This page lists English translations of notable Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before the rise of ancient Rome.
| Latin | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| e causa ignota | of unknown cause | Often used in medicine when the underlying disease causing a symptom is not known. |
| E pluribus unum | out of many, one | 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 |
| ecce Agnus Dei | behold the lamb of God | John the Baptist exclaims this after seeing Jesus[1] |
| ecce ancilla domini | behold the handmaiden of the Lord | From Luke 1:38 in the Vulgate Bible. Name of an oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and motto of Bishopslea Preparatory School. |
| ecce homo | behold the man | From the Gospel of John in the Vulgate 19:5 (Douay-Rheims), where Pontius Pilate speaks these words as he presents Christ, crowned with thorns, to the crowd. It is also the title of Nietzsche's autobiography and of the theme music by Howard Goodall for the ITV comedy Mr. Bean, in which the full sung lyric is Ecce homo qui est faba ("Behold the man who is a bean"). |
| ecce panis angelorum | behold the bread of angels | From the Catholic hymn Lauda Sion; occasionally inscribed near the altar of Catholic churches; it refers to the Eucharist, the Bread of Heaven; the Body of Christ. See also: Panis angelicus. |
| editio princeps | first edition | The first published edition of a work. |
| ego te absolvo | I absolve you | Part of the formula of Catholic sacramental absolution, i. e., spoken by a priest as part of the Sacrament of Penance . |
| ego te provoco | I challenge you | Used as a challenge; "I dare you". Can also be written as te provoco. |
| eheu fugaces labuntur anni | Alas, the fleeting years slip by | From Horace's Odes, 2, 14 |
| ejusdem generis | of the same kinds, class, or nature | 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. |
| eluceat omnibus lux | let the light shine out from all | The motto of Sidwell Friends School |
| emeritus | veteran | 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 | From Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto (II, 9, 48). Motto of University of South Carolina. |
| ens causa sui | existing because of oneself | Or "being one's own cause". Traditionally, a being that owes its existence to no other being, hence God or a Supreme Being . |
| ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem | by the sword she seeks a serene repose under liberty | Motto of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, adopted in 1775. |
| entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem | entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity | 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"). |
| eo nomine | by that name | |
| equo ne credite | do not trust the horse | From Virgil, Aeneid, II. 48–49; a reference to the Trojan Horse. |
| erga omnes | in relation to everyone | Used in law, especially international law, to denote a kind of universal obligation. |
| ergo | therefore | Denotes a logical conclusion . |
| errantis voluntas nulla est | the will of a mistaken party is void | Roman legal principle formulated by Pomponius in the Digest of the Corpus Juris Civilis, stating that legal actions undertaken by man under the influence of error are invalid. |
| errare humanum est | to err is human | 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.[2] 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.[3] 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). |
| erratum | error | I. e., mistake. Lists of errors in a previous edition of a work are often marked with the plural errata ("errors"). |
| eruditio et religio | scholarship and duty | Motto of Duke University |
| esse est percipi | to be is to be perceived | Motto of George Berkeley for his subjective idealist philosophical position that nothing exists independently of its perception by a mind except minds themselves. |
| esse quam videri | to be, rather than to seem | 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 Cato esse 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, Satires 1.1.106; 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"). |
| esto perpetua | may it be perpetual | Said of Venice, Italy, by the Venetian historian Fra Paolo Sarpi shortly before his death. Motto of the U.S. state of Idaho, adopted in 1867; of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka; of Sigma Phi Society. |
| esto quod es | be what you are | Motto of Wells Cathedral School |
| et adhuc sub iudice lis est | it is still before the court | From Horace, Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry) 1.78. |
| et alibi (et al.) | and elsewhere | A less common variant on et cetera ("and the rest") used at the end of a list of locations to denote unenumerated/omitted ones. |
| et alii, et aliae, et alia (et al.) | and others | 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.[4] 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. |
| et cetera (etc., &c.) | and the rest | 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.[5] Also used as a general form of greeting among and towards members of Catholic organisations. |
| et facere et pati fortia Romanum est | Acting and suffering bravely is the attribute of a Roman | The words of Gaius Mucius Scaevola when Lars Porsena captured him |
