10 Latin Phrases You Didn't Know You Use

And the 10 worst pronunciations of Latin words

People love to say that Latin is a dead language. Especially when I tell them I teach Latin! What a fun way to start a conversation… But Latin didn’t die, it evolved. Latin blossomed into a range of Romance languages that are spoken around the world today, but was also retained as an important language of religion and scholarship for millennia. As a result of this, and given English’ complicated origins, it’s no surprise that Latin words and phrases permeate our language even now.

Some Latin phrases we use without realising - they have become such a part of our usual vernacular that we pass them off as our own. In the same way that the English people took so many artefacts from other cultures and made them their own, the English language has done so with a range of words from languages the world over. Below are ten phrases you may not even realise were Latin - and then, for fun, I’ve also included some phrases that are extremely painful (for me) to hear pronounced today, for various reasons!

10 Latin Phrases You Already Use

Et Cetera

This is a classic example, as people are very familiar with the word etc but if you ask them for the full spelling they may not know. This comes from the Latin et cetera, hence the pronunciation, which means “and others”. It’s a very versatile phrase to use in many situations, though it’s somewhat ironic that it is often viewed as too informal despite being a Latin phrase.

Vice Versa

This phrase sneaks under the radar somewhat, as it sounds very natural to English ears - vice itself being an English word. It’s also a useful demonstration of how ‘anglicised’ Latin is very different to the original - the ‘v’ would have sounded like a ‘w’ and the ‘c’ like a ‘k’ - so the Latin pronunciation would be more like “wee-kay wer-sa”. The phrase itself is actually quite interesting in Latin, as it is an ablative absolute which is a funky grammatical expression. It literally means “the position having been reversed” but is quite easily understood in English as its own phrase.

Ante/Post Meridiem

This pair of phrases is another that sneaks through mostly from being abbreviated. We use AM/PM all the time, though very rarely in their complete form. It’s a great way to explain the prepositions ante and post (before and after) in Latin, and meridiem translates quite easily into English as midday. When broken down this way, it’s pretty simple to understand and maps quite efficiently onto their use in English.

E.g./i.e.

Another pair of abbreviations, I’ve put these together because they are often viewed and used in the same way. We use them so often without thinking that many people would just give you the English meaning of each when asked. EG is short for exempli gratia, “for the sake of an example” - we really could just say “for example”. IE stands for id est, “that is”, which is essentially what we say in English too. It’s interesting how these have lasted the test of time, especially when they are often a pain to decide how you want to punctuate them!

In Absentia

If you’ve every had to sit through a graduation or awards ceremony, you’ll hear this phrase pop up when someone is away. It’s so close to English, so intuitive, that most of the time we don’t even think about it being Latin. The phrase, meaning “in their absence” for a person, has a range of applications from political to judicial settings, as well as the usual award ceremonies. In general it gives a sense of gravitas to the occasion, rather than just saying “oops they’re not here”!

Bus/Omnibus

One of my favourite questions to ask students is where they think the word ‘bus’ comes from. We all know the form of public transport, it is (mostly) ubiquitous, but not as many know that it was originally called an ‘omnibus’, from the Latin meaning for everyone. This speaks to the heart of its original intention, to be a mode of transport for all citizens - though it clearly got shortened to bus over time for simplicity. We also see the word omnibus used for collections or compilations of things. I might age myself by remembering when TV channels used to have an ‘omnibus’ of the weekly episodes of a show on a Sunday morning…

Post Mortem

Medical shows are so frequent these days that this phrase has become a very standard part of English vernacular. The same might be said for the MO (modus operandi) of the killer on a procedural crime drama. In this case, post mortem is pretty straightforward in context, especially as English uses the post prefix so much and there are a number of similar etymological links to mortem. In any case, an investigation ‘after death’ is pretty easy to spot.

Per Capita/Pro Rata

These are both phrases you might see in a more technical sense, where they likely have a long history of use. The term per capita literally means “per head” in Latin, where caput gives us derivations such as capital, the head of something, and capital the kind of punishment where you lose your head. It’s also a term that every New Zealander suddenly becomes familiar when the Olympics medal tables come out. If you’ve ever had the misfortune of trying to work out pay or entitlements pro rata, I empathise with you; it literally means “as calculated” or more naturally ‘in proportion’.

Status Quo

Probably a more easily recognised Latin phrase, nevertheless it is deeply embedded in English and one which passes under the radar due to status having a the same essential meaning. Referring to the '“state in which [things currently are]” it has become the standard in English when referring to a current situation.

Subpoena

This is another technical term that is normally limited to legal contexts and more recently political ones. While its pronunciation is distinctly different to its spelling, it still slips under the radar since it is more often heard than read on paper. The term itself comes from sub + poenas in Latin, literally “under penalty” and refers to the threat placed upon those who might not follow it. In English we are more than used to words with a disconnect between spelling and pronunciation, so this one doesn’t immediately scream out that its origins are Latin.

Butchering Latin Pronunciation

As a bonus, I’d thought I would collect all the terrible pronunciations of Latin words/phrases that have crept into regular usage. As noted above, the anglicised version of a lot of words change consonant and vowel sounds, but these are more egregious than others!

Sine Die

The worst of the lot in my opinion, I often had to endure this one at Law school. Whereas the Latin would be “see-nay dee-ay”, somehow the legal fraternity decided to turn it into “sign-ee die”. It makes me want to die.

Prima Facie

Another legal one, this just sounds silly. The Latin “pree-ma fa-kee-ay” has devolved into “primer face-ee”. So dumb!

Bona Fides

There’s a pattern here. This one comes down, once again, to just applying English pronunciation to the word. It would be “bo-na fee-days” in Latin, but this phrase gets turned into something resembling “bone-ified”. Shocking!

Ultra Vires

This legal term is so close to being right, but due to its similar look it turns into a global pandemic when the “ultra virus” is released…

Memento

Another one that was so close, but the similarity to “moment” turns this one more than often into a “momento” and not a “memento”.

Et Tu, Brute?

Quite a famous phrase, I’ve seen my fair share of bad pronunciations. Luckily most people avoid the “brute” force pronunciation, having heard “Broo-tay” from others. But the connection to French, where “et” has a silent ‘t’ so often leads to a mispronunciation of the first part - and the ensuing “A2 Brute” chess jokes just make me cringe!

Compos Mentis

So close, but so often it turns into compost mentis - maybe a freudian slip and their minds are a pile of rotting vegetation!

Veni Vidi Vici

The famous phrase of Caesar has been given the full anglicised treatment, and more often the full Italianised one. As a result, any pronunciation of this can be an absolute smorgasbord of vowel and consonant sounds…

Anno Domini

Well, this one isn’t a pronunciation one, but it irks me all the same. AD of course still pervades most descriptions of the years sometimes called the Common Era (CE). Immaterial to whether we should change it or not, it’s incredible how many students I ask will still say it stands for “after death”. Cue frustrated scream.

Any ones I’ve missed? Any Latin phrases you’d like explained? Leave a comment and I’ll see you next time!