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 V. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.
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| References |
V
| Latin | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| vade ad formicam | "go to the ant" | A Biblical phrase from the Book of Proverbs. The full quotation translates as "go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom". |
| vade mecum | "go with me" | A vade-mecum or vademecum is an item one carries around, especially a handbook. |
| vade retro Satana | "Go back, Satan!" | An exhortation for Satan to begone, often used in response to temptation. From a popular Medieval Catholic exorcism formula, based on a rebuke by Jesus to Peter in the Vulgate, Mark 8:33: vade retro me Satana ("step back from me, Satan!"). The older phrase vade retro ("go back!") can be found in Terence's Formio I, 4, 203. The phrase has been mocked by a Portuguese slogan, "Vai de metro, Satanás" ("Go by the subway, Satan"). |
| vae victis | "Woe to the conquered!" | Attributed by Livy to Brennus, the chief of the Gauls, while he demanded more gold from the citizens of the recently-sacked Rome in 390 BC. |
| vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas | "vanity of vanities; everything [is] vanity" | More simply, "vanity, vanity, everything vanity". From the Vulgate, Ecclesiastes, 1:2. |
| vaticinium ex eventu | "prophecy from the event" | A prophecy made to look as though it was written before the events it describes, while in fact being written afterwards. |
| vel non | "or not" | Summary of alternatives, ie. "this action turns upon whether the claimant was the deceased's grandson vel non." |
| velle est posse | "To be willing is to be able." (non-literal: "Where there's a will, there's a way.") | Motto of Hillfield, one of the founding schools of Hillfield Strathallan College. |
| velocius quam asparagi coquantur | "more rapidly than asparagus will be cooked" | Or simply "faster than cooking asparagus". Ascribed to Augustus by Suetonius (The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Book 2 (Augustus), para. 87). Can refer to anything done very quickly. A very common variant is celerius quam asparagi cocuntur ("more swiftly than asparagus is cooked"). |
| velut arbor aevo | "As a tree with the passage of time." | Motto of the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
| veni, vidi, vici | "I came, I saw, I conquered" | The message supposedly sent by Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate to describe his battle against King Pharnaces II near Zela in 47 BC. |
| venisti remanebis donec denuo completus sis | "From whence you came, you shall remain, until you are complete again" | The phrase that the wizard said to the Devil in the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny |
| vera causa | "true cause" | |
| verba ita sunt intelligenda ut res magis valeat quam pereat | "words are to be understood such that the subject matter may be more effective than wasted" | An interpretation which gives effect is preferred to one
which makes void. |
| verba volant, scripta manent | "words fly away, writings remain" | From a famous speech of Caio Titus at the Roman senate. |
| verbatim | "word for word" | Refers to perfect transcription or quotation. |
| verbatim et litteratim | "word for word and letter by letter" | |
| verbi divini minister | "servant of the divine Word" | A priest (cf. Verbum Dei). |
| verbi gratia (v.gr. or VG) |
"for example" | literally: "thanks to the words" |
| Verbum Dei | "Word of God" | See religious text. |
| verbum Domini manet in aeternum (VDMA) | "The Word of the Lord Endures Forever" | Motto of the Lutheran Reformation. |
| verbum sap | "A word to the wise is sufficient" | The hearer can fill in the rest; enough said. Short for Verbum sapienti sat[is] est. |
| veritas | "truth" | Current motto of Harvard University, Providence College, Drake University, Knox College, and the University of Santo Tomas (oldest university in the Philippines). Also the name of a British political party (Veritas). |
| veritas, bonitas, pulchritudo, sanctitas | "Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and Holiness" | Current motto of Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan. |
| veritas Christo et ecclesiae | "Truth for Christ and Church" | The original motto of Harvard University, dating to its foundation; it was shortened to Veritas to remove the religious implications. |
| veritas, fides, sapientia | "Truth, Faith, Wisdom" | Current motto of Dowling Catholic High School. |
| veritas curat | "The Truth Cures." | Motto of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research. |
| veritas diaboli manet in aeternum | "Devil's truth remain eternally" | |
| veritate duce progredi | "Advancing (with) Truth Leading." | Motto of University of Arkansas. |
| veritas et virtus | "Truth and virtue" | Motto of University of Pittsburgh, Methodist University. |
