Latin verb exire; also seen in exeunt omnes, "all leave"; singular: exit. Typically used as a stage direction in plays which means that one or more actors should leave the stage.
experientia docet
experience teaches
This term has been used in dermatopathology to express that there is no substitute for experience in dealing with all the numerous variations that may occur with skin conditions.[74] The term has also been used in gastroenterology.[75] It is also the motto of San Francisco State University.
Literally "believe one who has had experience". An author's aside to the reader.
expressio unius est exclusio alterius
the expression of the one is the exclusion of the other
"Mentioning one thing may exclude another thing". A principle of legal statutory interpretation: the explicit presence of a thing implies intention to exclude others; e.g., a reference in the Poor Relief Act 1601 to "lands, houses, tithes and coal mines" was held to exclude mines other than coal mines. Sometimes expressed as expressum facit cessare tacitum (broadly, "the expression of one thing excludes the implication of something else").
extra domum
[placed] outside of the house
Refers to a possible result of Catholic ecclesiastical legal proceedings when the culprit is removed from being part of a group like a monastery.
This expression comes from the Epistle to Jubaianus, paragraph 21, written by Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a bishop of the third century. It is often used to summarise the doctrine that the Catholic Church is absolutely necessary for salvation.
A Roman legal principle indicating that a witness who willfully falsifies one matter is not credible on any matter. The underlying motive for attorneys to impeach opposing witnesses in court: the principle discredits the rest of their testimony if it is without corroboration.
He who flies from justice acknowledges himself a criminal.
Under such circumstances the presumption is one of guilt.[76]
febris amatoria
fever of love
Hypochromic anemia or chlorosis, once described as the "fever of love", which was believed to stem from the yearning for passion in virgins. First written about in 1554 by the German physician Johannes Lange. Also known as "Disease of the Virgins".[77]
feci quod potui, faciant meliora potentes
I have done what I could; let those who can do better.
Slight variant ("quod potui feci") found in James Boswell's An Account of Corsica, there described as "a simple beautiful inscription on the front of Palazzo Tolomei at Siena".[78] Later, found in Henry Baerlein's introduction to his translation of The Diwan of Abul ʿAla by Abul ʿAla Al-Maʿarri (973–1057);[79] also in Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, act 1. Also in Alfonso Moreno Espinosa, Compendio de Historia Universal, 5. ed. (Cádiz 1888).
NN fecit
NN made (this)
a formula used traditionally in the author's signature by painters, sculptors, artisans, scribes etc.; compare pinxit
fecisti patriam diversis de gentibus unam
"From differing peoples you have made one native land"
archaic legal term for one who commits suicide, referring to early English common law punishments, such as land seizure, inflicted on those who killed themselves
from the Genesis, "dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux" ("and God said: 'Let there be light', and there was light."); frequently used as the motto of schools.
Quotation of the third petition of the Pater Noster (Our Father) prayer dictated by Jesus Christ and his response to the Father during the [[Agony in the Garden#Gospel narratives|Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; motto of Archbishop Richard Smith of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton]]
ficta voluptatis causa sint proxima veris
fictions meant to please should approximate the truth
A title given to King Henry VIII of England by Pope Leo X on 17 October 1521, before Henry broke from the Roman Church and founded the Church of England. British monarchs continue to use the title, which is still inscribed on all British coins, and usually abbreviated.
fidem scit
he knows the faith
sometimes mistranslated to "keep the faith" when used in contemporary English writings of all kinds to convey a light-hearted wish for the reader's well-being
fides qua creditur
the faith by which it is believed
Roman Catholic theological term for the personal faith that apprehends what is believed, contrasted with fides quae creditur, which is what is believed; see next phrase below
fides quae creditur
the faith which is believed
Roman Catholic theological term for the content and truths of the Faith or "the deposit of the Faith", contrasted with fides qua creditur, which is the personal faith by which the Faith is believed; see previous phrase
a mere name, word, or sound without a corresponding objective reality; expression used by the nominalists of universals and traditionally attributed to the medieval philosopher Roscelin of Compiègne
indicates a date on which a person is known to have been alive, often the period when a historic person was most active or was accomplishing that for which he is famous; may be used as a substitute when the dates of his birth and/or death are unknown.
a legal principle: the occurrence or taint of fraud in a (legal) transaction entirely invalidates it
Frustra legis auxilium quaerit qui in legem committit
in vain does he who offends the law seek the law's aid
a legal principle: one cannot invoke the law to assist in an illegal purpose. Inscribed on the facade of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal.
fui quod es, eris quod sum
I once was what you are, you will be what I am
An epitaph that reminds the reader of the inevitability of death, as if to state: "Once I was alive like you are, and you will be dead as I am now." It was carved on the gravestones of some Roman military officers.
general provisions enacted in later legislation do not detract from specific provisions enacted in earlier legislation
A principle of statutory interpretation: If a matter falls under a specific provision in a statute enacted before a general provision enacted in a later statute, it is to be presumed that the legislature did not intend that the earlier specific provision be repealed, and the matter is governed by the earlier specific provision, not the more recent general one.
The unique, distinctive aspects or atmosphere of a place, such as those celebrated in art, stories, folk tales, and festivals. Originally, the genius loci was literally the protective spirit of a place, a creature usually depicted as a snake.
generatim discite cultus
Learn each field of study according to its kind. (Virgil, Georgics II.)
Most commonly from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar where Casca couldn't explain to Cassius what Cicero was saying because he was speaking Greek. The more common colloquialism would be: It's all Greek to me.
A legal term from the 14th century or earlier. Refers to a number of legal writs requiring a jailer to bring a prisoner in person (hence corpus) before a court or judge, most commonly habeas corpus ad subjiciendum ("that you have the body [brought up] for the purpose of subjecting [the case to examination]"). Commonly used as the general term for a prisoner's legal right to challenge the legality of their detention.
Commonly rendered in English as "One day, we'll look back on this and smile". From Virgil's Aeneid 1.203. Also, motto of Handsworth Grammar School, and the Jefferson Society.
Found in Cicero's first Philippic and in Livy's Ab urbe condita Hannibal was a fierce enemy of Rome who almost brought them to defeat. Sometimes rendered "Hannibal ante portas", with similar meaning: "Hannibal before the gates"
haud ignota loquor
I speak not of unknown things
Thus, "I say no things that are unknown". From Virgil's Aeneid, 2.91.
Hei mihi! quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis.
Written on uncharted territories of old maps; see also: here be dragons.
hic et nunc
here and now
The imperative motto for the satisfaction of desire. "I need it, Here and Now"
hic et ubique
here and everywhere
hic jacet (HJ)
here lies
Also rendered hic iacet. Written on gravestones or tombs, preceding the name of the deceased. Equivalent to hic sepultus (here is buried), and sometimes combined into hic jacet sepultus (HJS), "here lies buried".
hic locus est ubi mors gaudet succurrere vitae
This is the place where death delights in helping life
A motto of many morgues or wards of anatomical pathology.
hic manebimus optime
here we will remain most excellently
According to Titus Livius the phrase was pronounced by Marcus Furius Camillus, addressing the senators who intended to abandon the city, invaded by Gauls, circa 390 BC. It is used today to express the intent to keep one's position, even if the circumstances appear adverse.
From the Latin version of "The Boastful Athlete" in Aesop's Fables[89] as formulated by Erasmus in his Adagia. An athlete brags about his impressive jump at a past event in Rhodes, whereupon he is challenged to reproduce it then and there, not merely boast. In other words, prove what you can do, here and now. Cited by Hegel and Marx.
From Terence, Andria, act 1, line 126.[90] Originally literal, referring to the tears shed by Pamphilus at the funeral of Chrysis, it came to be used proverbially in the works of later authors, such as Horace (Epistulae 1.XIX:41).[91]
hinc itur ad astra
from here the way leads to the stars
Written on the wall of the old astronomical observatory of Vilnius University, Lithuania, and the university's motto.
hoc est Christum cognoscere, beneficia eius cognoscere
To know Christ is to know his benefits
Famous dictum by the Reformer Melanchthon in his Loci Communes of 1521
hoc est enim corpus meum
For this is my Body
The words of Jesus reiterated in Latin during the Roman Catholic Eucharist. Sometimes simply written as Hoc est corpus meum or "This is my body".
hoc genus omne
All that crowd/people
From Horace's Satires, 1/2:2. Refers to the crowd at Tigellio's funeral (c. 40–39 BC). Not to be confused with et hoc genus omne (English: and all that sort of thing).
hodie mihi, cras tibi
Today it's me, tomorrow it will be you
Inscription that can be seen on tombstones dating from the Middle Ages, meant to outline the ephemerality of life.
Motto of the Far Eastern University – Institute of Nursing
homo bulla
man is a bubble
Varro (116 BC – 27 BC), in the opening line of the first book of Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres, wrote quod, ut dicitur, si est homo bulla, eo magis senex (for if, as they say, man is a bubble, all the more so is an old man)[92] later reintroduced by Erasmus in his Adagia, a collection of sayings published in 1572.
First attested in Plautus' Asinaria (lupus est homo homini). The sentence was drawn on by Thomas Hobbes in De Cive as a concise expression of his views on human nature.
I am a human being; nothing human is strange to me
From Terence's Heauton Timorumenos (The Self-Tormentor) (163 BC). Originally "strange" or "foreign" (alienum) was used in the sense of "irrelevant", as this line was a response to the speaker being told to mind his own business, but it is now commonly used to advocate respecting different cultures and being humane in general. Puto (I consider) is not translated because it is meaningless outside of the line's context within the play.
From Newton, Principia. Less literally, "I do not assert that any hypotheses are true".
I
Latin
Translation
Notes
I, Vitelli, dei Romani sono belli
Go, O Vitellius, at the war sound of the Roman god
Perfectly correct Latin sentence usually reported as funny by modern Italians because the same exact words, in Italian, mean "Romans' calves are beautiful", which has a ridiculously different meaning.
Usually used in bibliographic citations to refer to the last source previously referenced.
id est (i.e.)
that is (literally "it is")
"That is (to say)" in the sense of "that means" and "which means", or "in other words", "namely", or sometimes "in this case", depending on the context.
id quod plerumque accidit
that which generally happens
Phrase used in legal language to indicate the most probable outcome from an act, fact, event or cause
In the Roman calendar, the Ides of March refers to the 15th day of March. In modern times, the term is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC; the term has come to be used as a metaphor for impending doom.
The logical fallacy of irrelevant conclusion: making an argument that, while possibly valid, doesn't prove or support the proposition it claims to. An ignoratio elenchi that is an intentional attempt to mislead or confuse the opposing party is known as a red herring. Elenchi is from the Greek elenchos.
A principle, held by several religions, that believers should strive to resemble their god(s).
imperium in imperio
an order within an order
Group of people who owe utmost fealty to their leader(s), subordinating the interests of the larger group to the authority of the internal group's leader(s).
A "fifth column" organization operating against the organization within which they seemingly reside.
In Virgil's Aeneid, Jupiter ordered Aeneas to found a city (Rome) from which would come an everlasting, never-ending empire, the endless (sine fine) empire.
Using the metaphor of a scorpion, this can be said of an account that proceeds gently, but turns vicious towards the end—or more generally waits till the end to reveal an intention or statement that is undesirable in the listener's ears.
in com. Ebor.
In the county of Yorkshire
Abbreviation of in comitatu Eboraci. Eboracum was the Roman name for York and this phrase is used in some Georgian and Victorian books on the genealogy of prominent Yorkshire families.
Expresses the judicial principle that in case of doubt the decision must be in favor of the accused (in that anyone is innocent until there is proof to the contrary).
in duplo
in double
In duplicate
in effigie
in the likeness
In (the form of) an image; in effigy (as opposed to "in the flesh" or "in person").
in esse
in existence
In actual existence; as opposed to in posse.
in extenso
in the extended
In full; at full length; complete or unabridged
in extremis
in the furthest reaches
At the very end. In extremity; in dire straits; also "at the point of death" (cf. in articulo mortis).
