10 Latin Phrases You Pretend to Understand

Because you weren't going into botany, the priesthood, or coin manufacturing, you thought you were safe to dismiss Latin as a dead language. Obviously, you didn't graduate cum laude. Latin is about as dead as Elvis (who, by the way, made $54 million in 2004). Whether you're deciphering a cryptic state seal or trying to impress your Catholic in-laws, knowing some Latin has its advantages. But the operative word here is "some." The ability to translate The Aeneid probably isn't going to come in handy anytime soon, so we'll start you off with ten phrases that have survived the hatchet men of time (in all their pretentious glory).

1. Caveat Emptor
(KAV-ee-OT emp-TOR): “Let the buyer beware”

Before money-back guarantees and 20-year warranties, caveat emptor was indispensable advice for the consumer. These days, it’d be more fitting to have it tattooed on the foreheads of used-car salesmen, infomercial actors, and prostitutes. For extra credit points, remember that caveat often makes solo appearances at cocktail parties as a fancy term for a warning or caution. Oh, and just so you know, caveat lector means “let the reader beware.” (not that you'll ever, ever need to know that!)

2. Persona Non Grata
(puhr-SOH-nah non GRAH-tah): “An unacceptable person”

Remember your old college buddy, the one everybody called Chugger? Now picture him at a debutante ball, and you’ll start to get a sense of someone with persona non grata status. The term is most commonly used in diplomatic circles to indicate that a person is unwelcome due to ideological differences or a breach of trust. Sometimes, the tag refers to a pariah, a ne’er-do-well, a killjoy, or an interloper, but it’s always subjective. Back in 2004, Michael Moore was treated as a persona non grata at the Republican National Convention. Bill O’Reilly would experience the same at Burning Man.

3. Habeas Corpus
(HAY-bee-as KOR-pus): “You have the body”

When you wake up in the New Orleans Parish Prison after a foggy night at Mardi Gras, remember this one. In a nutshell, habeas corpus is what separates us from savages. It’s the legal principle that guarantees an inmate the right to appear before a judge in court, so it can be determined whether or not that person is being lawfully imprisoned. It’s also one of the cornerstones of the American and British legal systems. Without it, tyrannical and unjust imprisonments would be possible. In situations where national security is at risk, however, habeas corpus can be suspended.

4. Cogito Ergo Sum
(CO-gee-toe ER-go SOME): “I think, therefore I am”

When all those spirited mental wrestling matches you have about existentialism start growing old (yeah, right!), you can always put an end to the debate with cogito ergo sum. René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher, coined the phrase as a means of justifying reality. According to him, nothing in life could be proven except one’s thoughts. Well, so he thought, anyway.

5. E Pluribus Unum
(EE PLUR-uh-buhs OOH-nuhm): “Out of many, one”

(Image credit: Wkikpedia user Juntas)

Less unique than it sounds, America’s original national motto, e pluribus unum, was plagiarized from an ancient recipe for salad dressing. In the 18th century, haughty intellectuals were fond of this phrase. It was the kind of thing gentlemen’s magazines would use to describe their year-end editions. But the term made its first appearance in Virgil’s poem “Moretum” to describe salad dressing. The ingredients, he wrote, would surrender their individual aesthetic when mixed with others to form one unique, homogenous, harmonious, and tasty concoction. As a slogan, it really nailed that whole cultural melting pot thing we were going for. And while it continues to appear on U.S. coins, “In God We Trust” came along later (officially in 1956) to share the motto spotlight.

6. Quid Pro Quo
(kwid proh KWOH): “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”



Given that quid pro quo refers to a deal or trade, it’s no wonder the Brits nicknamed their almighty pound the “quid.” And if you give someone some quid, you’re going to expect some quo. The phrase often lives in the courtroom, where guilt and innocence are the currency. It’s the oil that lubricates our legal system. Something of a quantified value is traded for something of equal value; elements are parted and parceled off until quid pro quo is achieved.

7. Ad Hominem
(ad HAH-mi-nem): “To attack the man”

In the world of public discourse, ad hominem is a means of attacking one’s rhetorical opponent by questioning his or her reputation or expertise rather than sticking to the issue at hand. Translation: Politicians are really good at it. People who resort to ad hominem techniques are usually derided as having a diluted argument or lack of discipline. If pressed, they’ll brandish it like a saber and refuse to get back to the heart of the matter. Who said the debate team doesn’t have sex appeal?

8. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
(ad-MA-yor-em DAY-ee GLOR-ee-um): “All for the Greater Glory of God”

Ad majorem dei gloriam is often shortened to AMDG. In other words, it’s the WWJD of the Jesuits, who’ve been drilling the mantra into their followers since (Saint) Ignatius of Loyola founded the Catholic Order in 1534. They believe all actions, big or small, should be done with AMDG in mind. Remind your Jesuit-educated buddies of this when they seem to be straying from the path. (Best used with a wink and a hint of irony.)