| veritas in caritate | "Truth Through Caring" | Motto of John Wordsworth's Father. Motto of Bishop Wordsworth's School. |
| veritas lux mea | "Truth is my light." | A common non-literal translation is "Truth enlightens me." Motto of Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. |
| veritas odit moras | "Truth hates delay" | Seneca the Younger. |
| veritas omnia vincit | "Truth defeats all things" | Motto of Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario. See also national motto Satyameva Jayate of India |
| veritas unitas caritas | "Truth, Unity, Love" | Motto of Villanova University. |
| veritas vos liberabit | "the truth will set you free" | Motto of Johns Hopkins University. |
| [in] veritate et caritate | "with truth and love" | Motto of Catholic Junior College, Singapore. |
| veritate et virtute | "with truth and courage" | Motto of Sydney Boys High School. Also "virtute et veritate", motto of Walford Anglican School for Girls. |
| veritatem fratribus testari | "to bear witness to the truth in brotherhood" | Motto of Xaverian Brothers High School. |
| vero nihil verius | "nothing truer than truth" | Motto of Mentone Girls' Grammar School |
| vero possumus | "Yes, we can." | Motto on the Great Seal of Barack Obama during the 2008 US presidential campaign.[1] |
| versus (vs) or (v.) | "towards" | Literally "in the direction". Mistakenly used in English as "against" (probably from "adversus"), particularly to denote two opposing parties, such as in a legal dispute or a sports match. |
| veto | "I forbid" | The right to unilaterally stop a certain piece of legislation. Derived from ancient Roman voting practices. |
| vi et animo | "With heart and soul" | Or "Strength with Courage". Motto of Ascham School and the McCulloch clan crest. |
| vi veri universum vivus vici | "by the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe" | From Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Note that v was originally the consonantal u, and was written the same before the two forms became distinct, and also after in many cases, when u and v were both capitalized as V: thus, Vniversum. Also, universum is sometimes quoted with the form ueniversum (or Veniversum), which is presumably a combination of universum and oeniversum, two classically-attested spellings). Recently quoted in the Alan Moore graphic novel and film adaptation, V For Vendetta, by the main character, V. |
| via | "by the road" | "by way of" or "by means of"; e.g. "I'll contact you via e-mail." |
| via, veritas, vita | "The Way, the Truth and the Life" | Motto of The University of Glasgow and Eastern Nazarene College |
| via media | "middle road" | Can refer to the radical center political stance. |
| vice | "in place of" | "one who acts in place of another"; can be used as a separate word, or as a hyphenated prefix: "Vice President" and "Vice-Chancellor". |
| vice versa versa vice |
"with position turned" | Thus, "the other way around", "conversely", etc. Historically, vice is properly pronounced as two syllables, but the one-syllable pronunciation is extremely common. Classical Latin pronunciation dictates that the letter C can only make a hard sound, like K and a v is pronounced like a w; thus wee-keh wehr-suh.[2] |
| victoria aut mors | "Victory or death!" | similar to aut vincere aut mori. |
| victoria concordia crescit | "Victory comes from harmony" | The official club motto of Arsenal F.C. |
| victrix causa diis placuit sed victa Catoni | "the victorious cause pleased the gods, but the conquered cause pleased Cato" | Lucan, Pharsalia 1, 128. Dedication on the south side of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. |
| vide infra (v.i.) | "see below" | |
| vide supra (v.s.) | "see above" | Or "see earlier in this writing". Also shortened to just supra. |
| vincit omnia veritas | "Truth conquers all" | |
| videlicet (viz.) | "namely", "that is to say", "as follows" | Contraction of videre licet: "permitted to see". |
| video meliora proboque deteriora sequor | "I see and approve of the better, but I follow the worse" | From the Metamorphoses VII. 20–21 of Ovid. A summary of the experience of akrasia. |
| video et taceo | "I see and keep silent" | The motto of Queen Elizabeth I of England. |
| video sed non credo | "I see it, but I don't believe it" | Caspar Hofmann after being shown proof of the circulatory system by William Harvey. |
| vim promovet insitam | "promotes one's innate power" | Motto of University of Bristol taken from Horace Ode 4.4. |
| videre licet | "it is permitted to see", "one may see" | |
| vince malum bono | "Overcome Evil with Good" | Partial quotation of Romans 12:21 also used as a motto for Old Swinford Hospital and Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. |
| vincere scis Hannibal victoria uti nescis | "you know [how] to win, Hannibal; you do not know [how] to use victory" | According to Livy, a cavalry colonel told Hannibal this after the victory at Cannae in 216 BC, meaning that Hannibal should have marched on Rome directly. |