Recent academic substitution for the spacious and inconvenient "..., respectively".
in illo tempore
in that time
At that time, found often in Gospel lectures during Masses, used to mark an undetermined time in the past.
in inceptum finis est
lit.: in the beginning is the end
or: the beginning foreshadows the end
in limine
at the outset/threshold
Preliminary, in law, a motion in limine is a motion that is made to the judge before or during trial, often about the admissibility of evidence believed prejudicial.
in loco
in the place, on the spot
That is, 'on site'. "The nearby labs were closed for the weekend, so the water samples were analyzed in loco."
From Horace. Refers to the literary technique of beginning a narrative in the middle of, or at a late point in, the story, after much action has already taken place. Examples include the Iliad, the Odyssey, Os Lusíadas, Othello, and Paradise Lost. Compare ab initio.
in memoriam
into the memory
Equivalent to "in the memory of". Refers to remembering or honoring a deceased person.
"In the land of the infidels"; used to refer to bishoprics that remain as titular sees even after the corresponding territory was conquered, usually by Muslim rulers.
Legal term used to indicate that a judicial proceeding may not have formally designated adverse parties or is otherwise uncontested. The term is commonly used in case citations of probate proceedings, for example, In re Smith's Estate; it is also used in juvenile courts, as, for instance, In re Gault.
in rebus
in the thing [itself]
Primarily of philosophical use to discuss properties and property exemplification. In philosophy of mathematics, it is typically contrasted with "ante rem" and, more recently, "post res" structuralism. Sometimes in re is used in place of in rebus.
in regione caecorum rex est luscus
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
Quote of Desiderius Erasmus from Adagia (first published 1500, with numerous expanded editions through 1536), III, IV, 96.
In the original place, appropriate position, or natural arrangement.
in somnis veritas
In dreams there is truth
in spe
in hope
"future" ("my mother-in-law in spe", i.e. "my future mother-in-law"), or "in embryonic form", as in "Locke's theory of government resembles, in spe, Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers."
in specialibus generalia quaerimus
To seek the general in the specifics
That is, to understand the most general rules through the most detailed analysis.
in statu nascendi
in the state of being born
Just as something is about to begin
in theatro ludus
like a scene in a play
Surreal
in toto
in all
Totally; entirely; completely.
in triplo
in triple
In triplicate.
in umbra, igitur, pugnabimus
Then we will fight in the shade
Laconic phrase supposedly given by the Spartans in response to the Persian boast at the Battle of Thermopylae that their arrows would obscure the sun. The response, though not in this form, was variously attributed to the soldier Dienekes or to King Leonidas I.
An experimental or process methodology performed in a "non-natural" setting (e.g. in a laboratory using a glass test tube or Petri dish), and thus outside of a living organism or cell. Alternative experimental or process methodologies include in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo.
An experiment or process performed on a living specimen.
in vivo veritas
in a living thing [there is] truth
An expression used by biologists to express the fact that laboratory findings from testing an organism in vitro are not always reflected when applied to an organism in vivo. Pun on in vino veritas.
incepto ne desistam
May I not shrink from my purpose!
Motto of Westville Boys' High School and Westville Girls' High School, from Virgil, Aeneid, Book 1. Used by Juno, queen of heaven, who hated the Trojans led by Aeneas. When she saw the fleet of Aeneas on its way to Italy, after the sack of Troy by the Greeks, she planned to scatter it by means of strong winds. In her determination to accomplish her task she cried out "Incepto ne desistam!"
incertae sedis
of uncertain position (seat)
Term used to classify a taxonomic group when its broader relationships are unknown or undefined.
Used in formal correspondence to refer to the current month, sometimes abbreviated as inst; e.g.: "Thank you for your letter of the 17th inst."—ult. mense = last month, prox. mense = next month.
Used to express the exploitation of religion by State or ecclesiastical polity as a means of controlling the masses, or in particular to achieve political and mundane ends.
From Horace's Odes (I.22.1)[96] Used as a funeral hymn.
intelligenti pauca
few words suffice for him who understands
inter alia (i.a.)
among other things
Term used in formal extract minutes to indicate that the minute quoted has been taken from a fuller record of other matters, or when alluding to the parent group after quoting a particular example.[citation needed]
inter alios
among others
Often used to compress lists of parties to legal documents
Said by Cicero in Pro Milone as a protest against unchecked political mobs that had virtually seized control of Rome in the 60s and 50s BC. Famously quoted in the essay Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau as "The clatter of arms drowns out the voice of the law". This phrase has also been jokingly translated as "In a time of arms, the legs are silent."
Describes property transfers between living persons, as opposed to a testamentary transfer upon death such as an inheritance; often relevant to tax laws.
intra muros
within the walls
Not public; source of the word intramural. Can also refer to the portion of a city within the city walls (current or past); for example, Intramuros, Manila.
intra vires
within the powers
Within one's authority. Contrasted with ultra vires.
Attributed to Petronius[97] or Prudentius. Motto of the journal Nature in Cambridgeshire:[98]Inveniet quod quisque velit; non omnibus unum est, quod placet; hic spinas colligit, ille rosas ("Each shall find what he desires; no one thing pleases all; one gathers thorns, another roses").
invicta
unconquered
Motto of the English county of Kent and the city of Oporto
Commonly said in Medieval debates and referring to Aristotle. Used in general to emphasize that some assertion comes from some authority, i.e., as an argument from authority, and the term ipse-dixitism has come to mean any unsupported rhetorical assertion that lacks a logical argument. Literal translation by Cicero (in his De Natura Deorum 1.10) of the Greek αὐτὸς ἔφα, an invocation by Pythagoreans when appealing to the pronouncements of the master.
"Strictly word for word" (cf. verbatim). Often used in Biblical Studies to describe the record of Jesus' teaching found in the New Testament (specifically, the four Gospels).
ipsissima voce
in the very voice itself
To approximate the main thrust or message without using the exact words
Like the vast majority of inhabitants of the ancient world, the ancient Romans practiced pagan rituals, believing it important to achieve a state of pax deorum (peace of the gods) instead of ira deorum (wrath of the gods): earthquakes, floods, famine, etc.
ira furor brevis est
wrath (anger) is but a brief madness
ita vero
thus indeed
Useful phrase, as the Romans had no word for "yes", preferring to respond to questions with the affirmative or negative of the question (e.g., "Are you hungry?" was answered by "I am hungry" or "I am not hungry", not "yes" or "no").
Loosely: "You have been dismissed". Concluding words addressed to the people in the Mass of the Roman Rite.[99] The term missa "Mass" derives from a reanalysis of the phrase to mean "Go, the missa is accomplished."
iter legis
the path of the law
The path a law takes from its conception to its implementation
From Gerhard Gerhards' (1466–1536) (better known as Erasmus) collection of annotated Adagia (1508). It can mean attacking the work or personality of deceased person. Alternatively, it can be used to describe criticism of an individual already heavily criticised by others.
iuncta iuvant
together they strive
also spelled juncta juvant; from the legal principle quae non valeant singula, iuncta iuvant ("What is without value on its own, helps when joined")
Legal principle in civil law countries of the Roman-German tradition that says that lawyers need not argue the law, as that is the office of the court. Sometimes miswritten as iura novat curia (the court renews the laws).
Indicates a right exercised by a husband on behalf of his wife
iuris ignorantia est cum ius nostrum ignoramus
it is ignorance of the law when we do not know our own rights
ius accrescendi
right of accrual
Commonly referred to as "right of survivorship": a rule in property law that surviving joint tenants have rights in equal shares to a decedent's property
ius ad bellum
law towards war
Refers to the laws that regulate the reasons for going to war. Typically, this would address issues of self-defense or preemptive strikes.
A peremptory norm, a fundamental principle of international law considered to have acceptance among the international community of states as a whole and from which no derogation is permitted.
Refers to the "laws" that regulate the conduct of combatants during a conflict. Typically, this would address issues of who or what is a valid target, how to treat prisoners, and what sorts of weapons can be used. The word jus is also commonly spelled ius.
Motto of Peter King, 1st Baron King as mentioned within 'The Improvement of the Mind. To Which is Added, a discourse on the Education of Children and Youth' by Isaac Watts 1741.
Popular as a motto; derived from a phrase in Virgil's Eclogue (X.69: omnia vincit Amor – "Love conquers all"); a similar phrase also occurs in his GeorgicsI.145.
Often abbreviated to L.S., used as opening words for a letter
lege artis
according to the law of the art
Denotes that a certain intervention is performed in a correct way. Used especially in a medical context. The 'art' referred to in the phrase is medicine.
In Roman and civil law, a forced share in an estate; the portion of the decedent's estate from which the immediate family cannot be disinherited. From the Frenchhéritier legitime (rightful heir).
The rule whereby a spouse cannot by deed inter vivos or bequeath by testament to his or her second spouse more than the amount of the smallest portion given or bequeathed to any child.
lex in casu
law in the event
A law that only concerns one particular case. See law of the case.
A worker who temporarily takes the place of another with similar qualifications, for example as a doctor or a member of the clergy; usually shortened to locum.
locus classicus
a classic place
The most typical or classic case of something; quotation which most typifies its use.
locus minoris resistentiae
place of less resistance
A medical term to describe a location on or in a body that offers little resistance to infection, damage, or injury. For example, a weakened place that tends to be reinjured.
locus poenitentiae
a place of repentance
A legal term, it is the opportunity of withdrawing from a projected contract, before the parties are finally bound; or of abandoning the intention of committing a crime, before it has been completed.
locus sigili (l.s.)
place of the seal
the area on a contract where the seal is to be affixed
A garbled version of a passage from Cicero's De finibus bonorum et malorum, widely used as a sample text for greeking (laying out text in printing before the final text is available). The original passage reads ...neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit amet consectetur adipisci velit... ("...nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain...").
Motto of the Glass Family (Sauchie, Scotland)[103]
lucus a non lucendo
[it is named] a "grove" because it is not lit
From late 4th-century grammarian Honoratus Maurus, who sought to mock implausible word origins such as those proposed by Priscian. It is a jesting suggestion that since the word lucus (dark grove) has a similar appearance to the verb lucere (to shine), the former word is derived from the latter word because of a lack of light in wooded groves. Often used as an example of absurd etymology, it derives from parum luceat (it does not shine [being darkened by shade]) by Quintilian in Institutio Oratoria.
Plautus' adaptation of an old Roman proverb: homo homini lupus est ("man is a wolf to [his fellow] man"). In Asinaria, act II, scene IV, verse 89 [495 overall]. Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit ("a man to a man is a wolf, not a man, when the other doesn't know of what character he is.")[104]
lupus in fabula
the wolf in the story
With the meaning "speak of the wolf, and he will come"; from Terence's play Adelphoe.
A more literal Latinization of the phrase; the most common translation is fiat lux, from Latin Vulgate Bible phrase chosen for the Genesis line "וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי אוֹר; וַיְהִי-אוֹר" (And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light). Motto of the University of Washington.
Cicero, Paradoxa6/3:49. Sometimes translated into English as "thrift (or frugality) is a great revenue (or income)", edited from its original subordinate clause: "O di immortales! non intellegunt homines, quam magnum vectigal sit parsimonia." (English: O immortal gods! Men do not understand what a great revenue is thrift.)
maior e longinquo reverentia
greater reverence from afar
When viewed from a distance, everything is beautiful. Tacitus, Annales1.47
maiora premunt
greater things are pressing
Used to indicate that it is the moment to address more important, urgent, issues.
mala fide
in bad faith
Said of an act done with knowledge of its illegality, or with intention to defraud or mislead someone. Opposite of bona fide.
With the implication of "signed by one's hand". Its abbreviated form is sometimes used at the end of typewritten or printed documents or official notices, directly following the name of the person(s) who "signed" the document exactly in those cases where there isn't an actual handwritten signature.
Seneca the Younger, De Providentia2:4. Also, translated into English as "[their] strength and courage droop without an antagonist" ("Of Providence" (1900) by Seneca, translated by Aubrey Stewart),[107] "without an adversary, prowess shrivels" (Moral Essays (1928) by Seneca, translated by John W, Basore)[108] and "prowess withers without opposition".
mare clausum
closed sea
In law, a sea under the jurisdiction of one nation and closed to all others.
a consonant used to represent a vowel in writing systems that lack separate vowel characters, such as Hebrew and Arabic script. Translation of Hebrew: אֵם קְרִיאָהʾem kəriʾa.
