Dreaming in Latin

 

Other Phrases of Latin Origin

Lang	Phrase	Meaning
Latin	ad absurdam	to the point of absurdity
Latin	ad hoc	for this purpose only
Latin	ad infinitum	endlessly, forever
Latin	ad lib	improvised, without preparation
Latin	ad nauseam	endlessly, to the point of nausea
Latin	a fortiori	even more so, all the more
Latin	alma mater	one’s old university or school
Latin	alter ego	another self
Latin	anno domini (A.D.)	after the birth of Christ
Latin	annus mirabilis	wonderful year
Latin	ante bellum	before the war
Latin	a posteriori	inductive, empirical
Latin	a priori	deductive
Latin	aqua vitae	water of life
Latin	ars longa vita brevis	art is long, life is short
Latin	aurora borealis	northern lights
Latin	bona fide	in good faith
Latin	camera obscura	dark chamber
Latin	carpe diem	seize the day
Latin	casus belli	justification for an act of war
Latin	caveat emptor	let the buyer beware
Latin	ceteris paribus	other things being equal
Latin	coitus interruptus	withdrawal prior to ejaculation
Latin	compos mentis	of sound mind, sane
Latin	corpus delicti	evidence of a crime
Latin	cui bono?	to whose benefit?
Latin	curriculum vitae (CV)	résumé
Latin	de facto	in fact
Latin	de jure	based on law
Latin	delirium tremens	alcohol withdrawal symptoms
Latin	de profundis	out of the depths
Latin	deus ex machina	unexpected or improbable explanation
Latin	dramatis personae	characters in a play
Latin	ecce homo	behold the man
Latin	e pluribus unum	out of many, one
Latin	ergo	therefore, consequently
Latin	et al.	and others
Latin	etc.	and so forth
Latin	Et tu, Brute?	You too, Brutus?
Latin	ex cathedra	authoritative statement
Latin	exempli gratia (e.g.)	for example
Latin	ex officio	by right of office
Latin	ex post facto	retroactive
Latin	flagrante delicto	in the act
Latin	genius loci	spirit of the place
Latin	habeas corpus	writ requiring a prisoner to be brought to trial
Latin	ibid.	in the same place
Latin	id est (i.e.)	that is
Latin	in absentia	in the absence
Latin	in camera	in secret, in private
Latin	in extremis	in extremity, near death
Latin	in flagrante delicto	in the act
Latin	infra dig	vulgar, beneath one’s dignity
Latin	in loco parentis	in place of a parent
Latin	in medias res	in the middle of things
Latin	in situ	in its place
Latin	inst.	in the present month
Latin	inter alia	among other things
Latin	in toto	in all, altogether
Latin	in vino veritas	there is truth in wine
Latin	in vitro	in a test tube
Latin	ipso facto	by definition
Latin	magnum opus	great work
Latin	mea culpa	my fault
Latin	memento mori	reminder of death
Latin	mens sana in corpore sano	a healthy mind in a healthy body
Latin	modus operandi	way of doing things
Latin	modus vivendi	way of living
Latin	mutatis mutandis	with the necessary adjustments made
Latin	N.B.	note well
Latin	ne plus ultra	the best
Latin	nil desperandum	never despair
Latin	non compos mentis	not of sound mind, sane
Latin	non sequitur	something that doesn’t follow
Latin	obiter dictum	a passing remark
Latin	op.cit.	in the work cited
Latin	pari passu	at an equal rate
Latin	pater familias	father of the family
Latin	pax	peace
Latin	per capita	per person
Latin	per diem	by the day
Latin	perpetuum mobile	in perpetual motion
Latin	per se	in itself, intrinsically
Latin	persona non grata	unwelcome person
Latin	post mortem	autopsy
Latin	post scriptum (P.S.)	postscript, afterthought
Latin	prima facie	self-evident
Latin	primum mobile	prime mover
Latin	pro bono	for the public good
Latin	pro forma	for form’s sake
Latin	pro rata	proportionately
Latin	Q.E.D.	that which was to be demonstrated
Latin	qua	as
Latin	quid pro quo	fair exchange
Latin	quo vadis?	where are you going?
Latin	q.v.	refer to
Latin	rara avis	rare or unique person or thing
Latin	re	regarding, with reference to
Latin	reductio ad absurdam	reduction to absurdity
Latin	rigor mortis	stiffening of the body after death
Latin	sanctum sanctorum	holy of holies
Latin	sic	it is thus in the original
Latin	sic transit gloria mundi	thus passes the glory of the world
Latin	sine qua non	essential element or condition
Latin	status quo	current state of affairs
Latin	sub rosa	in secret, in confidence
Latin	sui generis	one of a kind, unique
Latin	summa cum laude	with the highest praise
Latin	tabula rasa	empty slate
Latin	tempus fugit	time flies
Latin	terra firma	firm or solid land
Latin	terra incognita	unknown, uncharted
Latin	ultima ratio	final resort
Latin	vade mecum	constant companion
Latin	via dolorosa	sorrowful way
Latin	vice versa	the other way round
Latin	vox populi	popular opinion or sentiment

Phrase: summa cum laude
Meaning: with the highest praise Language of Origin: Latin Additional Information: Used to express the highest academic distinction. Example: “She graduated at the top of her class, summa cum laude.”