Latin expressions often survive because they name ideas that remain useful long after the language itself has faded from everyday speech. Some appear in music,…
Shakespeare’s plays are filled with borrowed language. His characters speak in English, but their words often carry traces of Greek mythology, Roman history,…
Few Latin phrases carry such a vivid image as alea iacta est: a die has been cast, and the result can no longer be controlled. The expression describes a…
Few Latin expressions have traveled so easily from ancient civic life into modern offices, laboratories, courtrooms, and everyday conversation. Ad hoc means…
“Semper Fidelis” is the official motto of the United States Marine Corps. The phrase is usually translated as “Always Faithful,” although “Always Loyal”…
Latin has served the Catholic Church as a language of worship, theology, administration, and cultural memory for many centuries. Its presence is especially…
When modern astronomers speak of Mercury, Venus, Mars, or Jupiter, they are using names inherited from the ancient world. These words preserve the memory of…
Few Latin phrases express ambition as vividly as per aspera ad astra. Its literal meaning, “through hardships to the stars,” joins earthly struggle with a…
Latin sayings appear in courtroom arguments, academic papers, medical terminology, scientific names, religious texts, and everyday conversation. Expressions…
The Latin phrase non sequitur means “it does not follow.” In everyday English, it describes a remark that seems disconnected from what came before. In logic,…