A Roman law principle that the mother of a child is always known, as opposed to the father who may not be known. This principle had the power of praesumptio iuris et de iure (literally "presumption of law and by law"), meaning that no counter-evidence can be made against this principle.
Less literally, "my foot itches". Refers to a trivial situation or person that is being a bother, possibly in the sense of wishing to kick that thing away or, such as the commonly used expressions, a "pebble in one's shoe" or "nipping at one's heels".
Used in Christian prayers and confession to denote the inherently flawed nature of mankind; can also be extended to mea maxima culpa (through my greatest fault).
remember your mortality; medieval Latin based on "memento moriendum esse" in antiquity.[109]
memento vivere
remember to live
meminerunt omnia amantes
lovers remember all
memores acti prudentes futuri
mindful of things done, aware of things to come
Thus, both remembering the past and foreseeing the future. From the North Hertfordshire District Council coat of arms.
Memoriae Sacrum (M.S.)
Sacred to the
Memory (of ...)
A common first line on 17th-century English church monuments. The Latinized name of the deceased follows, in the genitive case. Alternatively it may be used as a heading, the inscription following being in English, for example: "Memoriae Sacrum. Here lies the body of ..."
mens agitat molem
the mind moves the mass
From Virgil; motto of several educational institutions
Or "Boastful Soldier". Miles Gloriosus is the title of a play of Plautus. A stock character in comedy, the braggart soldier. (It is said that at Salamanca, there is a wall, on which graduates inscribe their names, where Francisco Franco had a plaque installed reading "Franciscus Francus Miles Gloriosus".)
An accommodation between disagreeing parties to allow life to go on. A practical compromise.
Monasterium sine libris est sicut civitas sine opibus
A monastery without books is like a city without wealth
Used in the Umberto Eco novel The Name of the Rose. Part of a much larger phrase: Monasterium sine libris, est sicut civitas sine opibus, castrum sine numeris, coquina sine suppellectili, mensa sine cibis, hortus sine herbis, pratum sine floribus, arbor sine foliis. Translation: A monastery without books is like a city without wealth, a fortress without soldiers, a kitchen without utensils, a table without food, a garden without plants, a meadow without flowers, a tree without leaves.
A common epitaph, from St Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, 1:21 (Mihi enim vivere Christus est et mori lucrum, translated in the King James Bible as: "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain")
mors omnibus
death to all
Signifies anger and depression.
mors tua, vita mea
your death, my life
From medieval Latin, it indicates that battle for survival, where your defeat is necessary for my victory, survival.
Used to justify dissections of human cadavers in order to understand the cause of death.
mortuum flagellas
you are flogging a dead (man)
From Gerhard Gerhards' (1466–1536) [better known as Erasmus] collection of annotated Adagia (1508). Criticising one who will not be affected in any way by the criticism.
an unwritten code of laws and conduct, of the Romans. It institutionalized cultural traditions, societal mores, and general policies, as distinct from written laws.
Conciseness. The term "mipmap" is formed using the phrase's abbreviation "MIP"; motto of Rutland, a county in central England. Latin phrases are often multum in parvo, conveying much in few words.
First recorded by John of Salisbury in the twelfth century and attributed to Bernard of Chartres. Also commonly known by the letters of Isaac Newton: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".
nascentes morimur finisque ab origine pendet
As we are born we die, and our end hangs from our beginning
Cf. Aristotle: "οὐθὲν γάρ, ὡς φαμέν, μάτην ἡ φύσις ποιεῖ" (Politics I 2, 1253a9) and Leucippus: "Everything that happens does so for a reason and of necessity."
nature does not make a leap, thus neither does the law
Shortened form of sicut natura nil facit per saltum ita nec lex (just as nature does nothing by a leap, so neither does the law), referring to both nature and the legal system moving gradually.
Nature is exceedingly simple and harmonious with itself
Sir Isaac Newton's famous quote, defining foundation of all modern sciences. Can be found in his Unpublished Scientific Papers of Isaac Newton: A selection from the Portsmouth Collection in the University Library, Cambridge, 1978 edition[119]
naturalia non sunt turpia
What is natural is not dirty
Based on Servius' commentary on Virgil's Georgics (3:96): "turpis non est quia per naturam venit."
naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret
You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back
You must take the basic nature of something into account. – Horace, Epistles, Book I, epistle X, line 24.
navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse
to sail is necessary; to live is not necessary
Attributed by Plutarch to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, who, during a severe storm, commanded sailors to bring food from Africa to Rome. Translated from Plutarch's Greek "πλεῖν ἀνάγκη, ζῆν οὐκ ἀνάγκη".
ne plus ultra
nothing more beyond
Also nec plus ultra or non plus ultra. A descriptive phrase meaning the most extreme point, or the best form, of something. Most notably the Pillars of Hercules were in the geographic sense the nec plus ultra of the ancient Mediterranean world, before the discovery of the Americas. Holy Roman EmperorCharles V's heraldic emblem contradicted this postulate, using an amended version of the phrase inscribed on two pillars – as plus ultra ("more (lies) beyond"), without the negation, referring to the on-going Spanish colonization of the recently discovered Americas, which lay beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Non plus ultra is the motto of the Spanish exclave of Melilla, situated on a Mediterranean cape 230 km east of the original southern Pillar of Hercules. The Boston Musical Instrument Company engraved ne plus ultra on its instruments from 1869 to 1928 to signify that none were better.
ne puero gladium
do not give a sword to a boy
Never give dangerous tools to someone who is untrained to use them or too immature to understand the damage they can do.
Nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus (inciderit)
That a god not intervene, unless a knot show up that be worthy of such an untangler
"When the miraculous power of God is necessary, let it be resorted to: when it is not necessary, let the ordinary means be used." From Horace's Ars Poetica as a caution against deus ex machina.
The short and more common form of Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit, "Nobody dances sober, unless he happens to be insane," a quote from Cicero (from the speech Pro Murena).
A maxim banning mandatory self-incrimination. Near-synonymous with accusare nemo se debet nisi coram Deo. Similar phrases include: nemo tenetur armare adversarium contra se (no one is bound to arm an opponent against himself), meaning that a defendant is not obligated to in any way assist the prosecutor to his own detriment; nemo tenetur edere instrumenta contra se (no one is bound to produce documents against himself, meaning that a defendant is not obligated to provide materials to be used against himself (this is true in Roman law and has survived in modern criminal law, but no longer applies in modern civil law); and nemo tenere prodere se ipsum (no one is bound to betray himself), meaning that a defendant is not obligated to testify against himself.
Or just "nothing new". The phrase exists in two versions: as nihil novi sub sole (nothing new under the sun), from the Vulgate, and as nihil novi nisi commune consensu (nothing new unless by the common consensus), a 1505 law of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and one of the cornerstones of its Golden Liberty.
A notation, usually on a title page, indicating that a Roman Catholiccensor has reviewed the book and found nothing objectionable to faith or morals in its content. See also imprimatur.
Or "nothing without providence". State motto of Colorado, adopted in 1861. Probably derived from Virgil's Aeneid, book 2, line 777, non haec sine numine divum eveniunt (these things do not come to pass without the will of Heaven). See also numen.
A decree nisi is a court order (often for divorce) that will come into force on a certain date "unless" cause is shown why it should not.
nisi Dominus frustra
if not the Lord, [it is] in vain
That is, "everything is in vain without God". Summarized from Psalm 127 (126 Vulgate), nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem frustra vigilavit qui custodit (unless the Lord builds the house, they work on a useless thing who build it; unless the Lord guards the community, he keeps watch in vain who guards it); widely used motto.
nisi paria non pugnant
it takes two to make a fight
Irascetur aliquis: tu contra beneficiis prouoca; cadit statim simultas ab altera parte deserta; nisi paria non pugnant. (If any one is angry with you, meet his anger by returning benefits for it: a quarrel which is only taken up on one side falls to the ground: it takes two men to fight.) Seneca the Younger, De Ira (On Anger): Book 2, cap. 34, line 5.
nisi prius
unless previously
In England, a direction that a case be brought up to Westminster for trial before a single judge and jury. In the United States, a court where civil actions are tried by a single judge sitting with a jury, as distinguished from an appellate court.
nitimur in vetitum
We strive for the forbidden
From Ovid's Amores, III.4:17. It means that when we are denied of something, we will eagerly pursue the denied thing. Used by Friedrich Nietzsche in his Ecce Homo to indicate that his philosophy pursues what is forbidden to other philosophers.
That is, "whether unwillingly or willingly". Sometimes rendered volens nolens, aut nolens aut volens or nolentis volentis. Similar to willy-nilly, though that word is derived from Old Englishwill-he nil-he ([whether] he will or [whether] he will not).
That is, "Don't upset my calculations!" Said by Archimedes to a Roman soldier who, despite having been given orders not to, killed Archimedes at the conquest of Syracuse, Sicily.
That is, "no contest". A plea that can be entered on behalf of a defendant in a court that states that the accused doesn't admit guilt, but will accept punishment for a crime. Nolo contendere pleas cannot be used as evidence in another trial.
nomen amicitiae sic, quatenus expedit, haeret
the name of friendship lasts just so long as it is profitable
A purported scientific name that does not fulfill the proper formal criteria and therefore cannot be used unless it is subsequently proposed correctly.
non Angli sed angeli, si forent Christiani
They are not Angles, but angels, if they were Christian
A pun, ascribed (in a different wording) by Bede to Pope Gregory I, said to have been uttered by the latter on seeing pale-skinned Angle children at a slave market.
non auro, sed ferro, recuperanda est patria
Not with gold, but with iron must the fatherland be reclaimed
According to some Roman this sentence was said by Marcus Furius Camillus to Brennus, the chief of the Gauls, after he demanded more gold from the citizens of the recently sacked Rome in 390 BC.
See compos mentis. Also rendered non compos sui (not in control of himself). Samuel Johnson theorized that the word nincompoop may derive from this phrase.
non constat
it is not certain
Used to explain scientific phenomena and religious advocations, for example in medieval history, for rulers to issue a 'Non Constat' decree, banning the worship of a holy figure. In legal context, occasionally a backing for nulling information that was presented by an attorney. Without any tangible proof, Non constat information is difficult to argue for.
a doctrine in contract law that allows a signing party to escape performance of the agreement. A claim of "non est factum" means that the signature on the contract was signed by mistake, without knowledge of its meaning, but was not done so negligently. A successful plea would make the contract void ab initio.
non est princeps super leges, sed leges supra principem
the prince is not above the laws, but the law is above the prince.
you should not make evil in order that good may be made from it
More simply, "don't do wrong to do right". The direct opposite of the phrase "the ends justify the means".
non hos quaesitum munus in usus
A gift sought for no such purpose
Virgil, Aeneid, 4:647, of the sword with which Dido will commit suicide. "Not for so dire an enterprise design’d." (Dryden trans.; 1697)[124] "A gift asked for no use like this." (Mackail trans.; 1885).[125] "Ne'er given for an end so dire." (Taylor trans.; 1907)[126] "A gift not asked for use like this!" (Williams trans.; 1910).[127] Quoted by Francis Bacon of the civil law, "not made for the countries it governeth".
A judgment notwithstanding verdict, a legal motion asking the court to reverse the jury's verdict on the grounds that the jury could not have reached such a verdict reasonably.
Used in the sense "what matters is not who says it but what he says" – a warning against ad hominem arguments; frequently used as motto, including that of Southwestern University.
In general, a comment which is absurd due to not making sense in its context (rather than due to being inherently nonsensical or internally inconsistent), often used in humor. As a logical fallacy, a conclusion that does not follow from a premise.
Possibly derived from a Vulgate mistranslation of the Book of Jeremiah. Commonly used in literature as Satan's statement of disobedience to God, though in the original context the quote is attributed to Israel, not Satan.
non sibi
Not for self
A slogan used by many schools and universities.
non sibi, sed patriae
Not for self, but for country
Engraved on the doors of the United States Naval Academy chapel; motto of the USS Halyburton (FFG-40).