| et facta est lux | And light came to be or was made | From Genesis, 1:3: "and there was light". Motto of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. |
| et hoc genus omne | and all that sort of thing | Abbreviated as e.h.g.o. or ehgo |
| et in Arcadia ego | and in Arcadia [am] I | In other words, "I too am in Arcadia". |
| et lux in tenebris lucet | and light shines in the darkness | From the Gospel of John 1.5, Vulgate. Motto of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. See also Lux in Tenebris, 1919 play by Bertolt Brecht. |
| et nunc reges intelligite erudimini qui judicatis terram | "And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth." | From the Book of Psalms, II.x. (Vulgate) Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, 2.10 (Douay-Rheims). |
| et passim (et pass.) | and throughout | Used in citations after a page number to indicate that there is further information in other locations in the cited resource. |
| et sequentes (et seq.) | and the following (masculine/feminine plural) | 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, 29 U.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". |
| Et tu, Brute? | And you, Brutus? | 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. |
| et uxor (et ux.) | and wife | A legal term. |
| et vir | and husband | A legal term. |
| Etiam si omnes, ego non | Even if all others, I will never | Saint Peter to Jesus Christ, from the Vulgate, Gospel of Matthew 26:33; New King James Version: Matthew 26:33). |
| etsi deus non daretur | even if God were not a given | 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".[6] 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 Court John 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. | From the Gospel of Matthew, XII.xxxiv (Vulgate), 12.34 (Douay-Rheims) and the Gospel of Luke, VI.xlv (Vulgate), 6.45 (Douay-Rheims). Sometimes rendered without enim ("for"). |
| ex aequo | from the equal | Denoting "on equal footing", i. e., in a tie. Used for those two (seldom more) participants of a competition who demonstrated identical performance. |
| ex Africa semper aliquid novi | "(There is) always something new (coming) out of Africa" | Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 8, 42 (unde etiam vulgare Graeciae dictum semper aliquid novi Africam adferre[7]), a translation of the Greek «Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν». |
| ex amicitia pax | peace from friendship | Often used on internal diplomatic event invitations. A motto sometimes inscribed on flags and mission plaques of diplomatic corps. |
| ex animo | from the soul | Sincerely. |
| ex ante | from before | Denoting "beforehand", "before the event", or "based on prior assumptions"; denoting a prediction. |
| Ex Astris Scientia | From the Stars, Knowledge | The motto of the fictional Starfleet Academy of Star Trek. Adapted from ex luna scientia, which in turn derived from ex scientia tridens. |
| ex cathedra | from the chair | A phrase applied to the declarations or promulgations of the Catholic Supreme Pontiff (Pope) when, preserved from the possibility of error by the Holy Spirit , 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. |
| ex cultu robur | from culture [comes] strength | The motto of Cranleigh School, Surrey. |
| ex Deo | from God | |
| ex dolo malo | from fraud | "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. |
| ex duris gloria | From suffering [comes] glory | Motto of Rapha Cycling club |
| ex facie | from the face | 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. |
| ex factis jus oritur | the law arises from the facts | |
| ex fide fiducia | from faith [comes] confidence | Motto of St George's College, Harare and Hartmann House Preparatory School |
| ex fide fortis | from faith [comes] strength | Motto of Loyola School in New York City, New York, United States. |
| ex glande quercus | from the acorn the oak | Motto of the Municipal Borough of Southgate, London, England, United Kingdom. |
| ex gratia | from kindness | 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 | Motto of the fictional Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts, from the Cthulhu Mythos |
| ex infra (e.i.) | "from below" | Recent academic notation denoting "from below in this writing". |
| ex juvantibus | from that which helps | The medical pitfall in which response to a therapeutic regimen substitutes proper diagnosis. |
| ex lege | from the law | |
| ex libris | from the books | Precedes a person's name, denoting "from the library of" the nominate; also a synonym for "bookplate". |
| ex luna scientia | from the moon, knowledge | The motto of the Apollo 13 lunar mission, derived from ex scientia tridens, the motto of Jim Lovell's alma mater, the United States Naval Academy |
| ex malo bonum | good out of evil | From Saint Augustine of Hippo, "Sermon LXI", in which he contradicts the dictum of Seneca the Younger in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, 87:22: bonum ex malo non fit ("good does not come from evil"). Also the alias of the song "Miserabile Visu" by Anberlin in the album New Surrender. |
| ex mea sententia | in my opinion | |
| ex mero motu | out of mere impulse, or of one's own accord | |
