|
| A priori | From that which comes before |
| a.m. ante meridiem | Before midday |
| AD (Anno domini) | In the year of our Lord |
| Ad acta | To the archives, i.e. consider the matter as closed |
| Ad hoc | Improvised – made up for a particular purpose |
| Ad infinitum | To infinity |
| Ad nauseum | To the point of making one sick |
| Alea iacta est | The die is cast |
| Antebellum | Before the war |
| Bona fide | In good faith |
| Carpe diem | Seize the day |
| Casus belli | A reason for war |
| Caveat emptor | Let the buyer beware |
| Circa (c.) | Approximately |
| Corpus delicti | The body of a crime |
| Cui bono? | For whose benefit? |
| Cum laude | With praise |
| De facto | In reality/of the fact |
| De iure | According to law |
| Deus ex machina | "A God out of a machine" A contrived or artifical solution |
| Divide et impera | Divide and rule / divide and conquer |
| Errare humanum est | To err is human |
| Et cetera (etc.) | And the rest |
| Ex ante | before the event, beforehand |
| Ex cathedra | "from the chair" i.e. with authority |
| Ex post facto | after the event, retrospectively |
| Fecit (fec.) | Made by |
| Id est (i.e.) | That is to say |
| In absentia | "In the absence" |
| In camera | "In the chamber", i.e. in secret |
| In loco parentis | In the place of a parent |
| In situ | In position |
| Inter alia | Among other things |
| Ipso facto | By that very fact |
| Mea culpa | My fault |
| Modus operandi (M.O.) | Mode of operation |
| Mutatis mutandis | The necessary changes having been made |
| Nolens volens | Whether one likes it or not |
| Nomen ist omen | The name is a sign / true to its name |
| Non sequitur | It does not follow |
| Nulli secundus | Second to none |
| Ora et labora | Pray and work |
| Panem et circenses | Bread and circuses. Food and games to keep the people happy |
| p.m. (post meridiem) | After midday |
| Per annum (p.a.) | Annually |
| Per centum | Per hundred |
| Per diem | Per day (daily allowance) |
| Per se | By itself/in itself |
| Postscriptum (PS) | "After writing" |
| Prima facie | At first sight, on the face of it |
| Primus inter pares | First among equals |
| Pro bono (publica) | For the public good (work undertaken free of charge) |
| Pro forma | As a matter of formality |
| Pro rata | In proportion to the value |
| Quod erat demonstrandum (QED) | "That which was to have been demonstrated" i.e. proof is complete |
| Quasi | As if |
| Quid pro quo | Something for something (an equal exchange) |
| Salve | Hello |
| Sic | Thus,just so |
| Sine nobilitas | Without nobility (SNOB) |
| Sotto voce | In a soft voice |
| Status quo | The current state of being |
| Tabula rasa | A clean slate |
| Tempus fugit | Time flees |
| Verba volant,scripta manent | Spoken words fly away, written words remain |
| Vice versa | In reverse order |
| Vox populi | The voice of the people |
For a more extensive list of Latin phrases, I recommend this online Latin English translation dictionary - especially if you need to translate gems such as: Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat! (Darn! There goes my beeper!) or Me transmitte sursum, caledoni! (Beam me up, Scotty!).
| TIP! When you search Google using "translate Latin English" or "Latin English translation" etc. you keep getting sent to webpages which are simply link directories. It's most irritating and a real time waster. So I'll be adding more good Latin language links which provide real content - watch this space! |
And, as a last comment on Latin English translation, a quote from Horace. I find the most appropriate translation for this quote is this one by André Lefevere:
| Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus, interpres "Do not worry about rendering word for word, faithful interpreter, but translate sense for sense". |
How appropriate.
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