From Cicero, based on the Greek γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnothi seauton), inscribed on the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, according to the Greek periegetic writer Pausanias (10.24.1). A non-traditional Latin rendering, temet nosce (thine own self know), is translated in The Matrix as "know thyself".
That is, "nothing". It has been theorized that this expression is the origin of Italiannulla, Frenchrien, and Spanish and Portuguesenada, all with the same meaning.
Carpe-Diem-type phrase from the Odes of Horace, Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus (Now is the time to drink, now the time to dance footloose upon the earth). Used as a slogan by Michelin and the origin of the Michelin Man's name Bibendum.
attributed (in Tacitus, Annales, III, 65) to the Roman EmperorTiberius, in disgust at the servile attitude of Roman senators; said of those who should be leaders but instead slavishly follow the lead of others
in law, an observation by a judge on some point of law not directly relevant to the case before him, and thus neither requiring his decision nor serving as a precedent, but nevertheless of persuasive authority. In general, any comment, remark or observation made in passing
obliti privatorum, publica curate
Forget private affairs, take care of public ones
Roman political saying which reminds that common good should be given priority over private matters for any person having a responsibility in the State
favorite saying of Caligula, attributed originally to Lucius Accius, Roman tragic poet (170 BC)
odi et amo
I hate and I love
opening of Catullus85; the entire poem reads, "odi et amo quare id faciam fortasse requiris / nescio sed fieri sentio et excrucior" (I hate and I love. Why do I do this, you perhaps ask. / I do not know, but I feel it happening to me and I am burning up.)
or "everything sounds more impressive when said in Latin"; a more common phrase with the same meaning is quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur (whatever said in Latin, seems profound)
omnia in mensura et numero et pondere disposuisti
Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight.
This principle of the Benedictine monasteries reads in full: "Ora et labora (et lege), Deus adest sine mora." "Pray and work (and read), God is there without delay" (or to keep the rhyme: "Work and pray, and God is there without delay")
ora pro nobis
pray for us
"Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis pecatoribus"; Brazilian name for Pereskia aculeata
also abbreviated pro domo; speak on one's own behalf; based on a speech by Cicero in legal proceedings in 57 AD to regain his house on the Palatine Hill that was confiscated during his exile[134]
orbis non sufficit
the world does not suffice or the world is not enough
(Let us pray), one for the other; let us pray for each other
Popular salutation for Roman Catholic clergy at the beginning or ending of a letter or note. Usually abbreviated OPI. ("Oremus" used alone is just "let us pray").
"With all due respect to", "with due deference to", "by leave of", "no offence to", or "despite (with respect)". Used to politely acknowledge someone with whom the speaker or writer disagrees or finds irrelevant to the main argument. Ablative form of pax, "peace."
From Juvenal, Satire X, line 81. Originally described all that was needed for emperors to placate the Roman mob. Today used to describe any entertainment used to distract public attention from more important matters.
From "Si vis pacem para bellum": if you want peace, prepare for war—if a country is ready for war, its enemies are less likely to attack. Usually used to support a policy of peace through strength (deterrence). In antiquity, however, the Romans viewed peace as the aftermath of successful conquest through war, so in this sense the proverb identifies war as the means through which peace will be achieved.
Thus, "moving together", "simultaneously", etc. Also used to abbreviate the principle that in bankruptcy creditors must all get the same proportion of their debt.
parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus
The mountains are in labour, a ridiculous mouse will be born.
Less literally, "throughout" or "frequently". Said of a word, fact or notion that occurs several times in a cited text. Also used in proofreading, where it refers to a change that is to be repeated everywhere needed. See also et passim.
Or "master of the house". The eldest male in a family, who held patria potestas ("paternal power"). In Roman law, a father had enormous power over his children, wife, and slaves, though these rights dwindled over time. Derived from the phrase pater familias, an Old Latin expression preserving the archaic -as ending for the genitive case.
Like the vast majority of inhabitants of the ancient world, the Romans practiced pagan rituals, believing it important to achieve a state of Pax Deorum (The Peace of the gods) instead of Ira Deorum (The Wrath of the gods).
Pax, Domine
peace, lord
lord or master; used as a form of address when speaking to clergy or educated professionals
pax et bonum
peace and the good
Motto of St. Francis of Assisi and, consequently, of his monastery in Assisi; understood by Catholics to mean 'Peace and Goodness be with you,' as is similar in the Mass; translated in Italian as pace e bene.
Euphemism for the Spanish Empire; specifically can mean the twenty-three years of supreme Spanish dominance in Europe (approximately 1598–1621). Adapted from Pax Romana.
pax in terra
peace on earth
Used to exemplify the desired state of peace on earth
Peace to those who enter, health to those who depart.
Used as an inscription over the entrance of buildings (especially homes, monasteries, inns). Often benedicto habitantibus (Blessings on those who abide here) is added.
pax matrum, ergo pax familiarum
peace of mothers, therefore peace of families
If the mother is peaceful, then the family is peaceful. The inverse of the Southern United States saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."
Pax tibi, Marce, Evangelista meus. Hic requiescet corpus tuum.
Peace to you, Mark, my Evangelist. Here will rest your body.
Legend states that when the evangelist went to the lagoon where Venice would later be founded, an angel came and said this.[136] The first part is depicted as the note in the book shown opened by the lion of St Mark's Basilica, Venice; registered trademark of the Assicurazioni Generali, Trieste.[137]
A common farewell. The "you" is plural ("you all"), so the phrase must be used when speaking to more than one person; pax tecum is the form used when speaking to only one person.
peccavi
I have sinned
Telegraph message and pun from Charles Napier, British general, upon completely subjugating the Indian province of Sindh in 1842 ('I have Sindh'). This is, arguably, the most terse military despatch ever sent. The story is apocryphal.
According to Suetonius' De vita Caesarum, when Emperor Vespasian was challenged by his son Titus for taxing the public lavatories, the emperor held up a coin before his son and asked whether it smelled or simply said non olet ("it doesn't smell"). From this, the phrase was expanded to pecunia non olet, or rarely aes non olet ("copper doesn't smell").
pecunia, si uti scis, ancilla est; si nescis, domina
if you know how to use money, money is your slave; if you don't, money is your master
Written on an old Latin tablet in downtown Verona (Italy).
pede poena claudo
punishment comes limping
That is, retribution comes slowly but surely. From Horace, Odes, 3, 2, 32.
Thus, "per day". A specific amount of money an organization allows an individual to spend per day, typically for travel expenses.
per fas et nefas
through right or wrong
By fair means or foul
per fidem intrepidus
fearless through faith
per incuriam
through inadvertence or carelessness
Legal term referring to a decision that was made by a court through a clear mistake or unawareness of something, such as forgetting to take some binding precedent into account
per literas regias per lit. reg. per regias literas per reg. lit. etc.
by royal letters
by letters patent; of academic degrees: awarded by letters patent from the King/Queen, rather than by a University[138][139]
Used of a certain place that can be traversed or reached by foot, or to indicate that one is travelling by foot as opposed to by a vehicle
per procura (p.p. or per pro)
through the agency
Also rendered per procurationem. Used to indicate that a person is signing a document on behalf of another person. Correctly placed before the name of the person signing, but often placed before the name of the person on whose behalf the document is signed, sometimes through incorrect translation of the alternative abbreviation per pro. as "for and on behalf of".
per quod
by reason of which
In a UK legal context: "by reason of which" (as opposed to per se which requires no reasoning). In American jurisprudence often refers to a spouse's claim for loss of consortium.
a modern parody of per aspera ad astra, originating and most commonly used in Russia, meaning that the path to success took you through most undesirable and objectionable places or environments; or that a found solution to a complex problem is extremely convoluted.
Also "by itself" or "in itself". Without referring to anything else, intrinsically, taken without qualifications etc. A common example is negligence per se. See also malum in se.
An unwelcome, unwanted or undesirable person. In diplomatic contexts, a person rejected by the host government. The reverse, persona grata ("pleasing person"), is less common, and refers to a diplomat acceptable to the government of the country to which he is sent.
I.e., it is difficult to concentrate on mental tasks after a heavy meal. The following variant is also attested: plenus si venter renuit studere libenter (the belly, when full, refuses to study willingly).
Used by Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator. The type of gesture used is uncertain. Also the name of a famous painting depicting gladiators by Jean-Léon Gérôme.
Or "supreme pontiff". Originally an office in the Roman Republic, later a title held by Roman emperors, and later a traditional epithet of the pope. The pontifices were the most important priestly college of the religion in ancient Rome; their name is usually thought to derive from pons facere ("to make a bridge"), which in turn is usually linked to their religious authority over the bridges of Rome, especially the Pons Sublicius.
Thus, to be able to be made into part of a retinue or force. In common law, a sheriff's right to compel people to assist law enforcement in unusual situations.
possunt quia posse videntur
They can because they think they can
Inscription on the back of Putney medals, awarded to boat race winning Oxfordblues. From Virgil's Aeneid Book V line 231.
post aut propter
after it or by means of it
Causality between two phenomena is not established (cf. post hoc, ergo propter hoc)
post coitum omne animal triste est sive gallus et mulier
After sexual intercourse every animal is sad, except the cock (rooster) and the woman
Or: triste est omne animal post coitum, praeter mulierem gallumque. Attributed to Galen of Pergamum.[142]
post eventum
after the event
Refers to an action or occurrence that takes place after the event that is being discussed (similar in meaning to post factum). More specifically, it may refer to a person who is recounting an event long after it took place, implying that details of the story may have changed over time. (Some sources attribute this expression to George Eliot.)
A logical fallacy where one assumes that one thing happening after another thing means that the first thing caused the second.
post meridiem (p.m.)
after midday
The period from noon to midnight (cf. ante meridiem)
post mortem (pm)
after death
Usually rendered postmortem. Not to be confused with post meridiem
Post mortem auctoris (p.m.a.)
after the author's death
The phrase is used in legal terminology in the context of intellectual property rights, especially copyright, which commonly lasts until a certain number of years after the author's death.
Or "first moving one". A common theological term, such as in the cosmological argument, based on the assumption that God was the first entity to "move" or "cause" anything. Aristotle was one of the first philosophers to discuss the "uncaused cause", a hypothetical originator—and violator—of causality.
A medical precept. Often falsely attributed to the Hippocratic Oath, though its true source is probably a paraphrase from Hippocrates' Epidemics, where he wrote, "Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future; practice these acts. As to diseases, make a habit of two things: to help, or at least to do no harm."
psychological term: the self-formation of the personality into a coherent whole
prior tempore potior iure
earlier in time, stronger in law
“First in time, greater in right.”A maxim meaning that the law favors those who establish their rights earlier rather than later. This principle is often cited in private law to support the claims of prior creditors over later creditors.
serving the interests of a given perspective or for the benefit of a given group.
pro Ecclesia, pro Texana
For Church, For Texas
Motto of Baylor University, a private Christian Baptist university in Waco, Texas.
pro fide et patria
for faith and fatherland
Motto of the originally Irish Muldoon family and of several schools, such as the Diocesan College (Bishops) in Cape Town, South Africa, and All Hallows High School in the Bronx, New York.
Frequently used in taxonomy to refer to part of a group.
pro patria
for country
Pro Patria Medal: for operational service (minimum 55 days) in defence of the Republic South Africa or in the prevention or suppression of terrorism; issued for the Border War (counter-insurgency operations in South West Africa 1966–89) and for campaigns in Angola (1975–76 and 1987–88). Motto of The Royal Canadian Regiment, Royal South Australia Regiment, Hurlstone Agricultural High School.
Medical shorthand for "as the occasion arises" or "as needed". Also "concerning a matter having come into being". Used to describe a meeting of a special Presbytery or Assembly called to discuss something new, and which was previously unforeseen (literally: "concerning a matter having been born").
Denotes something that has only been partially fulfilled. A philosophical term indicating the acceptance of a theory or idea without fully accepting the explanation.
Traditionally inscribed above a city gate or above the front entrance of a dwelling or place of learning.
procedendo
to be proceeded with
From procedendo ad judicium, "to be proceeded with to judgment." A prerogative writ, by which a superior court requires an inferior one to rule on a matter it has neglected.
