A

ab extra - from
without ab imo pectore - from the bottom of the heart
ab incunabulis - from the cradle
ab initio - from the beginning
ab intra - from within
ab origine - from the beginning
ab ovo - from the beginning (lit. from the egg)
ab ovo usque ad
malas - from beginning to end (lit. from the egg to the apples - at
a Roman banquet)
ab uno disce omnes - from one, learn of all others
ab urbe condita - from the founding of the city (of Rome) absens hoeres non erit - out of
sight out of mind (lit. the absent will not be heir)
absente reo - the accused being
absent
absit invidia - envy
apart (lit. let ill-will be absent) absit omen - let this not be a
portent [of evil] ab uno disce omnes - from one, learn of the
others ab urbe condita - from the foundation
of the city [of Rome] a capite ad calcem - from head to toe (lit.
from head to heel) a cruce salus - salvation from the cross ad
aperturam (libri) - at
the opening (of the book), wherever the book opens
ad arbitrium - at pleasure
ad calendas Graecas - never (lit. at the Greek
calends - not in their calendar) ad captandum vulgus - to please the
crowd a Deo et rege - from God and the king
ad extremum - to extremes, to the last a die - from that day ad
extremum - to the last
ad finem - to the end
ad gustum - to one's taste
ad hoc - for a specific purpose
ad hominem - arguing
to the emotions and not to reason (lit. to the man) adhuc sub judice
lis est - the matter is still undecided and not to be interfered with from the outside (lit. the case is still before
the judge)
ad infinitum - on and on, to infinity
ad instar - in the fashion of
ad interim - in the meantime, meantime
ad internecionem - to the last (lit. to extermination)
ad libitum - at pleasure
ad locum - at the place
ad
majorem Dei gloriam - to the greater glory of God (the motto of the
Jesuit order) ad modum - in the manner of ad multos annos - for
many years [Happy birthday!] ad nauseam - annoyingly with no end
(lit. to disgust] ad patres - deceased (lit. to the
parents) ad referendum - for further consideration ad
rem - to the point; for the purpose for which it is
intended adscriptus glebae - attached to the land adsum -
Present! Here! (lit. I am here) ad summum - to the highest
point/degree ad unguem - to a nicety, precicely (lit. to the
nail) ad unum omnes - to the last man (lit. all to one)
ad utrumque paratus -
prepared for either eventuality
ad valorem - to the (correct) value ad vitam aut
culpam - until some misconduct is proven (lit. to life or fault) ad
vivum - lifelike aegrescit medendo - he gets worse with the remedies
he uses aequabiliter et diligenter - equably and diligently aequo
animo - unperturbed, with equanimity (lit. with equal mind) aere
perennius - more lasting than brass aes triplex - showing tremendous
courage (lit. triple brass) aetatis suae - of his/her age a
fortiori - with stronger reason age quod agis - concentrate on what
you are doing (lit. do what you do) alere flammam - to
feed the flame alieni appetens, sui profusus - greedy for the
possessions of others, lavish with one's own alter ego - another
self alter idem - another exactly the same alter ipse amicus - a
friend who is one's counterpart alterum tantum - as much
more altius citius fortius - higher, faster, stronger (motto of the
modern Olympic Games) amantium irae amoris integratio - lovers'
quarrels are the making of love a maximis ad minima - from the
greatest to the least amici probantur rebus adversis - friends are
proven in adversity amicus humani generis - a friend of the human
race amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas - Plato is a friend, but
truth a greater friend amicus usque ad aras - a friend to
the very end (lit. to the sacrificial altars0 amor patriae -
love of country anglice - in English, in the English
language anguis in herba - a false friend (lit. a snake in the
grass) animo et fide - with courage and faith
anno - in the year
anno
aetatis suae - in the year of his/her age anno Christi - in the year
of Christ anno Domini - in the year of our Lord anno humanae
salutis - in the year of mankind's redemption
anno mundi - in the year of the world anno urbis conditae- from the
year of the founding of the city (of Rome)
annus terribilis - a horrible year
annus mirabilis - a year of wonders
[a.d.1666, great fire of London] ante lucem - before the dawn ante
meridiem - before noon, in the morning a posse ad esse - from
