Latin phrases - Doctor Paradox

Most useful Latin phrases to know

So much of the English language comes directly or circuitously through Latin. And although it’s no longer actively spoken, per se, lingua Latina non mortua est! 😜

Rumours of Latin’s death have been greatly exaggerated. On the contrary — I consider many of these Latin phrases to be “mini mental models,” or solid mental model companions, at the very least. Knowing them is good brain food, because they’re liable to come in handy in a number of places.

They’re also helpful for anyone learning or wanting to learn a Romance language — because this family of languages is heavily based on Latin. You’ll recognize many of the word stems in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and so on as deriving from their Latin roots — and it’ll give you a clue as to the meaning even of unfamiliar words as you’re getting up to speed in your new tongue.

Phrase	Meaning
ab ovo
acta non verba	Actions, not words.
actio libera in causa	Actio libera in causa (frequently abbreviated as a.l.i.c., Latin for "action free in its cause") is a law principle in a typical Western law system (both common law and civil law). The doctrine means that even if the person was not free to choose the course of action while performing an offence, he can still be held responsible for it if he voluntarily created a condition ("cause") for the offending action.
ad hoc	Spontaneous; unplanned. Literally: "for this purpose"
ad hominem	Rhetorical strategy that ignores the substance of the argument itself and simply attacks the person who holds opposing views personally.
ad infinitim	To infinity; endlessly; without limit.
ad nauseum	To the point of nausea or sickness.
age quod agis	"Do what you are doing"
alea iacta est	The Die is Cast
alibi	Elsewhere; an excuse that shows someone was not at a crime scene.
alma mater	Identifies the institution of higher learning one has attended.
a priori	Before the fact
arcana imperii	"secrets of power" or "mysteries of authority" -- refers to information withheld at the highest levels of government
bona fide	In good faith; genuine.
carpe diem	Sieze the day!
caveat emptor	Buyer beware
circa	Around; approximately
cogito, ergo sum	I think, therefore I am
Cui bono?	"Good for whom," or "who benefits?" Similar to "follow the money"
cum laude	With honors
cura personalis	care for the entire person
de facto	In fact; reality.
deus ex machina	God out of the machine; a plot device in fiction to magically solve an unsolvable problem.
de jure	By law; by right.
Dulcet et decorum est pro patria Mori	Sweet and beautiful it is to die for one's country
esse quam videri	To be rather than to merely seem
et al	et alia = "and others"
et cetera	And other similar things; the rest, and so forth.
ex nihilo nihil fit	Nothing comes from nothing
ex post facto	retroactively
fama volat	The rumour has wings
festina lente	"Hurry slowly" -- a paradoxical phrase imploring one to proceed quickly, but cautiously.
fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus	Let justice be done, though the world may perish
habeas corpus	"I have the body" -- in legal terms, protection against unlawful imprisonment and indefinite detention
id est	That is; in other words.
in media res	Into the middle of things.
inter alia	Inter alia is a Latin phrase meaning "among other things." It is often used in legal, academic, or formal writing to indicate that a list of items or examples includes others that are not specifically mentioned.
Inter arma enim silent leges	In times of war, the law is silent
in toto	In total; entirely.
in vino veritas	In wine there is truth
ipso facto	By the fact itself.
lex majoris partis	Will of the majority
libertas philosophandi	freedom of thought
magna cum laude	With high honors
magnum opus	One's chief body of work.
mea culpa	Admission of a mistake or fault; "my bad."
modus operandi	A particular way of doing something, typically long-established.
modus vivendi	An arrangement allowing conflicting parties to coexist peacefully; more broadly, a way of life
mutatis mutandis	With the necessary changes having been made" or "the necessary adjustments being made." It is used to indicate that something is to be applied or understood in a similar way to another case, but with alterations made to account for differences in details or context.
nolle prosequi	"Will no longer prosecute," used when a prosecutor decides to discontinue pursuing a case
non sequitur	It doesn't follow; an illogical statement.
nota bene	Note well
per se	The thing in itself; a concept on its own for its own sake, as opposed to in connection with other things.
persona non grata	Someone who is unacceptable and unwelcome
post hoc	After the fact
post hoc, ergo propter hoc	A logical fallacy of the form "Y happened after X, therefore event Y must have been caused by X"
post mortem	After death.
prima inter pares	"First among equals;" an unofficial leader with authority and influence within the group
pro bono	Done for the good; work done without charge to help others.
quid pro quo	Something for something else
semper fidelis	Always faithful
sic semper tyrannis	"Thus always to tyrants!" said John Wilkes Booth as he shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head in 1865, 5 days after the end of the Civil War
status quo	The existing state of affairs
sui generis	In a class all by oneself; a unique element of its kind (Mozart, for example).
summa cum laude	With highest honors
tabula rasa	A blank slate; ability to start fresh
terra firma	Solid ground.
terra incognita	Unknown territory; an unfamiliar environment
ultra vires	Outside the law
veni, vidi, vidi	I came, I saw, I conquered
verbatim	Word for word
veritas odium parit	Truth brings hatred
versus	Against
veto	I forbid; the power to unilaterally stop.