A prerogative writ, by which a superior court prohibits an inferior court from hearing a matter outside its jurisdiction; also called a writ of prohibition.
propria manu (p.m.)
"by one's own hand"
propter vitam vivendi perdere causas
to destroy the reasons for living for the sake of life
That is, to squander life's purpose just in order to stay alive, and live a meaningless life. From Juvenal, Satyricon VIII, verses 83–84.
protectio trahit subjectionem, et subjectio protectionem
Protection draws allegiance, and allegiance draws protection
Legal maxim, indicating that reciprocity of fealty with protection
Or "you might ask..." Used to suggest doubt or to ask one to consider whether something is correct. Often introduces rhetorical or tangential questions.
as long as he shall have behaved well (legal Latin)
I.e., "[while on] good behavior." So for example the Act of Settlement 1701 stipulated that judges' commissions are valid quamdiu se bene gesserint (during good behaviour). (Notice the different singular, "gesserit", and plural, "gesserint", forms.) It was from this phrase that Frank Herbert extracted the name for the Bene Gesserit sisterhood in the Dune novels.
medical shorthand for "as much as needed" or "as much as will suffice"
quaque hora (qh)
every hour
medical shorthand; also quaque die (qd), "every day", quaque mane (qm), "every morning", and quaque nocte (qn), "every night"
quare clausum fregit
wherefore he broke the close
An action of trespass; thus called, by reason the writ demands the person summoned to answer to wherefore he broke the close(quare clausum fregit), i.e. why he committed such a trespass.
Other translations of diligunt include "prize especially" or "esteem". From Plautus, Bacchides, IV, 7, 18. In this comic play, a sarcastic servant says this to his aging master. The rest of the sentence reads: dum valet sentit sapit ("while he is healthy, perceptive and wise").
from St. Augustine of Hippo's commentary on Psalm 73, verse 1: Qui enim cantat laudem, non solum laudat, sed etiam hilariter laudat ("He who sings praises, not only praises, but praises joyfully")
qui bono
who with good
common misspelling of the Latin phrase cui bono ("who benefits?")
Thus, silence gives consent. Sometimes accompanied by the proviso "ubi loqui debuit ac potuit", that is, "when he ought to have spoken and was able to". Pope Boniface VII in Decretale di Bonifacio VIII, Libro V, Tit. 12, reg. 43 AD 1294
qui prior est tempore potior est jure
Who is first in point of time is stronger in right
As set forth in the "Property Law" casebook written by Jesse Dukeminier, which is generally used to teach first year law students.
qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur
he who brings an action for the king as well as for himself
Generally known as 'qui tam,' it is the technical legal term for the unique mechanism in the federal False Claims Act that allows persons and entities with evidence of fraud against federal programs or contracts to sue the wrongdoer on behalf of the Government.
Or "he who brought us across still supports us", meaning God. State motto of Connecticut. Originally written as sustinet qui transtulit in 1639.
quia suam uxorem etiam suspicione vacare vellet
because he should wish his wife to be free even from any suspicion
Attributed to Julius Caesar by Plutarch, Caesar 10. Translated loosely as "because even the wife of Caesar may not be suspected". At the feast of Bona Dea, a sacred festival for females only, which was being held at the Domus Publica, the home of the Pontifex Maximus, Caesar, and hosted by his second wife, Pompeia, the notorious politician Clodius arrived in disguise. Caught by the outraged noblewomen, Clodius fled before they could kill him on the spot for sacrilege. In the ensuing trial, allegations arose that Pompeia and Clodius were having an affair, and while Caesar asserted that this was not the case and no substantial evidence arose suggesting otherwise, he nevertheless divorced, with this quotation as explanation.
quid agis
What are you doing?
What's happening? What's going on? What's the news? What's up?
quid est veritas
What is truth?
In the Vulgate translation of John 18:38, Pilate's question to Jesus (Greek: Τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια;). A possible answer is an anagram of the phrase: est vir qui adest, "it is the man who is here."
quid novi ex Africa
What of the new out of Africa?
less literally, "What's new from Africa?"; derived from an Aristotle quotation
Commonly used in English, it is also translated as "this for that" or "a thing for a thing". Signifies a favor exchanged for a favor. The traditional Latin expression for this meaning was do ut des ("I give, so that you may give").
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur.
Why do you laugh? Change but the name, and the story is told of yourself.
Or "anything said in Latin sounds profound". A recent ironic Latin phrase to poke fun at people who seem to use Latin phrases and quotations only to make themselves sound more important or "educated". Similar to the less common omnia dicta fortiora si dicta Latina.
quieta non movere
don't move settled things
quilibet potest renunciare juri pro se inducto
anyone may renounce a law introduced for their own benefit
Used in classical law to differentiate law imposed by the state for the benefit of a person in general, but by the state on behalf of them, and one imposed specifically that that person ought to have a say in whether the law is implemented.
Commonly associated with Plato who in the Republic poses this question; and from Juvenal's On Women, referring to the practice of having eunuchs guard women and beginning with the word sed ("but"). Usually translated less literally, as "Who watches the watchmen (or modern, 'watchers')?" This translation is a common epigraph, such as of the Tower Commission and Alan Moore's Watchmen comic book series.
quis leget haec?
Who will read this?
quis, quid, ubi, quibus auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando?
Usually translated "Who is like unto God?" Questions who would have the audacity to compare himself to a Supreme Being. It is a translation of the Hebrew name 'Michael' = Mi cha El Who like God מי/כ/ אל Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל (right to left).
According to Vulgate translation of John 13:36, Saint Peter asked JesusDomine, quo vadis? ("Lord, where are you going?"). The King James Version has the translation "Lord, whither goest thou?"
Medieval Latin title for a prerogative writ by which a court requires some person or entity to prove the source of some authority it is exercising. Used for various purposes in different jurisdictions.
The abbreviation is often written at the bottom of a mathematical proof. Sometimes translated loosely into English as "The Five Ws", W.W.W.W.W., which stands for "Which Was What We Wanted".
quod erat faciendum (Q.E.F.)
which was to be done
Or "which was to be constructed". Used in translations of Euclid's Elements when there was nothing to prove, but there was something being constructed, for example a triangle with the same size as a given line.
quod est (q.e.)
which is
quod est necessarium est licitum
what is necessary is lawful
quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur
what is asserted without reason may be denied without reason
If no grounds have been given for an assertion, then there are no grounds needed to reject it.
what is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to an ox
If an important person does something, it does not necessarily mean that everyone can do it (cf. double standard). Iovi (also commonly rendered Jovi) is the dative form of Iuppiter ("Jupiter" or "Jove"), the chief god of the Romans.
quod me nutrit me destruit
what nourishes me destroys me
Cf. § quod sapit nutrit. Thought to have originated with Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. Generally interpreted to mean that that which motivates or drives a person can consume him or her from within. This phrase has become a popular slogan or motto for pro-ana websites, anorexics and bulimics.[citation needed]
quod natura non dat Salmantica non praestat
what nature does not give, Salamanca does not provide
Refers to the Spanish University of Salamanca, meaning that education cannot substitute the lack of brains.
quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini
What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis did
A well-known satirical lampoon left attached to the ancient "speaking" statue of Pasquino on a corner of the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy.[145] Through a sharp pun the writer criticizes Pope Urban VIII, of the Barberini family, who reused stones and decorations from ancient buildings to build new ones, thus wrecking classical constructions that even the barbarians had not touched.
quod periit, periit
What is gone is gone
What has happened has happened and it cannot be changed, thus we should look forward into the future instead of being pulled by the past.
Whatever is to be supplanted, [must] first be understood
A caution against following a doctrine of Naive Analogy when attempting to formulate a scientific hypothesis.
quod vide (q.v.)
which see
Used after a term, phrase, or topic that should be looked up elsewhere in the current document, book, etc. For more than one term or phrase, the plural is quae vide (qq.v.).
From Cicero's first speechIn Catilinam to the Roman Senate regarding the conspiracy of Catiline: Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? ("For how much longer, Catiline, will you abuse our patience?"). Besides being a well-known line in itself, it was often used as a text sample in printing (cf. lorem ipsum). See also O tempora, o mores! (from the same speech).
An extraordinary or unusual thing. From Juvenal's SatiresVI: rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno ("a rare bird in the lands, and very like a black swan").
in Canon law, a confirmed but unconsummated marriage (which can be dissolved super rato)
re
[in] the matter of
More literally, "by the thing". From the ablative of res ("thing" or "circumstance"). It is a common misconception that the "Re:" in correspondence is an abbreviation for regarding or reply; this is not the case for traditional letters. However, when used in an e-mail subject, there is evidence that it functions as an abbreviation of regarding rather than the Latin word for thing. The use of Latin re, in the sense of "about", "concerning", is English usage.
rebus sic stantibus
with matters standing thus
The doctrine that treaty obligations hold only as long as the fundamental conditions and expectations that existed at the time of their creation hold.
A common debate technique, and a method of proof in mathematics and philosophy, that proves the thesis by showing that its opposite is absurd or logically untenable. In general usage outside mathematics and philosophy, a reductio ad absurdum is a tactic in which the logic of an argument is challenged by reducing the concept to its most absurd extreme. Translated from Aristotle's "ἡ εις άτοπον απαγωγη" (hi eis atopon apagogi, "reduction to the impossible").
A term coined by German-American political philosopher Leo Strauss to humorously describe a fallacious argument that compares an opponent's views to those held by Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party. Derived from reductio ad absurdum.
reductio ad infinitum
leading back to the infinite
An argument that creates an infinite series of causes that does not seem to have a beginning. As a fallacy, it rests upon Aristotle's notion that all things must have a cause, but that all series of causes must have a sufficient cause, that is, an unmoved mover. An argument which does not seem to have such a beginning becomes difficult to imagine. If it can be established, separately, that the chain must have a start, then a reductio ad infinitum is a valid refutation technique.
Written by John of Merania, bishop of Esztergom, to Hungarian nobles planning the assassination of Gertrude of Merania. The full sentence, Reginam occidere nolite timere bonum est si omnes consentiunt ego non contradico, has two contradictory meanings depending on how it is punctuated: either Reginam occidere nolite timere; bonum est; si omnes consentiunt, ego non contradico (do not fear to kill the queen, it is right; if everyone agrees, I do not oppose it) or Reginam occidere nolite; timere bonum est; si omnes consentiunt, ego non; contradico (do not kill the queen; it is good to fear [doing so]; [even] if everyone agrees, I do not; I oppose it). The queen was assassinated as the plotters saw the bishop's message as an encouragement.
State motto of Arkansas, adopted in 1907. Originally rendered in 1864 in the plural, regnant populi ("the peoples rule"), but subsequently changed to the singular.
a period of city planning and architectural updating in Renaissance Italy, i.e. the vast architectural programme begun under Doge Andrea Gritti in Venice[148]
repetita iuvant
repeating does good
Lit: "Repeated things help". Usually said as a jocular remark to defend the speaker's (or writer's) choice to repeat some important piece of information to ensure reception by the audience.
repetitio est mater studiorum
repetition is the mother of study/learning
requiem aeternam dona ei(s), Domine
give him/her (them) eternal rest, O Lord
From the Christian prayer Eternal Rest, said for the dead. Source of the term requiem, meaning the Mass for the Dead or a musical setting thereof.
Or "may he/she rest in peace". A benediction for the dead. Often inscribed on tombstones or other grave markers. "RIP" is commonly reinterpreted as meaning the English phrase "Rest In Peace", the two meaning essentially the same thing.
Voluntarily abandoned property; a form of res nullius that can thereby be acquired principally through occupatio, or by other means in their specific contexts.
res firma mitescere nescit
a firm resolve does not know how to weaken
Used in the 1985 film American Flyers where it is colloquially translated as "once you got it up, keep it up".
A phrase used in law representing the belief that certain statements are made naturally, spontaneously and without deliberation during the course of an event, they leave little room for misunderstanding/misinterpretation upon hearing by someone else (i.e. by the witness who will later repeat the statement to the court). As a result, the courts believe that such statements carry a high degree of credibility, and may admit them as an exception to the rule against hearsay.