possibility to reality aquila non capit muscas - an eagle does
not chase/catch flies arbiter bibendi - master of ceremonies,
toastmaster (lit. the judge of drinking) arbiter eleganiaraum - an
authority on good taste Arcades ambo - fellows of the same cloth
(lit. Arcadians both) arcana caelestia - heavenly mysteries arcana
imperii - State secrets ardentia verba - glowing
words/language argumentum ad crumenam - an agrument to one's own
interest (lit. to the purse) argumentum ad hominem - an argument to
one's interests and prejudices (lit. to the man) argumentum ad
ignorantiam - an argument aimed at the other's ignorance argumentum
ad judicium - an argument appealing to the judgement argumentum ad
verecundiam - an argument appealing to modesty argumentum baculinum -
brute force (lit. an argument with cudgels argumentum ad rem -
an argument sticking to the matter in hand arrectis auribus - all
attention (lit. with ears pricked up) ars est cerare artem -
true art is to conceal art ars gratia artis - art for the sake
of art (the motto of film-makers MGM)
ars longa, vita brevis - art is long, life
is short
Artium Magister - master of
arts asinus ad lyram - an awkward individual (lit. an ass on the
harp/lyre) at spes non fracta - but hope is not
crushed/broken audaces fortuna juvat - fortuna helps/favours the
bold audentes fortuna juvat - fortuna helps/favours the bold audi
alteram partem - hear/listen to the other side audiatur et altera
pars - let the other side also be heard aurea mediocritas - the
golden/happy mean [middle way] auri sacra fames - the accursed
craving for money (lit. the sacred hunger of gold) auspicium melioris
aevi - a sign of a better age [to come] aut Caesar aut nullus -
either Caesar or no one aut inveniam viam aut faciam - either I shall
find a way or I shall make one aut vicere aut mori - victory or
death (lit. either to conquer or to die) auxilium ab alto - help from
on high Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant - Hail, Emporor, those
about to die [in the arena] salute you a verbis ad verbera
- from words to blows avito viret honore - she/he flourishes on the honours on his ancestors
Ave Maria - Hail Mary (the first words of a Catholic prayer)
B 
bella matribus detetsta - wars hated by mothers
bellum internecinum - a war of extermination
bene orasse est bene studuisse - to have prayed well is to have
studied well
bene placet - it meets with approval (lit. it pleases well)
bis dat qui cito dat - who give quickly gives twice
bis pueri senes - old men are boys twice
bona fide - in good faith
bona fides - in law, sincerity or the honest intention (lit.
good faith)
brevi manu - extemporaneouly, without thought or preparation
(lit. with a short hand)
brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio - I become obscure when I try
to be brief
brutum fulmen - a harmless thunderbolt
C 
cadit questio - there is no more discussion on an issue (lit.
the question /proposition falls)
caeca est invidia - envy is blind
caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt (lit. they
change their sky but not their feeling who go overseas)
caetera desunt -here there is a break in proceedings (lit. the
rest is wanting)
caeteris paribus - all things being equal
candida pax - white (robed) peace
cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator - the penniless have
nothing to lose (lit. the destitute will sing before the highway
robber)
cantate Domino - sing ye to the Lord
caput mortuum - worthless residue (lit. a dead head)
carent quia vate sacro - they lose out with no poet (to sing
their praises)
carpe diem - take the opportunity, enjoy the day (lit. grasp the
day)
casus belli - what justifies or causes war (lit. a case of
war)
causa sine qua non - an essential condition (lit. a condition
without which)
cave canem - beware (of) the dog
caveat emptor - let the buyer beware
cavendo tutus - safe through caution
cedant arma togae - let the military yield to the civil (lit.
let arms yield to togas)
censor morum - a censor of morals
cetera desunt -here there is a break in proceedings (lit. the
rest is wanting)
ceteris paribus - all things being equal
clarior e tenebris - clearer from obscurity
clarum et venerabile nomen - a famous and venerable name
cocullus non facit monachum - don't trust appearances (lit.
the cowl does not make the monk)
cogito, ergo sum - I think, therefore I am/exist.
