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BUILD A BETTER VOCABULARY
Words posted by @kairosoflife on Twitter
under the hashtag #beautifulwords
This section is still under construction. The word lists are slowly being transferred here from Creativity Chaos
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The Classic Words of Latin
SEE ALSO:
Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets and ultimately from the Phoenician alphabet. Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, and Catalan are direct descendants of Latin. There are also many Latin derivatives in English as well as a few in German. Many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French.
WHY SHOULD WE STUDY LATIN?
Knowing Latin can improve your English vocabulary. While English is a Germanic language, Latin has strongly influenced it. Most of our prefixes and some of the roots of common English words derive from Latin. By some estimates, 30% of English words derive from the ancient language.
Knowing Latin can improve your foreign language vocabulary. Much of the commonly spoken Romanic languages like Spanish, French, and Italian derived from Vulgar Latin.
Many legal terms are in Latin. Nolo contendere. Mens rea. Caveat emptor. While strides have been made to translate legal writing into plain English, you’ll still see old Latin phrases thrown into legal contracts every now and then. To be an educated citizen and consumer, you need to know what these terms mean.
Knowing Latin can give you more insight to history and literature. Latin was the lingua franca of the West for over a thousand years. Much of our history, science, and literature was first recorded in Latin. Reading these classics in the original language can give you insights you otherwise may have missed.
FORM AND STRUCTURE
Latin is an inflected language, with three distinct genders, up to seven noun cases, five declensions, four verb conjugations, three tenses, three persons, three moods, two voices, two or three aspects and two numbers.
Classical Latin did not contain sentence punctuation, letter case, or interword spacing, but apices were sometimes used to distinguish length in vowels and the interpunct was used at times to separate words.
The number of letters in the Latin alphabet has varied. When it was first derived from the Etruscan alphabet, it contained only 21 letters.
LATIN WORDS AND PHRASES
An aphorism is a concise, terse, laconic, and/or memorable expression of a general truth or principle.
LATIN WISDOM
Vincit qui se vincit.
He conquers who conquers himself.
Used as a motto by many schools, this phrase means getting yourself under control and mastering your own urges and temptations before you try to control the outside world.
Non ducor, duco.
I am not led, I lead.
This phrase is a great way to assert your dominance.
Astra inclinant, sed non obligant.
The stars incline us, they do not bind us.
The phrase means that while fate (whether determined by the stars or the gods might point us in a certain direction, we are never forced in it because free will exists and the decision of what to do is ultimately our own.
Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.
If I can not bend the will of Heaven, I shall move Hell.
This phrase is best-known today for appearing as a dedication in Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams. You can use it when you’ve been stymied or prevented from achieving your goal. Adapt the translation by telling people who ask that it means “If I can’t move heaven, I shall raise hell.”
Igne natura renovatur integra.
Through fire, nature is reborn whole.
This phrase refers to the cleansing power of fire and the ever-repeating cycle of death and life.
Aut cum scuto aut in scuto.
Either with shield or on shield.
In Sparta, mothers were said to tell their war-bred children to either come back carrying their shield or on it. It means don’t surrender, never give up.
Carthago delenda est.
Carthage must be destroyed.
Following the Second Punic War Cato the Elder would end his speeches with this phrase, which today can be used to add emphasis and vehemence to an argument.
MORE LATIN WISDOM
Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest: let no man be another's who can be his own
Ars longa, vita brevis: Art is long, life is short
Calamus gladio fortior: The pen is mightier than the sword
Cogito, ergo sum: I think, therefore I am
Condemnant quod non intellegunt: They condemn what they do not understand
Credo ut intelligam: I believe so that I may understand
Docendo disco, scribendo cogito: I learn by teaching, I think by writing
Exitus acta probat: The result justifies the deed
Grandescunt aucta labore: By hard work, all things increase and grow
Igne natura renovatur integra: Through fire, nature is reborn whole.
Ipsa scientia potestas est: Knowledge itself is power
Male parta male dilabuntur: What has been wrongly gained is wrongly lost
Mens sana In corpore sano: A healthy mind in a healthy body.’
Nemo sine vitio est: No one is without fault
Nisi paria non pugnant: It takes two to make a fight
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum: Don't let the bastards grind you down
Non ducor, duco: I am not led, I lead.