A phrase from the common law of torts meaning that negligence can be inferred from the fact that such an accident happened, without proof of exactly how.
A matter which has been decided by a court. Often refers to the legal concept that once a matter has been finally decided by the courts, it cannot be litigated again (cf. non bis in idem and double jeopardy).
res, non verba
"actions speak louder than words", or "deeds, not words"
From rēs ("things, facts") the plural of rēs ("a thing, a fact") + nōn ("not") + verba ("words") the plural of verbum ("a word"). Literally meaning "things, not words" or "facts instead of words" but referring to that "actions be used instead of words".
Goods without an owner. Used for things or beings which belong to nobody and are up for grabs, e.g., uninhabited and uncolonized lands, wandering wild animals, etc. (cf. terra nullius, "no man's land").
Regarded as a legal maxim in agency law, referring to the legal liability of the principal with respect to an employee. Whereas a hired independent contractor acting tortiously may not cause the principal to be legally liable, a hired employee acting tortiously will cause the principal (the employer) to be legally liable, even if the employer did nothing wrong.
Principle behind the awarding of damages in common law negligence claims
resurgam
I shall arise
"I shall rise again", expressing Christian faith in resurrection at the Last Day. It appears, inter alia, in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, as the epitaph written on Helen Burns's grave; in a poem of Emily Dickinson: Poems (1955) I. 56 (" 'Arcturus' is his other name"), I slew a worm the other day – A 'Savant' passing by Murmured 'Resurgam' – 'Centipede'! 'Oh Lord – how frail are we'!; and in a letter of Vincent van Gogh.[149] The OED gives "1662 J. Trapp, Annotations upon the Old and New Testament, in five distinct volumes (London, 1662), vol. I, p. 142: "Howbeit he had hope in his death, and might write Resurgam on his grave" as its earliest attribution in the English corpus.
retine vim istam, falsa enim dicam, si coges
Restrain your strength, for if you compel me I will tell lies
The rigidity of corpses when chemical reactions cause the limbs to stiffen about 3–4 hours after death. Other signs of death include drop in body temperature (algor mortis, "cold of death") and discoloration (livor mortis, "bluish color of death").
risum teneatis, amici?
Can you help laughing, friends?
An ironic or rueful commentary, appended following a fanciful or unbelievable tale.
risus abundat in ore stultorum
laughter is abundant in the mouth of fools
excessive and inappropriate laughter signifies stupidity.
the welfare of the people is to be the highest law
From Cicero's De Legibus, book III, part III, sub. VIII. Quoted by John Locke in his Second Treatise, On Civil Government, to describe the proper organization of government. Also the state motto of Missouri.
From Plautus. Indicates that something can be understood without any need for explanation, as long as the listener has enough wisdom or common sense. Often extended to dictum sapienti sat est ("enough has been said for the wise", commonly translated as "a word to the wise is enough").
sapientia et doctrina
wisdom and learning
Motto of Fordham University, New York. Motto of Hill House School Doncaster, England.
sapientia et eloquentia
wisdom and eloquence
One of the mottos of the Ateneo schools in the Philippines.[151]
Stated originally by Sir Francis Bacon in Meditationes Sacrae (1597), which in modern times is often paraphrased as scientia est potestas or scientia potentia est (knowledge is power).
Used in biological classification to indicate that there is no agreement as to which higher order grouping a taxon should be placed into. Abbreviated sed. incert.
sedet, aeternumque sedebit
sit, be seated forever
from Virgil's Aeneid 6:617: when you stop trying, then you lose
personal motto of Elizabeth I, appears above her royal coat of arms. Used as motto of Elizabeth College, Guernsey, Channel Islands, which was founded by Elizabeth I, and of Ipswich School, to whom Elizabeth granted a royal charter. Also the motto of the City of Leicester and Prince George's County.
A phrase deriving from the Nadere Reformatie movement in the seventeenth century Dutch Reformed Church and widely but informally used in Reformed and Presbyterian churches today. It refers to the conviction of certain Reformed Protestant theologians that the church must continually re-examine itself in order to maintain its purity of doctrine and practice. The term first appeared in print in Jodocus van Lodenstein, Beschouwinge van Zion (Contemplation of Zion), Amsterdam, 1674.[157]
The official name of the Roman Republic. "SPQR" was carried on battle standards by the Roman legions. In addition to being an ancient Roman motto, it remains the motto of the modern city of Rome.
In an effort to understand why things may be happening contrary to expectations, or even in alignment with them, this idiom suggests that keeping track of where money is going may show the basis for the observed behavior. Similar in spirit to the phrase cui bono (who gains?) or cui prodest (who advances?), but outside those phrases' historically legal context.
The answer of St. Michael the Archangel to the non serviam, "I will not serve" of Satan, when the angels were tested by God on whether they will serve an inferior being, a man, Jesus, as their Lord.
From Horace's Ars Poetica, "proicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba" ("he throws down his high-flown language and his foot-and-a-half-long words"). A self-referential jab at long words and needlessly elaborate language in general.
Said to have been based on the tribute to architect Christopher Wren in St Paul's Cathedral, London: si monumentum requiris, circumspice (see above). State motto of Michigan, adopted in 1835; the spelling of 'peninsulam' is used in the motto, although the correct ancient spelling is 'paeninsulam'.
si quid novisti rectius istis, candidus imperti; si nil, his utere mecum.
if you can better these principles, tell me; if not, join me in following them
If you had kept your silence, you would have stayed a philosopher
This quote is often attributed to the Latin philosopher Boethius of the late fifth and early sixth centuries. It translates literally as, "If you had been silent, you would have remained a philosopher." The phrase illustrates a common use of the subjunctive verb mood.
si vales valeo (SVV)
if you are well, I am well (abbr)
A common beginning for ancient Roman letters. An abbreviation of si vales bene est ego valeo, alternatively written as SVBEEV. The practice fell out of fashion and into obscurity with the decline in Latin literacy.
Or "just so". States that the preceding quoted material appears exactly that way in the source, despite any errors of spelling, grammar, usage, or fact that may be present. Used only for previous quoted text; ita or similar must be used to mean "thus" when referring to something about to be stated.
From Virgil, Aeneid book IX, line 641. Possibly the source of the ad astra phrases. Motto of several institutions, including the Royal Canadian Air Force.
A reminder that all things are fleeting. During Papal coronations, a monk reminds the Pope of his mortality by saying this phrase, preceded by pater sancte ("holy father") while holding before his eyes a burning paper illustrating the passing nature of earthly glories. This is similar to the tradition of a slave in a Roman triumphs whispering memento mori in the ear of the celebrant.
sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas
use [what is] yours so as not to harm [what is] of others
Or "use your property in such a way that you do not damage others'". A legal maxim related to property ownership laws, often shortened to simply sic utere ("use it thus").
sic vita est
thus is life
Or "such is life". Indicates that a circumstance, whether good or bad, is an inherent aspect of living.
sic vos non vobis mellificates apes
Thus you not for yourselves make honey, bees.
Part of a verse written by Virgil after the poet Bathyllus plagiarized his work.
sidere mens eadem mutato
Though the constellations change, the mind is universal
similar things are taken care of by similar things let similar things be taken care of by similar things
"like is cured by like" and "let like be cured by like"; the first form ("curantur") is indicative, while the second form ("curentur") is subjunctive. The indicative form is found in Paracelsus (16th century), while the subjunctive form is said by Samuel Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy, and is known as the law of similars.
similia similibus solvuntur
similar substances will dissolve similar substances
Used as a general rule in chemistry; "like dissolves like" refers to the ability of polar or non polar solvents to dissolve polar or non polar solutes respectively.[158]
Used in bibliographies to indicate that the date of publication of a document is unknown.
sine die
without a day
Originally from old common law texts, where it indicates that a final, dispositive order has been made in the case. In modern legal context, it means there is nothing left for the court to do, so no date for further proceedings is set, resulting in an "adjournment sine die".
It is credited to Paracelsus who expressed the classic toxicology maxim "All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison."
A motto of the Protestant Reformation and one of the five solas, referring to the idea that God is the creator of all good things and deserves all the praise for them. Johann Sebastian Bach often signed his manuscripts with the abbreviation S.D.G. to invoke this phrase, as well as with AMDG (ad maiorem Dei gloriam). The motto of the MasterWorks Festival, an annual Christian performing arts festival.
A motto of the Protestant Reformation and one of the five solas, referring to the Protestant claim that the Bible teaches that Jesus is the only mediator between God and mankind. Also rendered solo Christo ("by Christ alone").
Refers to Revelation 3:21, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." On the John Winthrop family tombstone, Boston, Massachusetts.
spiritus mundi
spirit of the world
From The Second Coming (poem) by William Butler Yeats. Refers to Yeats' belief that each human mind is linked to a single vast intelligence, and that this intelligence causes certain universal symbols to appear in individual minds. The idea is similar to Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious.
spiritus ubi vult spirat
the spirit spreads wherever it wants
Refers to The Gospel of Saint John 3:8, where he mentions how Jesus told Nicodemus "The wind blows wherever it wants, and even though you can hear its noise, you don't know where it comes from or where it goes. The same thing happens to whomever has been born of the Spirit." It is the motto of Cayetano Heredia University[163]
splendor sine occasu
brightness without setting
Loosely "splendour without diminishment" or "magnificence without ruin". Motto of British Columbia.
stamus contra malo
we stand against by evil
The motto of the Jungle Patrol in The Phantom. The phrase actually violates Latin grammar because of a mistranslation from English, as the preposition contra takes the accusative case. The correct Latin rendering of "we stand against evil" would be "stamus contra malum".
the rose of old remains only in its name; we hold only empty names
An epigraph quoted at the end of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. A verse by Bernard of Cluny (although likely mistranscribed in medieval times from an original stat Roma pristina nomine..., "primordial Rome remains only in its name...").
Motto of Cork City, Ireland. Adapted from Virgil's Aeneid (II, 23: statio male fida carinis, "an unsafe harbour") but corrupted for unknown reasons to "fide".
most commonly employed in scholarly literature to refer in a summary way to the accumulated results, scholarly consensus, and areas remaining to be developed on any given topic.
A title given to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. More literally translated "the bewilderment of the world", or, in its original, pre-Medieval sense, "the stupidity of the world".
Legal term when a court takes up a motion on its own initiative, not because any of the parties to the case has made the motion. The regimental motto of the 75th Ranger Regiment of the U.S. Army.
Commonly abbreviated s.a., it is used to cite events recorded in chronicles according to the year under which they are listed. For example, "ASC MS A, s.a. 855" means the entry for the year 855 in manuscript A of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
sub cruce lumen
The Light Under the Cross
Motto of the University of Adelaide, Australia. Refers to the figurative "light of learning" and the Southern Cross constellation, Crux.
sub divo
under the wide open sky
Also, "under the sky", "in the open air", "out in the open" or "outdoors". Ablative "divo" does not distinguish divus, divi, a god, from divum, divi, the sky.
sub finem
toward the end
Used in citations to refer to the end of a book, page, etc., and abbreviated 's.f.' Used after the page number or title. E.g., 'p. 20 s.f. '
Source of the English noun subpoena. Said of a request, usually by a court, that must be complied with on pain of punishment. Examples include sub poena duces tecum ("take with you under penalty"), a court summons to appear and produce tangible evidence, and sub poena ad testificandum ("under penalty to testify"), a summons to appear and give oral testimony.
"In secret", "privately", "confidentially", or "covertly". In the Middle Ages, a rose was suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber to indicate that what was said in the "under the rose" was not to be repeated outside. This practice originates in Greek mythology, where Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, and he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure that his mother's indiscretions—or those of the gods in general, in other accounts—were kept under wraps.
sub nomine (sub nom.)
under the name
"in the name of", "under the title of"; used in legal citations to indicate the name under which the litigation continued.