comitas inter gentes - politeness between nations
commune bonum - a /the common good
commune periculum concordia parit - a common danger begets
harmony
communi consensu - by common consent
communibus annis - on an annual average
componere lites - to settle quarrels /cases at law
compos mentis - sound of mind
compos voti - having obtained one's wish
concio ad clerum - preaching to the converted (lit. a sermon to
the clergy)
concordia discors - discordant harmony
confido et conquiesco - I trust and am at peace
coniunctis viribus - with united powers
consensus facit legem - consent makes laws
consilio et animis - by wisdom and courage
consilio et prudentia - by wisdom and prudence
constantia et virtute - through constancy and bravery/virtue
consuetudo pro lege servatur - custom is held as law
contra bona mores - against good manners
copia verborum - a (rich) supply of words
coram nobis - in our presence, before us
coram non judice - before one who is not a proper judge
coram populo - before the people
corrigenda - things to be corrected /amended
corruptio optimie pessima - a corruption of what is best is the
worst (one of all)
cos ingeniorum - a flint for wits
crambe repetita - a truism /old joke repeated (lit. cabbage
repeated)
credat Judeus Apella - tell that to the marines (lit. let Apella
the Jew believe that)
crede quod habes, et habes - believe that you have it, and you
do
credo quia absurdum - I believe it because it is absurd
credo quia impossible est - I believe it because it is
impossible
crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crescit - the love of
wealth grows as one's money does
crescit eundo - it increases as it goes
crescit sub pondere virtus - virtue increases under oppression
(the McCann family motto)
crimen falsi - the crime of perjury (lit. the crime of
falsehood)
crimen laesae majestatis - leze-majesty, the crimen of high
treason (lit. the crime of injury of the monarch)
crux - a puzzle, a difficulty (lit. a cross)
crux criticorum - the puzzle of critics
crux mediocorum - a puzzle for medical doctors
cui bono - to what good, to whose advantage, to what end
cui fortuna ipsa cedit - to whom Fortune herself yields
cuilibet in arte sua credendum est - each man in his own
specialisation is to be believed
culpam poena premit comes - punishment comes hard on the heels
of crime
cum bona venia - by your kind leave /permission
cum grano salis - with a grain of salt
cum multis aliis - with many others
cum notis variorum - with the notes of various
(commentators)
cum privilegio - with licence /privilege from authority
curiosa felicitas - a happy expression / turn of phrase
currente calamo - with a hasty /rapid hand (lit. with a running
pen)
custos morum - the guardian of morals /manners
D 
da locum melioribus - give way to your betters
damnant quod non intelligunt - they condemn what they do not
understand
dare pondus fumo - to give imporance to trivia (lit. to give
weight to smoke)
data et accepta - expenses and receipts
date obolum Belesario - to help the poor (lit. to give a
farthing to Belesarius)
Davus sum, non Oedipus - I am bad at puzzles (lit. I am Davus,
not Oedipus)
de bono augure - with a good omen /sign
deceptio visus - an optical illusion
decet verecundum esse adolescentum - it becomes a young person
to be modest
decies repetita placebit - repeated ten times, it will still
please
decipimur specie recti - we are deceived by the show of
righteousness
decori decus addit avito - he adds distinction to his
ancestry
de die in diem - from day to day
de facto - in fact, in point of fact, actually
de gustibus non est disputandum - there is no accounting for
taste (lit. there is no disputing after taste)
Dei gratia - by the grace of God
de integro - from the beginning, from the start, afresh,
anew
de jure - by right, by law
delenda est Cartago - Carthage must be destroyed (lit.
deleted)
de minimis non curat lex - the law does not concern itself with
trivia
de mortuis, nihil nisi bonum - (speak) of the dead, nothing but
good
de nihilo, nihil fit - from nothing, nothing is made
de novo - afresh, anew
de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis - of all and certain other
things
de profundis - from /out of the depths (first words of Psalm
129)
Deo adjuvante - with God assisting
Deo duce- with God as leader
Deo favente - God favouring
Deo gratias - thanks (be) to God
Deo juvante - with God helping, with God's help
Deo volente - God willing, by God's will
Deo, non fortuna - from God, not from chance
desunt caetera - there is more to follow (lit. the rest is
wanting)
detur digniori - let it be given to the more worthy
detur pulchriori - let it be given to more beautify
Deus advertat - God forbid!
Deus ex machina - a solution for the impossible problem (lit.
God from a machine)
Deus vobiscum! - God be with you
Deus vult - God wishes it
dictum factum - no sooner said than done (lit. said done)
dies non - a day on which a court does not sit
digito mostrari - a person of note (lit. with the finger to be
pointed out)
dignus vindice nodus - a difficulty worthy of note
Dii majorum gentium - the twelve Gods of the upper (Roman)
classes
Dii penates - the (Roman) household Gods
Diis aliter visum - fate willed /thought differently (lit. seen
otherwise by the Gods) divide et impera - divide and rule
do ut des - I give so that you may give, reciprocal
arrangement
docendo discimus - by teaching, we learn
Dominus vobiscum - the Lord be with you
domus et placens uxor - a house and a pleasing wife
dramatis personae - (the cast of) characters in a play
ducit amor patriae - the love of country leads (me on)
dulce domum - back homewards, sweet home
dulce est disipere in loco - it is pleasant (at times) to play
the fool
dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - it is pleasant and proper
to die for the county (first line of Horace's Ode, II,13)
dum spiro, spero - where there's life, there's hope
(lit. while I breathe, I hope)
dum vivimus, vivamus - live life to the full (lit. while we
live, let us live)
durante bene placito - at the pleasure of (lit. during good
pleasure)
durante vita - for life (lit. during life)
E 
e contra - on the other hand (lit. from against)
e pluribus unum - from many, one (the motto of the United States
of America)
e re nata - according to the need (lit. born from the thing)
Ecce homo! - behold the man (Pontius Pilate's words about
Christ, cf. Jn. 19,5)
Ecce signum" - behold the sign
editio princeps - the first printed edition of a book
ego et rex meus - my king and I
Eheu! - alas!
