This page lists direct English translations of Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before that of ancient Rome.
This list covers the letter B. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.
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| References |
B
| Latin | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| barba tenus sapientes | wise as far as the beard | From Gerhard Gerhards' (1466–1536) [better known as Erasmus] collection of annotated Adagia (1508). In appearance wise, but not necessarily so. |
| Beata Virgo Maria (BVM) | Blessed Virgin Mary | A common name in the Roman Catholic Church for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The genitive, Beatae Mariae Virginis (BMV), occurs often as well, appearing with such words as horae (hours), litaniae (litany) and officium (office). |
| beatae memoriae | of blessed memory | See in memoriam. |
| beati pauperes spiritu | Blessed in spirit [are] the poor. | Vulgate, Matthew 5:3. The full quote is "beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum" ("Blessed in spirit [are] the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens" - one of the Beatitudes). |
| beati possidentes | blessed [are] those who possess | Translated from Euripides. |
| beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam | blessed is the man who finds wisdom | from Proverbs 3:13; set to music in a 1577 motet of the same name by Orlando di Lasso. |
| bella gerant alii Protesilaus amet! |
let others wage war Protesilaus should love! |
Originally from Ovid, Heroides 13.84,[1] where Laodamia is writing to her husband Protesilaus who is at the Trojan War. She begs him to stay out of danger, but he was in fact the first Greek to die at Troy. Also used of the Habsburg marriages of 1477 and 1496, written as bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube (let others wage war; you, fortunate Austria, marry). Said by King Matthias |
| bellum omnium contra omnes | war of all against all | A phrase used by Thomas Hobbes to describe the state of nature. |
| bellum se ipsum alet | The war feeds itself | |
| bibo ergo sum | I drink, therefore I am | |
| bis dat qui cito dat | he gives twice, who gives promptly | Thus a gift that is given quickly without hesitation is worth twice as much. |
| bis in die (bid) | twice in a day | Medical shorthand for "twice a day". |
| bona fide | in good faith | In other words, "well-intentioned", "fairly". In modern contexts, often has connotations of "genuinely" or "sincerely". Bona fides is not the plural (which would be bonis fidebus), but the nominative, and means simply "good faith". Opposite of mala fide. |
| bona notabilia | — | In law, if a person dying has goods, or good debts, in another diocese or jurisdiction within that province, besides his goods in the diocese where he dies, amounting to a certain minimum value, he is said to have bona notabilia; in which case, the probat of his will belongs to the archbishop of that province. |
| bona officia | good services | A nation's offer to mediate in disputes between two other nations. |
| bona patria | — | A jury or assize of countrymen, or good neighbors. |
| bona vacantia | vacant goods | United Kingdom legal term for ownerless property that passes to The Crown. |
| boni pastoris est tondere pecus non deglubere | It is of a good shepherd to shear his flock, not to flay them. | Tiberius reportedly said this to his regional commanders, as a warning against taxing the populace excessively. |
| bonum commune communitatis | common good of the community | Or "general welfare". Refers to what benefits a society, as opposed to bonum commune hominis, which refers to what is good for an individual. |
| bonum commune hominis | common good of a man | Refers to an individual's happiness, which is not "common" in that it serves everyone, but in that individuals tend to be able to find happiness in similar things. |
| busillis | — | Pseudo-Latin meaning "baffling puzzle" or "difficult point". John of Cornwall (ca. 1170) was once asked by a scribe what the word meant. It turns out that the original text said in diebus illis magnis plenæ (in those days there were plenty of great things), which the scribe misread as indie busillis magnis plenæ (in India there were plenty of large busillis). |
Notes
References
- This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.
- Adeleye, Gabriel G. (1999). World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions. Ed. Thomas J. Sienkewicz and James T. McDonough, Jr. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0865164223.
- Hardon, John, Fr. Modern Catholic Dictionary.
- Stone, Jon R. (1996). Latin for the Illiterati. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415917751.
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