National Motto of Belize, referring to the shade of the mahogany tree.
sub verbo; sub voce
Under the word or heading; abbreviated s.v. Used to cite a work, such as a dictionary, with alphabetically arranged entries, e.g. "Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. 'horse.'""
sublimis ab unda
Raised from the waves
Motto of King Edward VII and Queen Mary School, Lytham
In a class of its own; of a unique kind. E.g. "The City of London is a sui generis entity, with ancient rights that differ from all other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom."
Capable of responsibility. Has both legal and ecclesiastical use. Commonly rendered sui juris.
sum quod eris
I am what you will be
A gravestone inscription to remind the reader of the inevitability of death (cf. memento mori). Also rendered fui quod sis ("I have been what you are") and tu fui ego eris ("I have been you, you will be I").
Literally "highest good". Also summum malum ("the supreme evil").
summum ius, summa iniuria
supreme law, supreme injustice
From Cicero (De officiis, I, 10, 33). An acritical application of law, without understanding and respect of laws's purposes and without considering the overall circumstances, is often a means of supreme injustice. A similar sentence appears in Terence (Heautontimorumenos, IV, 5): Ius summum saepe summa est malitia ("supreme justice is often out of supreme malice (or wickedness)").
sumptibus auctoris
published [cost of printing paid] by author
Found in self-published academic books of the 17th to 19th century. Often preceded by Latin name of city in which the work is published.
From Virgil, Aeneid. Followed by et mentem mortalia tangunt ("and mortal things touch my mind"). Aeneas cries as he sees Carthaginian temple murals depicting the deaths of the Trojan War. See also hinc illae lacrimae.
sunt omnes unum
they are all one
sunt pueri pueri, pueri puerilia tractant
Children are children, and children do childish things
Used in the context of titles of nobility, for instance where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage.
suo motu
upon one's own initiative
Also rendered suo moto. Usually used when a court of law, upon its own initiative, (i.e., no petition has been filed) proceeds against a person or authority that it deems has committed an illegal act. It is used chiefly in South Asia.[citation needed]
Motto of Haileybury College, Hertfordshire. The opening dialogue to the preface of the Eucharistic Prayer or Anaphora in the liturgies of the Christian Church. Hymnal for the German diocese of Paderborn from 1874 to 1975.
Thus, don't offer your opinion on things that are outside your competence. It is said that the Greek painter Apelles once asked the advice of a cobbler on how to render the sandals of a soldier he was painting. When the cobbler started offering advice on other parts of the painting, Apelles rebuked him with this phrase in Greek, and it subsequently became a popular Latin expression.
Thus, "blank slate". Romans used to write on wax-covered wooden tablets, which were erased by scraping with the flat end of the stylus. John Locke used the term to describe the human mind at birth, before it had acquired any knowledge.
talis qualis
just as such
"Such as it is" or "as such".
taliter qualiter
somewhat
talium Dei regnum
for of such (little children) is the kingdom of God
Te occidere possunt sed te edere non possunt nefas est
They can kill you, but they cannot eat you, it is against the law.
The motto of the fictional Enfield Tennis Academy in the David Foster Wallace novel Infinite Jest. Translated in the novel as "They can kill you, but the legalities of eating you are quite a bit dicier".
A reference to the Greek γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnothi seauton), inscribed on the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, according to the Greek periegetic writer Pausanias (10.24.1). Rendered also with nosce te ipsum, temet nosce ("thine own self know") appears in The Matrix translated as "know thyself".
16th century variant of two classical lines of Ovid: tempora labuntur ("time labors", Fasti) and omnia mutantur ("everything changes", Metamorphoses). See entry for details.
tempus edax rerum
time, devourer of all things
Also "time, that devours all things", literally: "time, gluttonous of things", edax: adjectival form of the verb edo to eat. From Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15, 234-236.
From Virgil's Georgics (Book III, line 284), where it appears as fugit inreparabile tempus. A common sundial motto. See also tempus volat, hora fugit below.
tempus rerum imperator
time, commander of all things
"Tempus Rerum Imperator" has been adopted by the Google Web Accelerator project. It is shown in the "About Google Web Accelerator" page. Also, motto of Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.
In archaeology or history, refers to the date before which an artefact or feature must have been deposited. Used with terminus post quem (limit after which). Similarly, terminus ad quem (limit to which) may also refer to the latest possible date of a non-punctual event (period, era, etc.), while terminus a quo (limit from which) may refer to the earliest such date.
terra australis incognita
unknown southern land
First name used to refer to the Australian continent
That is, no man's land. A neutral or uninhabited area, or a land not under the sovereignty of any recognized political entity.
terras irradient
let them illuminate the lands
Or "let them give light to the world". An allusion to Isaiah 6.3: plena est omnis terra gloria eius ("the whole earth is full of his glory"). Sometimes mistranslated as "they will illuminate the lands" based on mistaking irradiare for a futureindicative third-conjugation verb, whereas it is actually a presentsubjunctive first-conjugation verb. Motto of Amherst College; the college's original mission was to educate young men to serve God.
1. Something that cannot be classified into either of two groups considered exhaustive; an intermediate thing or factor. 2. A third person or thing of indeterminate character.
Tibi cordi immaculato concredimus nos ac consecramus
We consecrate and entrust ourselves to your Immaculate heart (O Mary).
The inscription found on top of the central door of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, otherwise known as the Manila Cathedral in the Philippines
Danaos being a term for the Greeks. In Virgil's Aeneid, II, 49, the phrase is said by Laocoön when warning his fellow Trojans against accepting the Trojan Horse. The full original quote is quidquid id est timeo Danaos et dona ferentis, quidquid id est meaning "whatever it is" and ferentis being an archaic form of ferentes. Commonly mistranslated "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts".
timidi mater non flet
A coward's mother does not weep
A proverb from Cornelius Nepos's Vita of Thrasybulus: praeceptum illud omnium in animis esse debet, nihil in bello oportere contemni, neque sine causa dici matrem timidi flere non solere (that old precept has to be held by all in our minds: nothing should be condemned in war, and it is for a reason that it is said the mother of a coward does not weep [for her cowardly son]).
Refrain originating in the response to the seventh lesson in the Office of the Dead. In the Middle Ages, this service was read each day by clerics. As a refrain, it appears also in other poems and can frequently be found inscribed on tombs.
Used to express the belief in the transfer of imperial authority from the Roman Empire of antiquity to the Medieval Holy Roman Empire.
tres faciunt collegium
three makes company
It takes three to have a valid group; three is the minimum number of members for an organization or a corporation.
treuga Dei
Truce of God
A decree by the medieval Church that all feuds should be cancelled during the Sabbath—effectively from Wednesday or Thursday night until Monday. See also Peace and Truce of God.
Thus, "what you are, I was; what I am, you will be.". A memento morigravestone inscription to remind the reader that death is unavoidable (cf. sum quod eris).
tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito
you should not give in to evils, but proceed ever more boldly against them
Found on the Great Seal on the flag of the state of Michigan.
tunica propior est pallio
A tunic is closer [to the body] than a cloak
From Plautus' Trinummus 1154. Equivalent to "blood is thicker than water" in modern English.
turba
lit. 'uproar', 'disturbance', 'crowd'; in music, specifically in the musical settings of the Passion of Jesus, it refers to any text that is spoken by any group of people, including the disciples, the Jews, or the soldiers.
Thus, there can be no judgment or case if no one charges a defendant with a crime. The phrase is sometimes parodied as "where there are no police, there is no speed limit".
Motto of the American Council on Foreign Relations, where the translation of ubique is often given as omnipresent, with the implication of pervasive hidden influence.[169]
ultima forsan
perhaps the last
i.e. "perhaps your last hour." A sundial inscription.
ultima ratio
last method the final argument the last resort (as force)
The last resort. Short form for the metaphor "The Last Resort of Kings and Common Men" referring to the act of declaring war. Used in names such as the French sniper rifle PGM Ultima Ratio and the fictional Reason weapon system. Louis XIV of France had Ultima Ratio Regum ("last argument of kings") cast on the cannons of his armies. Motto of the American 1st Battalion 11th Marines; the French Fourth Artillery Regiment; Swedish Artilleriregementet. Also, the Third Battery of the French Third Marine Artillery Regiment has the motto Ultima Ratio Tribuni. The term is also borne by the gorget owned by Captain William Cattell, which inspired the crescent worn by the revolutionary militia of South Carolina and in turn the state's flag.[170] See also Ultima Ratio Regum (video game).
ultimo mense (ult.)
in the last month
Used in formal correspondence to refer to the previous month. Used with inst. ("this month") and prox. ("next month").
"Without authority". Used to describe an action done without proper authority, or acting without the rules. The term will most often be used in connection with appeals and petitions. Can be used as a preposition: "the court found that the law was ultra vires Parliament."
Equivalent to ad impossibilia nemo tenetur, impossibilium nulla obligatio est and nemo potest ad impossibile obligari.[171][172]
ululas Athenas
(to send) owls to Athens
From Gerhard Gerhards' (1466–1536) [better known as Erasmus] collection of annotated Adagia (1508). Latin translation of a classical Greek proverb. Generally means putting large effort in a necessarily fruitless enterprise. Compare "selling coal to Newcastle".
una hirundo non facit ver
one swallow does not make summer
A single example of something positive does not necessarily mean that all subsequent similar instances will have the same outcome.
una salus victis nullam sperare salutem
the only safety for the conquered is to hope for no safety
Less literally, "the only safe bet for the vanquished is to expect no safety". Preceded by moriamur et in media arma ruamus ("let us die even as we rush into the midst of battle") in Virgil's Aeneid, book 2, lines 353–354. Used in Tom Clancy's novel Without Remorse, where character John Clark translates it as "the one hope of the doomed is not to hope for safety". It was said several times in "Andromeda" as the motto of the SOF units.
Motto for the St. Xavier's Institution Board of Librarians.
uniti aedificamus
united we build
Motto of the Mississippi makerspace community[citation needed]
uno flatu
in one breath
Used in criticism of inconsistent pleadings, i.e. "one cannot argue uno flatu both that the company does not exist and that it is also responsible for the wrong."
uno sumus animo
we are one of soul
Motto of Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
unus multorum
one of many
An average person.
unus papa Romae, unus portus Anconae, una turris Cremonae, una ceres Raconae
One pope in Rome, one port in Ancona, one tower in Cremona, one beer in Rakovník
so that they might drink, since they refused to eat
Also rendered with quando ("when") in place of quoniam. From a book by Suetonius (Vit. Tib., 2.2) and Cicero (De Natura Deorum, 2.3). The phrase was said by Roman admiral Publius Claudius Pulcher right before the battle of Drepana, as he threw overboard the sacred chickens which had refused to eat the grain offered them—an unwelcome omen of bad luck. Thus, the sense is, "if they do not perform as expected, they must suffer the consequences". He lost the battle disastrously.
that the matter may have effect rather than fail[174]
ut retro
as backwards
Or "as on the back side"; thus, "as on the previous page" (cf. ut supra).
ut Roma cadit, sic omnis terra
as Rome falls, so [falls] the whole world
ut sit finis litium
so there might be an end of litigation
A traditional brocard. The full form is Interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium, "it is in the government's interest that there be an end to litigation." Often quoted in the context of statutes of limitation.
Also translated as "that the two may be one." Motto found in 18th century Spanish dollar coins. Motto of Georgetown University.From the Vulgate, Eph. 2:14, Ipse enim est pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum, "For he is our peace, who hath made both one."
An exhortation to Satan to be gone, often a Roman Catholic response to temptation. From a popular Medieval Roman Catholic exorcism formula, derived from the rebuke of Jesus Christ to St. Peter, as quoted in the Vulgate, Mark8:33: vade retro me Satana ("get behind Me, Satan").[176] The phrase "vade retro" ("go back") is also in Terence's Formio, I, 4, 203.
