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October 13, 2011

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Latin Phrases in Common Use

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Thursday Thirteen

Latin phrases are common in the English language. In fact some of them are so deeply entrenched we think of them as English.

Here are Thirteen Latin Phrases

1. Curriculum vitae – a history of work and school qualifications.

2. Carpe diem – seize the day!

3. Circa – approximately

4. Versus – against. Often abbreviated to v or vs

5. Status quo – the existing state of affairs

6. Modus operandi – method of operation

7. Ergo – therefore

8. Post mortem – after death

9. Terra firma – solid ground

10. Persona non grata – an unwelcome person

11. Stet – let it stand. Most writers know this one.

12. In flagrante delicto – caught in the act. Often used in relation to sex.

13.Veni, vidi, vici – I came, I saw, I conquered. Said b y Julius Caesar after a rebellion in Greece.

Source: The Dangerous Book for Boys (NZ Edition) by Gonn Iggulden & Hal Iggulden

Are you familiar with these? Can you add any others?

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18 Comments

  1. Maria Zannini
    Maria Zannini on October 13, 2011 at 5:28 am

    Wow. I’ve used these so often, I’d forgotten they were Latin. It’s funny how we adopt words as part of our native vocabulary.

  2. Sidney
    Sidney on October 13, 2011 at 6:32 am

    It’s always crazy to realize how much of our language is pieced together from other languages.

  4. Darla
    Darla on October 13, 2011 at 8:22 am

    I didn’t realize that number eight was Latin. Interesting! Thanks for this.

  5. Alice Audrey
    Alice Audrey on October 13, 2011 at 8:31 am

    You mean it’s not all English? Oh.

  6. Kimberly Menozzi
    Kimberly Menozzi on October 13, 2011 at 9:43 am

    I love these posts! (I’m such a language geek!)

    Happy TT!

  7. Lydia K
    Lydia K on October 13, 2011 at 9:58 am

    This was a fun post. I love Latin though I never studied it. Maybe I should find an online course…

  8. Heather
    Heather on October 13, 2011 at 11:36 am

    Fun post, Shelley! And drat it, now I’m wanting to watch Dead Poets Society again. Carpe…Carpe Diem… :)

  9. Janice Seagraves
    Janice Seagraves on October 13, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    The last one is the name of restaurant in Fresno.

    Janice~

  10. Angela Brown
    Angela Brown on October 13, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    This list is like a humbling reminder of how our world, our language, the the way we communicate has changed and yet, in some ways, stayed the same.

  11. Xakara
    Xakara on October 13, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    All of them still sound Latin to me, but I’m strange that way! :)

    Although Versus and Post Mortem are the two I would likely not have come up with if asked for Latin phrases in daily English, especially versus!

    Happy T13,

    ~Xakara
    Food For Breast Health

  12. Stephanie Adkins
    Stephanie Adkins on October 13, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Great list, Shelley! I only recognized three of them. LOL I really need to study up on other languages. :) Happy Thursday!

  13. Shelley Munro
    Shelley Munro on October 13, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    Some of these surprised me too. I recognized all the words but had no idea they were actually Latin.

  14. angel
    angel on October 13, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    I’m familiar with a few of them. Thanks for sharing Shelley.

  15. Robin L. Rotham
    Robin L. Rotham on October 13, 2011 at 11:37 pm

    LOL! The only one I didn’t know was stet. What kind of writer does that make me?

  16. Jennifer Leeland
    Jennifer Leeland on October 14, 2011 at 4:23 am

    I think it’s interesting that a language that is that old still has words we use today.
    It’s fascinating that we’ve incorporated them into our daily language.
    Great TT, Shelley.

  17. Mary Kirkland
    Mary Kirkland on October 15, 2011 at 7:37 am

    I only recognized Carpe diem..and only because one of my friends had it in her forum signature.

  18. Sandra Cox
    Sandra Cox on October 15, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    So many of these we use everyday and I had no idea they were Latin.