| vincit qui patitur | "he conquers who endures" | Used in mottos of the Dancer family, of The Latymer School in London, Stockport Grammar School and others. First attributed to Roman scholar and satirst Persius. |
| vincit qui se vincit | "he conquers who conquers himself" | Or "he who prevails over himself is victorious". Or "She conquers who conquers herself" as used in mottos of Philadelphia High School for Girls, Firbank Girls' Grammar School, Malvern Girls' College, North Sydney Boys High School. Also "bis vincit qui se vincit" ("he who prevails over himself is twice victorious"). |
| viriliter agite estote fortes | "Quit ye like men, be strong" | As used in the motto of Culford School |
| vir prudens non contra ventum mingit | "[A] wise man does not urinate [up] against the wind" | |
| virtus et scientia | "virtue and knowledge" | University of San Agustin, Iloilo City, Philippines motto |
| virtus sola nobilitas | "virtue alone [is] noble" | Christian Brothers College, St Kilda's school motto |
| virtus unita fortior | "virtue united [is] stronger" | State motto of Andorra. |
| virtus in media stat | "Virtue stands in the middle. " | Idiomatically: Good practice lies in the middle path. There is disagreement as to whether "media" or "medio" is correct. |
| virtus tentamine gaudet | "Strength rejoices in the challenge." | The motto of Hillsdale College. |
| virtute et armis | "by virtue and arms" | Or "by manhood and weapons". State motto of Mississippi. Possibly derived from the motto of Lord Gray De Wilton, virtute non armis fido ("I trust in virtue, not in arms"). Also virtute et labore, as by manhood and by work motto of Pretoria Boys High School |
| vis legis | "power of the law" | |
| visio dei | "Vision of a god" | |
| vita ante acta | "a life done before" | Thus, a previous life, generally due to reincarnation. |
| vita, dulcedo, spes | "[Mary our] life, sweetness, hope" | Motto of University of Notre Dame. |
| vita incerta, mors certissima | "Life is uncertain, death is most certain" | In simpler English, "The most certain thing in life is death". |
| vita summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam | "the shortness of life prevents us from entertaining far-off hopes" | A wistful refrain, sometimes used ironically. From the first line of Horace's Ode I; later used as the title of a short poem by Ernest Dowson. |
| viva voce | "living voice" | An oral, as opposed to a written, examination of a candidate. |
| vivat crescat floreat | "may it live, grow, and flourish!" | |
| vivat rex | "May the King live!" | Usually translated "Long live the King!" Also Vivat Regina ("Long live the Queen!"). |
| vive memor leti | "I live remembering death" | Persius. Compare with "memento mori" |
| vivere est cogitare | "To live is to think" | Cicero. Compare with "cogito ergo sum". |
| vivere est vincere | "To live is to conquer" | Captain John Smith's personal Motto. |
| vivere militare est | "To live is to fight" | Seneca (Epist. 96,5). Compare with "militia est vita hominis" Book of Job 7:1 |
| vive ut vivas | "live so that you may live" | The phrase suggests that one should live life to the fullest and without fear of possible consequences. |
| vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit | "called and not called, God will be present", or "called and even not called, God approaches" | Attributed to the Oracle at Delphi. Used by Carl Jung as a personal motto adorning his home and grave. "[Whether] invoked or not, God is present." |
| volenti non fit injuria | "to one willing, no harm is done" or "to him who consents, no harm is done | used in tort law to delineate the principle that one cannot be held liable for injuries inflicted on an individual who has given his consent to the action that gave rise to the injury. |
| votum separatum | "separate vow" | An independent, minority voice. |
| vox clamantis in deserto | "the voice of one shouting in the desert" (or, traditionally, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness") | From Isaiah 40, and quoted by John the Baptist in the Gospels. Usually the "voice" is assumed to be shouting in vain, unheeded by the surrounding wilderness. However, in this phrase's use as the motto of Dartmouth College, it is taken to denote an isolated beacon of education and culture in the "wilderness" of New Hampshire. |
| vox nihili | "voice of nothing" | Applied to a useless or ambiguous phrase or statement. |
| vox populi | "voice of the people" |
Notes
- ^ Image at York University, Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics.
- ^ "Latin Pronunciation Demystified" by Michael A. Covington. Program in Linguistics, University of Georgia. December 31, 2005]
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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