Rendered by Robert Graves in I, Claudius as "as quick as boiled asparagus". Ascribed to Augustus by Suetonius in The Twelve Caesars, Book 2 (Augustus), para. 87. It refers to anything done very quickly. A very common variant is celerius quam asparagi cocuntur ("faster than asparagus [is] cooked").
vel similia
or similar (things), or the like
Abbreviated to vel sim. First attested in English usage in 1861.[177]
the privilege of age sometimes granted a minor under Roman or civil law, entitling the minor to the rights and liabilities of a person of full age, and resembling emancipation of minors in modern law
Used in Metaphysics and specifically in Kant's Transcendental Idealism to refer to a subject as it exists in its logically distinct form rather than as it is perceived by the human faculty.[178][179]
verba docent exempla trahunt
words instruct, illustrations lead
This refers to the relevance of illustrations, for example in preaching.
verba ex ore
words from mouth
Taking the words out of someone's mouth, speaking exactly what the other colloquist wanted to say.
verba ita sunt intelligenda ut res magis valeat quam pereat
words are to be understood such that the subject matter may be more effective than wasted
I. e., when explaining a subject, it is important to clarify rather than confuse.
The de iure motto of Harvard University, United States, which dates to its foundation; it is often shortened to veritas to remove its original religious meaning.
Another plausible translation is "truth is the mistress of life". It is the unofficial motto of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and is inscribed in its tower.
Literally, "in the direction [of]". It is erroneously used in English for "against", probably as the truncation of "adversus", especially in reference to two opponents, e. g., the parties to litigation or a sports match.
The word denotes the right to unilaterally forbid or void a specific proposal, especially legislation. It is derived from ancient Roman voting procedures.
vexata quaestio
vexed question
Latin legal phrase denoting a question that is often debated or considered, but is not generally settled, such that contrary answers may be held by different persons.
The word refers to one who acts in the place of another. It is used as a separate word or as a hyphenated prefix, e. g., "Vice President" and "Vice-Chancellor".
Thus, "the other way around", "conversely", et cetera. Historically, in British English, vice is pronounced as two syllables, but in American and Canadian English the singular-syllable pronunciation is almost universal. Classical Latin pronunciation dictates that the letter "c" is only a hard sound, like "k". Moreover, the letter "v", when consonantal, represents /w/; hence WEE-keh WEHR-sah.[181]
the victorious cause pleased the gods, but the conquered cause pleased Cato
Authored by Lucan in Pharsalia, 1, 128. The dedicatory inscription on the south face of the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States.
vide
"see" or "refer to"
The word is used in scholarly citations.
vide infra (v. i.)
see below
The word is used in scholarly works.
vide supra (v. s.)
see above
The word is used in scholarly works to refer to previous text in the same document. It is sometimes truncated to "supra".
you know [how] to win, Hannibal; you do not know [how] to use victory
According to Livy, a colonel in the cavalry stated this to Hannibal after victory in the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, meaning that Hannibal should have marched on Rome immediately.
The phrase denotes that a thing is legally binding. "A civil obligation is one which has a binding operation in law, vinculum juris." (Bouvier's Law Dictionary (1856), "Obligation")
A principle derived from the ethical theory of Aristotle. Idiomatically, "good practice lies in the middle path" between two extremes. It is disputed whether media or medio is correct.
Alternatively, "by manliness and weapons". The State motto of Mississippi, United States. The phrase was possibly derived from the motto of Lord Gray de Wilton, virtute non armis fido ("I trust in virtue, not in arms").
More simply, "the most certain thing in life is death".
vita mutatur, non tollitur
life is changed, not taken away
The phrase is a quotation from the preface of the first Roman Catholic rite of the Mass for the Dead.
vita patris
during the life of the father
Hence the term "decessit vita patris" (d. v. p) or "died v. p.", which is seen in genealogical works such as Burke's Peerage.
vita summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam
the shortness of life prevents us from entertaining far-off hopes
This is a wistful refrain that is sometimes used ironically. It is derived from the first line of Horace's Ode 1. It was later used as the title of a short poem of Ernest Dowson.
Alternatively, "call to Kingdom". Motto of professional wrestler Triple H, and seen in his entrance video.
vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit
called and not called, God will be present
Alternatively, "called and even not called, God approaches". Attributed to the Oracle at Delphi. Motto of Carl Jung, and inscribed in his home and grave.
Alternatively, "to him who consents, no harm is done". The principle is used in the law of torts and denotes that one can not be held liable for injuries inflicted on another who consented to the act that injured him.
The phrase denotes a brief interview of a common person that is not previously arranged, e. g., an interview on a street. It is sometimes truncated to "vox pop."
By extension, and in common morality, humanity can change their attitudes, but they will hardly change their objectives or what they have set themselves to achieve. Ascribed to Titus by Suetonius in the eighth book (chapter 16) of The Twelve Caesars.
Footnotes
^Assertions, such as those by Bryan A. Garner in Garner's Modern English Usage,[58] that "eg" and "ie" style versus "e.g." and "i.e." style are two poles of British versus American usage are not borne out by major style guides and usage dictionaries, which demonstrate wide variation. To the extent anything approaching a consistent general conflict can be identified, it is between American and British news companies' different approaches to the balance between clarity and expediency, without complete agreement on either side of the Atlantic, and with little evidence of effects outside journalism circles, e.g. in book publishing or academic journals.
There is no consistent British style. For example, The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors has "e.g." and "i.e." with points (periods);[59]Fowler's Modern English Usage takes the same approach,[60] and its newest edition is especially emphatic about the points being retained.[61]The Oxford Guide to Style (also republished in Oxford Style Manual and separately as New Hart's Rules) also has "e.g." and "i.e.";[62] the examples it provides are of the short and simple variety that often see the comma dropped in American usage as well. None of those works prescribe specifically for or against a comma following these abbreviations, leaving it to writers' own judgment.
Some specific publishers, primarily in news journalism, drop one or both forms of punctuation as a matter of house style. They seem more frequently to be British than American (perhaps owing to the AP Stylebook being treated as a de facto standard across most American newspapers, without a UK counterpart). For example, The Guardian uses "eg" and "ie" with no punctuation,[63] while The Economist uses "eg," and "ie," with commas and without points,[64] as does The Times of London.[65] A 2014 revision to New Hart's Rules states that it is now "Oxford style" to not use a comma after e.g. and i.e. (which retain the points), "to avoid double punctuation".[66] This is a rationale it does not apply to anything else, and Oxford University Press has not consistently imposed this style on its publications that post-date 2014, including Garner's Modern English Usage.
By way of US comparison, The New York Times uses "e.g." and "i.e.", without a rule about a following comma – like Oxford usage in actual practice.[67]The Chicago Manual of Style requires "e.g.," and "i.e.,".[68] The AP Stylebook preserves both types of punctuation for these abbreviations.[69]
"British" and "American" are not accurate as stand-ins for Commonwealth and North American English more broadly; actual practice varies even among national publishers. The Australian government's Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers preserves the points in the abbreviations, but eschews the comma after them (it similarly drops the title's serial comma before "and", which most UK and many US publishers would retain).[70]Editing Canadian English by the Editors' Association of Canada uses the periods and the comma;[71] so does A Canadian Writer's Reference.[72] The government publication The Canadian Style uses the periods but not the comma.[73]
Style guides are generally in agreement that both abbreviations are preceded by a comma or used inside a parenthetical construction, and are best confined to the latter and to footnotes and tables, rather than used in running prose.
^"Epistula XI". Epistularum Q. Horatii Flacci Liber Primus. The Society for Ancient Languages. Archived from the original on 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
^Richard Rutherford (2003). Introduction. Medea and Other Plays. By Euripides. Translated by John Davie. London: Penguin Group. p. 153. ISBN0-14-044929-9.
^Caillau, Armand Benjamin (1838). "Sermones de Scripturis" [Conversations about the Scriptures]. Sancti Aurelii Augustini Opera [St. Augustine works] (in Latin). Vol. 4. Paris: Parent-Desbarres. p. 412. Humanum fuit errare, diabolicum est per animositatem in errore manere.
^Law, Jonathan; Martin, Elizabeth A. (2009). "Ex proprio motu". A Dictionary of Law. Oxford University Press.
^Entry for "expressly" in: Meltzer, Peter E. The Thinker's Thesaurus: Sophisticated Alternatives to Common Words. W. W. Norton & Company, 2015 (3rd edition). ISBN0393338975, ISBN9780393338973.
^Garner, Bryan A. (2016). "'e.g.' and 'i.e.'". Garner's Modern English Usage (4th ed.). pp. 322–323, 480. This is an internationalized expansion of what was previously published as Garner's Modern American Usage.
^Ritter, Robert M., ed. (2003). "'e.g.' and 'i.e.'". Oxford Style Manual. Oxford University Press. pp. 704, 768.. Material previously published separately as The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors.
^Butterfield, Jeremy; Fowler, H. W., eds. (2015). "'e.g.' and 'i.e.'". Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 248, 393. Both should always be printed lower case roman with two points and no spaces.
^Ritter, Robert M., ed. (2003). "3.8: e.g., i.e., etc.". Oxford Style Manual. Oxford University Press. pp. 69–70.
^"6.73". Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (5th ed.). Australian Government Publishing Service. 1996. p. 84.
^"4.22: Latin Abbreviations". Editing Canadian English: The Essential Canadian Guide (Revised and Updated (2nd) ed.). McClelland & Stewart/Editors' Association of Canada. 2000. pp. 52–53.. States no rule about the comma, but illustrates use with it in §4.23 on the same page.
^Hacker, Diana; et al. (2008). "M4-d: Be sparing in your use of Latin abbreviations". A Canadian Writer's Reference (4th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's. pp. 308–309. This is a Canadian revision of an originally American publication.
^"12.03: Words commonly misused or confused". The Canadian Style (revised and expanded 2nd ed.). Dundurn Press/Public Works and Government Services Canada Translation Bureau. 1997. pp. 233–234.
^Rapini, Ronald P. (2005). Practical dermatopathology. Elsevier Mosby. ISBN0-323-01198-5.
^Fumagalli, Giuseppe (1987). L'ape latina: dizionarietto di 2948 sentenze, proverbi, motti, divise, frasi e locuzioni latine raccolte, tradotte e annotate. Hoepli. p. 109. ISBN9788820300333.
^Guide to Latin in International Law (2nd ed.) Aaron X. Fellmeth and Maurice Horwitz Oxford University Press 2021
^Sir Bernard Burke (1884). The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time. (London: Harrison).
^Larry D. Benson, ed. The Riverside Chaucer. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. p. 939, n. 3164.
^ abMartínez, Javier (2012). Mundus vult decipi. Madrid: Ediciones Clásicas. p. 9. ISBN978-84-7882-738-1.
^ abHarbottle, Thomas Benfield (1906). Dictionary of Quotations (Classical). The Macmillan Co.
^ abBurton, Robert (1990). Kiessling, Nicolas K.; Faulkner, Thomas C.; Blair, Rhonda L. (eds.). The Anatomy of Melancholy, Part 3, Sect. 4. Memb. 1. Subs. 2.. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. p. 347.
^ abPlutarchus, and Theophrastus, on Superstition; with Various Appendices, and a Life of Plutarchus. Kentish Town: Julian Hibbert. 1828. First Appendix, p. 5. Based in part on material by Daniel Albert Wyttenbach.
^Hall, A. Rupert (1962). Unpublished Scientific Papers of Isaac Newton: A selection from the Portsmouth Collection in the University Library, Cambridge. ISBN0521294363.
^Solodow, Joseph Latin Alive: The Survival of Latin in English and the Romance Languages, Cambridge University Press, 2010 p. 160: "out of the phrase posse comitatus 'the force of the county' arose our present use of posse for a group of men whom the sheriff calls upon in a crisis."
^Blakesley, Christopher L. (2009). "18. Jurisdiction Ratione Personae or the personal reach of the courts jurisdiction". The Legal Regime of the International Criminal Court. Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 421–454. ISBN9789004180635.
^Michael Bush, "Calvin and the Reformanda Sayings", in Herman J. Selderhuis, ed., Calvinus sacrarum literarum interpres: Papers of the International Congress on Calvin Research (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008) p. 286. ISBN978-3-525-56914-6
^Rosmini Serbati, Antonio (2009). Breve schizzo dei sistemi di filosofia moderna e del proprio sistema e Dialogo su la vera natura del conoscere (in Italian). Caviglione, Carlo (Rist. anast ed.). Lanciano: R. Carabba. ISBN978-88-6344-038-6. OCLC849482905.
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