9. Memento Mori
(meh-MEN-toh MOR-ee): “Remember, you must die”



Carpe diem is so 20th century. If you’re going to suck the marrow out of life, trying doing it with the honest, irrefutable, and no less inspiring memento mori. You can interpret the phrase in two ways: Eat, drink, and party down. Or, less hedonistically, be good so you can get past the pearly gates. Naturally, the latter was the one preferred by the early Christian Church, which would use macabre art—including dancing skeletons and snuffed-out candles—to remind the faithful to forgo temporal pleasures in favor of eternal bliss in heaven. The phrase also served to prevent swelling heads. Some historians say that victorious, parading Roman generals would have servants stand behind them and whisper “memento mori” in their ears to keep their egos in check.

10. Sui Generis
(SOO-ee JEN-er-is): “Of its own genus,” or “Unique and unable to classify”

Frank Zappa, the VW Beetle, cheese in a can: Sui generis refers to something that’s so new, so bizarre, or so rare that it defies categorization. Granted, labeling something “sui generis” is really just classifying the unclassifiable. But let’s not over-think it. Use it at a dinner party to describe Andy Kaufman, and you impress your friends. Use it too often, and you just sound pretentious.

Previously: Latin You Should Know

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The article above, written by Kevin Fleming, is reprinted with permission from the May-June 2005 issue of mental_floss magazine. Get a subscription to mental_floss and never miss an issue!

Be sure to visit mental_floss' website and blog for more fun stuff!

Zardoz -

As I recall from my latin classes, "quid pro quo" literally means "what for which". so it's not totally without meaning. "Qui pro quo" means "who for which", for what that's worth. If that's taken to misunderstanding, so be it.

I think the original phrase makes more sense. Essentially, it asks "what is given for which thing.
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I am 15 and taking Latin classes, and none of these have a hard 'v' sound, and are not translated verbatim (word for word, once again, itself translated loosely. IRONY) BUT, I digress... Most of these are somewhat, if not mostly inaccurate, but still, good enough to be here. Just don't forget the famous and necessary to know "Salvete mihi amici et amicae!" (Hello my [Male] and [Female] friends!)
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Permultum risi. procul dubio, verba Latina transcripta in linguam Anglicam videns, aut melius dictum, in absurdam scripturam Anglicam. Dolet alphabetum Latinum sic usum videre! Sooe jeneris, lepidissimum, ex Latina lingua linguam peregrinam fecistis
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"Cogito ergo sum"

Descartes was French so it's actually "Je pense, donc je suis". Keep in mind that this is from his meditations and what he really said was "I doubt therefor I think; I think therefor I am". It was all predicated on his ability to doubt everything but his own existence. Some rephrase it as "I doubt therefor I am".

"Memento mori"

If you've never read Jill Bolte-Taylor's "My Stroke of Insight" during her stroke in which half of her brain was destroyed, she had feelings approaching death, but in that very dark moment that signaled the end of her life she had thoughts about the future. She insisted on not dying for the sake of a presentation she had to give later that week, car payments, and these kinds of things. Point is, that even in the face of death our minds keep thinking about what we are going to do after we are dead. Our thinking minds do not typically view death as of any consequence and continue on our daily lives as if it will never happen. So I take "Memento mori" not as a reason to live any particular way, but as a kind of Koan to meditate on, and realize how much I am ignoring the fact of it in my daily life.
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Speaking of Frank Zappa, I recall that in the liner notes for one of the first Mothers of Invention albums he used the term "nullis prenti" which supposedly means "no commercial potential" I was never sure if that was a true translation or not, but it sounded good.
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Technically, actually, 'Veni Vidi Vici' pronounced with a hard V is correct. Classical Latin pronuonced it with a 'w', but over the course of hundreds of years, the Latin spoken in Rome evolved tremendously into a state we call 'Late Latin' (the kind the Catholic Church uses), which pronounced 'v' as 'v' and not 'w.'
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Alex, if you have to explain it... ;)

And "sui generis" was translated awkwardly. The easiest way to paraphrase it is "one of a kind" or "in a league of its own".
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The phrase "caveat lector" is occasionally used in fanfiction, when a writer is warning the reader that certain scenes or descriptions may depict actions that are inappropriate for younger readers to read, or characterizations that may be so inconsistent with the original character descriptions that they may irritate some readers.
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"Quid pro quo" is an incorrect use of a latin phrase. And it's also incorrect. It has no meaning. The original phrase was "qui pro quo" which means "misunderstood".
The real expression for a deal is "Do ut des": "I give something to you so that you give something to me".
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