elapso tempore - the time having elapsedc emeritus /emerita -
retired or pensioned off male /female after long and faithful
service
eo animo - with that purpose (lit. with that mind)
eo nomine - by that name
epulis accumbere divum - to sit at the banquet of the gods
ererpta - extracts
errare humanum est - to err is human
errata - errors noted and corrected
erratum - an error noted and corrected
esse, quam videri - to see, rather than to seem (be seen) to
be
est modus in rebus - there is a middle way /medium in (all)
things
esto quod esse videris - be what you seem to be
et caetera - and so on (lit. and the rest)
et cetera - and so on (lit. and the rest)
et hoc genus omne - and everything of the kind
et id genus omen - and everything of the kind
et sequentes / et sequentia - and the following
et sic de ceteris - and so of the rest
et sic de similibus - and so of the similar
et tu, Brute - and you (as well), Brutus (Julius Caesar's
words to his murderer)
eventus stultorum magister - fools are taught by results (lit.
events (are) the teacher of fools)
ex - from, out of (Latin preposition)
ex abrupto - suddenly
ex abundantia - out of abundance, generosity
ex adverso - on the other side
ex aequo et bono - from what is fair and good
ex animo - sincerely, honestly (lit. from the spirit)
ex auctoritate mihi comissa - by virtue of the authority
entrusted on me
ex capite - from memory (lit. from the head)
ex cathedra - with (Papal) teaching authority (lit. from the
chair)
ex concesso - from what has been conceded in the argument
ex curia - out of court
ex delicto - from the crime
ex dono - by way of gift (lit. from the gift)
ex facto jus oritur - the law spings from the fact
ex gratia - as a favour rather than as a right or obligation
(lit. from a favour)
ex hypothesi - a proposition without assumption (lit. from a
hypothesis)
ex libris - a label pasted on the front page of a book by the
owner (lit. out of the books)
ex mera gratia - by mere favour
ex mero motu - by (one's own) free will /impulse
ex more - according to custom
ex necessitate rei - from the need /necessity of the matter
ex nihilo - our of nothing
ex offico - by right attaching to a position, status or office
(lit. from the office)
ex opere operato - by the outward acts
ex parte - a petition by one interested party in a legal case
(lit. from the side of)
ex pede Herculem - we calculate the whole from the sample (lit.
from the foot, Hercules)
ex post facto - retroactively, with retrospective force (lit.
from an after deed)
ex professo - admittedly (lit. professedly)
ex propriis - from /out of one's own (means / resources)
ex quocunque capite - for whatever reason
ex silentio - in the absence of contrary evidence (lit. out of
silence)
ex tacito - silently, tacitly
ex tempore - on the spur of the moment (lit. out of time)
ex ungue, leonem - we calculate the whole from the sample (lit.
from the nail, the lion)
ex uno, discunt omnes - from one, all learn
ex usu - by use
ex vi termini - by virtue /force of the word /term
ex voto - by vow, according to a prayer /vow, an action
following a promise (lit. out of a vow)
excelsior - higher, taller
exceptio probat regulam - the exception proves the rule
excreta - body wastes, especially urine and faeces
exeat - a permission to leave a college or diocese
Exegi monumentum aere perennius - I have
raised a monument more lasting than brass (the first line of Horace's
Ode III, 30)
exempla sunt odiosa - examples are odious /offensive
exempli gratia - by way of example
exit - a door to leave a building (lit. he/she went out)
exitus acta probat - the outcome proves the deeds
experientia docet stultos - experience teaches fools
experimentum crucis - a trying matter /trial (lit. an experiment
of the cross)
experto crede - believe in the expert
expertus metuit - having experience it, he now fears it
extinctus amabitur idem - dead, he will be loved the same
F 
fugaces labuntur anni - the fleeting years pass by
G 
gratis - without charge, for free
I 
imprimi potest - it is allowed to be published
imprimatur - a Catholic ecclesiastical permission of a work to
be published (lit., it may be published), by extension - an
official approval
M 
mutatis mutandis - the necessary things having been changed
N 
nihil obstat - nothing stands in the way (of the work being
published), ecclesiatical approval for a work to be printed.
P 
pace - by consent /permission /leave of, not to give offence
to
pace tua - by you leave /consent /permission
per capita - by head of population (L. caput, head, plural,
capita) Usually used in the plural in economic matters. per caput
- by head (of population).
pro bono - for free, no charge, (lit. for the good)
Q 
quondam - sometime in the past, formerly, once.
S 
scilicet - namely, to wit (abbreviated at times to sc. or
scil.)(q.v.)
sine qua non - an essential condition - abbreviation of
'causa sine qua non', (q.v.)
sub judice - popular abbreviated form of adhuc sub judice lis
est (q.v.)
V 
Vade Mecum - a prayer book for journeys (lit. Go with me)
versus - Latin preposition 'against', used in games Team A -v- Team B.
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