Essential Latin Phrases and Their Meanings
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- Alea iacta est: The die is cast.
- Veni, vidi, vici: I came, I saw, I conquered.
- Et tu, fili: And you, my son.
- Placet: Pleasant, free way.
- Nihil obstat: No impairment.
- Sine die: No time limit.
- Ad kalendas: Never.
- Per capita: Per head.
- Peccata minuta: Insignificant thing.
- Modus operandi: Way of acting.
- Modus vivendi: Way of living.
- Ars amandi: The art of loving.
- Rara avis: Something scarce.
- Sine qua non: Without which, nothing.
- Sui generis: Of its own class or type.
- Ex cathedra: Absolute possession of truth.
- Asinus ex cathedra: No possession of the truth.
- Ultimatum: Last opportunity.
- Referendum: Call to the polls.
- In extremis: In the last moment.
- In articulo mortis: In the time before dying.
- Quid pro quo: Something for something.
- Do ut des: I give so that you may give.
- Spa: Water for health.
- Campus: Grounds excluding classrooms.
- Dura lex, sed lex: The law is hard, but it is the law.
- Si vis pacem, para bellum: If you want peace, prepare for war.
- Si hoc credis, erras: If you believe that, you are mistaken.
- Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta: An unsolicited excuse is an accusation of oneself.
- Testis unus, testis nullus: One witness is no witness.
- Bonus, nisi bonum, non datur: The first is not given unless it is good.
- Willy-nilly: Like it or not.
- Mutatis mutandis: Changing what needs to be changed.
- Alter ego: My other self.
- Vox populi: Something known by everyone.
- Corpus delicti: Body of the crime.
- Quorum: Minimum number of people required for an assembly.
- Agenda: Things to be done.
- Corrigenda: Things to be corrected.
- Addenda: Things to be added.
- Caption: Things to be read.
- Lapsus mentis: Slip of the mind.
- Lapsus calami: Slip of the pen.
- Lapsus linguae: Slip of the tongue.
- Cum laude: With praise.
- In situ: In the original place.
- Tabula rasa: Blank slate.
- Deficit: Error in accounts.
- Inopia: Lack of ideas.
- Ante: Before.
- Accesit: A second prize.
- Post: After.
- Curriculum vitae: Details of your life and work.
- Mens sana in corpore sano: A sound mind in a sound body.
- Sepulto: Buried.
- Ecce homo: Behold the man.
- Rigor mortis: Stiffness after death.
- Ante/Post mortem: Before or after death.
- Ante/Post meridiem: Before or after noon.
- Circa: Approximately.
- Motu proprio: On one's own initiative.
- Vis comica: Comic power.
- Persona non grata: Unwelcome person.
- Cogito, ergo sum: I think, therefore I am.
- Ad hoc: Specifically for this.
- Homo homini lupus: Man is a wolf to man.
- Plus ultra: Further beyond.
- Sic: Thus (literally).
- Vae victis: Woe to the vanquished.
- In mente: In mind.
- Mea culpa: My fault.