| ex nihilo nihil fit | nothing comes from nothing | From Lucretius, and said earlier by Parmenides; in conjunction with "creation": creatio ex nihilo – "creation out of nothing" |
| ex novo | anew | something that has been newly made or made from scratch |
| Ex Oblivione | from oblivion | The title of a short story by H. P. Lovecraft |
| ex officio | from the office | 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 officio Co-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 law ex 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.[8] |
| ex opere operantis | from the work of the one working | 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 |
| ex opere operato | from the work worked | 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. |
| ex parte | from a part | A legal term that means "by one party" or "for one party". Thus, on behalf of one side or party only. |
| ex pede Herculem | from his foot, so Hercules | From the measure of Hercules' foot you shall know his size; from a part, the whole. |
| ex post | from after | "Afterward", "after the event". Based on knowledge of the past. Measure of past performance |
| ex post facto | from a thing done afterward | Said of a law with retroactive effect |
| ex professo | from one declaring [an art or science] | Or 'with due competence'. Said of the person who perfectly knows his art or science. Also used to mean "expressly".[9] |
| ex rel., or, ex relatio | [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. |
| ex scientia tridens | from knowledge, sea power | The United States Naval Academy motto. Refers to knowledge bringing men power over the sea comparable to that of the trident-bearing Greek god Poseidon. |
| ex scientia vera | from knowledge, truth | The motto of the College of Graduate Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. |
| ex silentio | from silence | 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. |
| ex situ | out of position | opposite of "in situ" |
| ex solo ad solem | from the Earth to the Sun | The motto of the University of Central Lancashire, Preston |
| ex supra (e.s.) | "from above" | Recent academic notation for "from above in this writing". |
| ex tempore | from [this moment of] time | "This instant", "right away" or "immediately". Also written extempore |
| Ex turpi causa non oritur actio | 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. |
| ex umbra in solem | from the shadow into the light | Motto of Federico Santa María Technical University |
| ex undis | from the waves [of the sea] | motto in the coat of arms of Eemsmond |
| Ex Unitate Vires | union is strength, or unity is strength | Former motto of South Africa |
| ex vi termini | from the force of the term | Thus, "by definition" |
| ex vita discedo, tanquam ex hospitio, non tanquam ex domo | I depart from life as from an inn, not as from home | Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute (On Old Age) 23 |
| ex vivo | out of or from life | Used in reference to the study or assay of living tissue in an artificial environment outside the living organism. |
| ex voto | from the vow | Thus, in accordance with a promise. An ex voto is also an offering made in fulfillment of a vow. |
| ex vulgus scientia | from the crowd, knowledge | used to describe social computing, in The Wisdom of Crowds and discourse referring to it. |
| excelsior | higher | "Ever upward!" The state motto of New York. Also a catchphrase used by Marvel Comics head Stan Lee. |
| 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 |
| exeat | s/he may go out | A formal leave of absence |
| exegi monumentum aere perennius | I have reared a monument more enduring than bronze | Horace, Carmina III:XXX:I |
| exempli gratia (e.g.) | for the sake of example, for example | Exempli gratiā, 'for example', is usually abbreviated "e. g." or "e.g." (less commonly, ex. gr.). The abbreviation "e.g." often is 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').[10] 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 | On a plaque at the former military staff building of the Swedish Armed Forces |
| exeunt | they leave | 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.[27] The term has also been used in gastroenterology.[28] It is also the motto of San Francisco State University. |
| experimentum crucis | experiment of the cross | Or "crucial experiment". A decisive test of a scientific theory. |
| experto crede | trust the expert | 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. |
| extra Ecclesiam nulla salus | outside the Church [there is] no salvation | 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. |
| extra omnes | outside, all [of you] | It is issued by the Master of the Papal Liturgical Celebrations before a session of the papal conclave which will elect a new pope. When spoken, all those who are not cardinals, or those otherwise mandated to be present at the conclave, must leave the Sistine Chapel. |
| extra territorium jus dicenti impune non paretur | he who administers justice outside of his territory is disobeyed with impunity | Refers to extraterritorial jurisdiction. Often cited in law of the sea cases on the high seas. |
| extrema ratio | "extreme solution", "last possibility", "last possible course of action" |
