Latin words

How much English owes to Latin either directly or via French is evident from the etymologies in this book. However, as classical Latin and Greek were for centuries the main subjects taught in schools and any educated gentleman was expected to understand Latin, many words and phrases were adopted directly from Latin, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some have become fully naturalized, such as bonus, literally ‘good’, exit ‘he or she goes out’, impromptu, literally ‘in readiness’ but changed in English to ‘spontaneous’, and alibi ‘elsewhere’, hence evidence you could not have been at the scene of a crime. The psychologist’s ego is simply the Latin for ‘I’ and gratis simply Latin for ‘free’. Others remain obviously Latin. Ad hoc ‘for a particular purpose’ is literally ‘to this’, de facto simply ‘of fact’, and per se ‘in itself’. The re on the subject heading replying to your email is Latin for ‘about’, and terra firma ‘firm land’. Your old place of education, of which you were an alumnus, ‘pupil’, can be called your alma mater ‘bounteous or nourishing mother’.

 Someone or something genuine can be bona fide ‘with good faith’, while someone who acts pro bono publico is acting ‘for the public good’ rather than leaving things in the status quo (ante) ‘the state in which (before)’. Someone asking for a quid pro quo ‘something for something’ may not be benign, for although it can be neutral, it often has a shady meaning, and is not the same as vice versa ‘in turned position’, often simply used for ‘or the other way round’.

 A remark that has no logical connection with a previous statement is a non sequitur—literally, ‘it does not follow’—something that may be done ad nauseum ‘to the point of sickness’. Something done when you are not there can be done in absentia ‘in absence’, often a legal term, as is non compos mentis ‘not having control of the mind’ so not fit to stand trial, while a court case may be sub judice ‘under a judge’ and therefore not to be discussed in the press, even if someone was caught in flagrante delicto ‘in the heat of the crime’, often referring to being caught in bed with someone.

 Many Latin phrases are so imbedded they are simply abbreviated. Thus i.e. is id est ‘that is’, which purists insist should not be confused with e.g. exempli gratia ‘for the sake of example’. Etc. is a shortening of et cetera ‘and the rest’, nb is for nota bene ‘note well’, and qed is ‘quod erat demonstrandum ‘which was to be demonstrated’. ad is Anno Domine ‘in the year of our Lord’, and RIP requiescat in pace ‘rest in peace’

 See also drama, index, innuendo, interest, interim, item, larva, linctus, voice, word.