Everyday Latin you didn’t know you knew

It’s been a while, but when our family considered sharing a weekend bottle of wine, we sometimes proposed it thus: “In vino veritas?”

In wine there is truth. Or maybe not, but nerds like us never pass up an excuse to play with Latin.

We English speakers use a lot more Latin than we realize.

“In vino veritas” may not be common anymore, nor is the Latin version of love conquers all – “omnia vincit amor” (from Virgil’s 10th Eclogue poem circa 40 B.C.E. and a plethora of art, music and literature since). “Caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware, as in all sales final) still makes the rounds, and we’ve kept “caveat” to mean an exception or warning.

Yet many more Latin words and phrases still cling to American tongues, even if we’ve forgotten their Roman natures (apologies to Latin teachers for the loose translations):

A.m. and p.m. (ante, post meridiem – before, after midday)

Ad hoc (to this). Adapted, it means something irregular but done as necessary, such as “on an ad hoc basis.”

Alibi (elsewhere). Now alibi refers to evidence possibly exculpating someone from a crime, because they were somewhere (or doing something) else at the time. Speaking of crime, there’s also M.O. – modus operandi, or method/manner of operation.

Bona fide (in good faith). Today most often used to mean real or genuine; a bona fide expert or a bona fide antique.

Bonus (good, honest). It lost that more general meaning, now used for monetary or other rewards.

Circa (about). Precedes a date, as in circa 1956.

De facto (by/in deed, or in fact). Like it sounds, typically used to imply something otherwise surprising or without right, such as a de facto leader when someone else holds the title.

E.g. (“exempli gratia,” for example) and i.e. (“id est,” that is). Commonly confused in writing. E.g. is interchangeable with “such as,” used to list an example (she likes novels, e.g. murder mysteries). I.e. is used to explain further (most of the group, i.e., four out of five, went home).

Ego (I). Ego in Latin is a first-person pronoun. Now in English it refers to a sense of self, and is a psychology term.

Ergo (therefore). Unchanged after all these centuries. Cogito ergo sum; I think, ergo I am.

Et cetera (and the rest). Mostly abbreviated now as etc. (not ect), which follows a list and indicates more items which could be included haven’t been.

Extra (outside, beyond). Used both as a prefix (e.g., extraordinary, extracurricular) meaning “outside of” or beyond, and as an adjective or adverb meaning more or additional.

Impromptu (“in promptu,” to make clear; ready). Not sure how we lost the “n” to an “m.” Now it means spontaneous.

Intro (enter, or a Latin prefix meaning within). Retained as a prefix (e.g., introduction, introspective — although these come directly from Latin, too) or an informal noun short for introduction, referring to the beginning.

Per se (by/in itself). Used to emphasize importance or connection (it’s not the words per se which are important, but the message conveyed). Okay; so that wasn’t the best sentence I could have crafted.

Pro bono (“pro bono publico,” for the public good). Pro bono describes something done without payment, such as professionals who donate their time.

Quid pro quo (something for something). An exchange of favors.

Re (again). I always thought it was short for regarding, but apparently it’s also a Latin word, not just an email subject line.

Stat (“statim,” immediately). Urgent. Popular in doctor shows.

Status quo (the state in which). How things are.

S.O.S. (“si opus sit,” if there is need). Now a distress call.

Verbatim (word for word). Repeated word-for-word; exactly.

Versus (against, toward). Today we mean only against, an opposing position (vs.).

Vice versa (by/with the reversed position). The other way around; interchangeable.

For any translation mistakes by this untrained writer, it's mea culpa (through my fault). See? There’s another one! These are a mere handful of many more Latin words, phrases and roots the English language retains.

A dead language? Hardly!

Sholeh Patrick, J.D. (“juris doctor,” doctor of law, but not M.A. “magister artium,” master of arts. Latin: It’s everywhere!) is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who loves linguistic histories and etymologies. Email Sholeh@cdapress.com.