The phrase post mortem is familiar in medicine, law, journalism, and everyday speech. Its literal Latin meaning is “after death,” from post (“after”) and…
Latin has given English a compact vocabulary for describing sequence, historical periods, and relationships between events. Three especially useful terms are…
Few Latin phrases have traveled as far from their original setting as cogito ergo sum. Usually translated as “I think, therefore I am,” the sentence appears to…
Political speeches often reach backward in time to make sense of the present. A carefully chosen Latin phrase can give a sentence the authority of history, the…
Legal language often appears precise while leaving room for disagreement. A statute may list several specific items and then add broad words such as “other…
Latin abbreviations remain a familiar feature of academic citation, even as research moves from printed books to digital databases. Terms such as ibid., et…
Some scientific discoveries depend on taking an object out of its surroundings. A specimen may be sliced, preserved, measured, or placed beneath a microscope.…
The Latin word caritas is often translated as “charity,” yet that English equivalent can make the term seem narrower than it once was. In modern speech,…
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,…