Oderint dum metuant: Let them hate so long as they fear.
Omnium rerum principia parva sunt: The beginnings of all things are small
Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim: Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you
Qui totum vult totum perdit: He who wants everything loses everything
Scientia ipsa potentia est: Knowledge itself is power
Timendi causa est nescire: The cause of fear is ignorance
Vincere est vivere: To conquer is to live
Vincit omnia veritas: Truth conquers all
Vitam impendere vero: Dedicate your life to truth
Vivamus, moriendum est: Let us live, since we must die
Vive ut vivas: Live so that you may live
LATIN ABBREVIATIONS
WHY SHOULD WE STUDY LATIN?
Knowing Latin can improve your English vocabulary. While English is a Germanic language, Latin has strongly influenced it. Most of our prefixes and some of the roots of common English words derive from Latin. By some estimates, 30% of English words derive from the ancient language.
Knowing Latin can improve your foreign language vocabulary. Much of the commonly spoken Romanic languages like Spanish, French, and Italian derived from Vulgar Latin.
Many legal terms are in Latin. Nolo contendere. Mens rea. Caveat emptor. While strides have been made to translate legal writing into plain English, you’ll still see old Latin phrases thrown into legal contracts every now and then. To be an educated citizen and consumer, you need to know what these terms mean.
Knowing Latin can give you more insight to history and literature. Latin was the lingua franca of the West for over a thousand years. Much of our history, science, and literature was first recorded in Latin. Reading these classics in the original language can give you insights you otherwise may have missed.
FORM AND STRUCTURE
Latin is an inflected language, with three distinct genders, up to seven noun cases, five declensions, four verb conjugations, three tenses, three persons, three moods, two voices, two or three aspects and two numbers.
Classical Latin did not contain sentence punctuation, letter case, or interword spacing, but apices were sometimes used to distinguish length in vowels and the interpunct was used at times to separate words.
The number of letters in the Latin alphabet has varied. When it was first derived from the Etruscan alphabet, it contained only 21 letters.
- G was added to represent /ɡ/ (previously been spelled C)
- The letters Y and Z were later added to represent Greek letters, upsilon and zeta respectively, in Greek loanwords.
- W was created in the 11th century from VV. It represented /w/ in Germanic languages, not Latin, which still uses V for the purpose.
- J was distinguished from the original I only during the late Middle Ages, as was the letter U from V. Although some Latin dictionaries use J, it is rarely used for Latin text, as it was not used in classical times.
LATIN WORDS AND PHRASES
An aphorism is a concise, terse, laconic, and/or memorable expression of a general truth or principle.
- ad arbitrium: at will
- ad infinitum: to infinity; enduring forever
- ad hon: to this
- ad valore: according to value
- amor vincit omnia: love conquers all
- aqua vitae: water of life
- bona fide: in good faith
- carpe diem: seize the day
- carpe noctem: seize the night
- caveat emptor: let the buyer beware
- ceteris paribus: all other things being equal
- contra legem: against the law
- cor unum: one heart
- cum grano salis: with a grain of salt
- data venia: with due respect
- deo confidimus: in God we trus
- dominus vobiscum: the Lord be with you
- ex mea sententia: in my opinion
- exempli gratia (e.g.): for the sake of example
- fiat lux: Let there be light
- fortis est veritas: truth is strong
- hic et nunc: here and now
- in vino veritas: truth in wine
- iustitia omnibus: justice for all
- nil desperandum: never despair!
- nunquam obliviscar: never forget
- omnia vincit amor: love conquers all
- onus probandi: burden of proof
- passim: here and there, everywhere
- pax in terra: peace on earth
- per diem: by day
- post factum: after the fact
- pro parte: in part
- pro scientia atque sapientia: for knowledge and wisdom
- seculo seculorum: forever and ever
- semper idem : always the same
- sequere pecuniam: follow the money
- suum cuique: to each his own
- temet nosce: know thyself
- utrinque paratus: ready for anything
- velle est posse: to be willing is to be able
- veni, vidi, vici: I came, I saw, I conquered
- verbatim: word for word
- veritas omnia vincit: truth conquers all
- vi et animo: with heart and soul
LATIN WISDOM
Vincit qui se vincit.
He conquers who conquers himself.
Used as a motto by many schools, this phrase means getting yourself under control and mastering your own urges and temptations before you try to control the outside world.
Non ducor, duco.
I am not led, I lead.
This phrase is a great way to assert your dominance.
Astra inclinant, sed non obligant.
The stars incline us, they do not bind us.
The phrase means that while fate (whether determined by the stars or the gods might point us in a certain direction, we are never forced in it because free will exists and the decision of what to do is ultimately our own.
Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.
If I can not bend the will of Heaven, I shall move Hell.
This phrase is best-known today for appearing as a dedication in Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams. You can use it when you’ve been stymied or prevented from achieving your goal. Adapt the translation by telling people who ask that it means “If I can’t move heaven, I shall raise hell.”
Igne natura renovatur integra.
Through fire, nature is reborn whole.
This phrase refers to the cleansing power of fire and the ever-repeating cycle of death and life.
Aut cum scuto aut in scuto.
Either with shield or on shield.
In Sparta, mothers were said to tell their war-bred children to either come back carrying their shield or on it. It means don’t surrender, never give up.
Carthago delenda est.
Carthage must be destroyed.
Following the Second Punic War Cato the Elder would end his speeches with this phrase, which today can be used to add emphasis and vehemence to an argument.
MORE LATIN WISDOM
Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest: let no man be another's who can be his own
Ars longa, vita brevis: Art is long, life is short
Calamus gladio fortior: The pen is mightier than the sword
Cogito, ergo sum: I think, therefore I am
Condemnant quod non intellegunt: They condemn what they do not understand
Credo ut intelligam: I believe so that I may understand
Docendo disco, scribendo cogito: I learn by teaching, I think by writing
Exitus acta probat: The result justifies the deed
Grandescunt aucta labore: By hard work, all things increase and grow
Igne natura renovatur integra: Through fire, nature is reborn whole.
Ipsa scientia potestas est: Knowledge itself is power
Male parta male dilabuntur: What has been wrongly gained is wrongly lost
Mens sana In corpore sano: A healthy mind in a healthy body.’
Nemo sine vitio est: No one is without fault
Nisi paria non pugnant: It takes two to make a fight
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum: Don't let the bastards grind you down
Non ducor, duco: I am not led, I lead.
Oderint dum metuant: Let them hate so long as they fear.
Omnium rerum principia parva sunt: The beginnings of all things are small
Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim: Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you
Qui totum vult totum perdit: He who wants everything loses everything
Scientia ipsa potentia est: Knowledge itself is power
Timendi causa est nescire: The cause of fear is ignorance
Vincere est vivere: To conquer is to live
Vincit omnia veritas: Truth conquers all
Vitam impendere vero: Dedicate your life to truth
Vivamus, moriendum est: Let us live, since we must die
Vive ut vivas: Live so that you may live
LATIN ABBREVIATIONS
- AD - anno Domini (in the year of the Lord)
- A.I. - ad interim (temporarily)
- A.M. - ante meridiem (before midday)
- C. - circa (around, about, approximate)
- C.V. - curriculum vitae (course of life)
- ET AL - et alii, et alia, et alibi (and others)
- E.G. - exempli gratia (for example)
- ETC. - et caetera (and the others)
- ET SEQ - et sequens (the words, pages, etc. that follow)
- I.E. - id est (that is, in other words)
- LB - libra (scale)
- P.A. - per annum (through a year)
- PER CENT - per centum (for each one hundred)
- M.O. - modus operandi (method of operation)
- OP.CIT. - opere citato (in the work cited)
- P.M. - post meridiem (after midday)
- PRO TEM - pro tempore (for the time being, temporarily)
- P.S. - post scriptum (after what has been written)
- Q.D. - quaque die (every day)
- Q.E.D. - quod erat demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrate)
- RE - in re (in the matter of, concerning)
- R.I.P. - requiescat in pace (may he/she rest in peace)
- S.O.S. - si opus sit (if there is need, if occasion require, if necessary)
- SIC - sic or sic erat scriptum (Thus it was written)
- STAT - statim (immediately)
- VS - versus (against)
STARLIGHT POETRY BY KAI
View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
Contact | About | Reprints & Copyrights
© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry
View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
Contact | About | Reprints & Copyrights
© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry