Okay, now *despite* the title of this node, read the following. You never know when the following phrases may come in handy. For example.....you may find yourself in a country that .... speaks latin.... err..... or, oh! You could go back in time! Yeah!
Time travel.
Regardless, the following are a basic set of phrases in the latin language that will help you out, should the need arise.
(note1: see the latin alphabet node for pronunciation guidelines)
(note2: This is starting with phrases still common today. I will add conversational material as soon as I can.)
Ab initio From the beginning
Ab urbe condita From the building of the city (Rome)
Ad finem To the end
Ad hoc For this purpose
Ad infinitum To infinity
Ad interim In the meantime
Ad libitum At pleasure
Ad literam To the letter; exactly
Ad referendum For further consideration
Ad rem To the purpose; to the point
Adsum. I am present: here!
Ad valorem According to the value
A fortiori With stronger reason
Alias Otherwise
Alma mater School or university (lit. A fostering mother)
Alter ego Another self
Alter idem Another exactly similar
Alumnus (fem. Alumna) A graduate or undergraduate of a university
Amor patriae Love of country
Anno Domini In the year of our Lord
Anno urbis conditae In the year from the time the city (Rome) was built
Ante bellum Before the war
Ante meridiem Before noon
Ante mortem Before death
Artium magister Master of arts
Bona fides Good faith
Ceteris paribus Other things being equal
Casus belli That which causes war
Causa sine qua non An indispensable condition
Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I exist.
Cui bono? For whose advantage? To what end?
Cum grano salis With a grain of salt
De facto In fact; in reality
Dei gratia By the grace of God
De jure From the law; by right
De novo Anew
Deo gratias Thanks to God.
Deo volente God willing
De profundis Out of the depths
Deus Ex Machina God in the Machine
Deus vobiscum. God (be) with you.
Docendo discumus. We learn by teaching.
Dominus vobiscum. The Lord (be) with you.
Dramatis personæ The characters of the play
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.
It is a sweet and glorious thing to die for one's country.
Emeritus Retired after long service
E pluribus unum One out of many
Et cetera And the rest
Et tu, Brute! And thou too, Brutus!
Ex cathedra From the chair, i.e., with authority
Excelsior Onward and upward (lit. Still higher)
Exeunt; exit. They go out; he (or she) goes out.
Ex officio By the virtue of office, or position
Ex tempore On the spur of the moment
Festina lente. Hasten slowly.
Fiat lux. Let there be light.
Fidei defensor Defender of the faith
Fides Punica Punic (Carthaginian) faith, i.e., treachery
Fidus Achates Faithful Achates, i.e., a true friend
Fortiter in re With firmness in action
Fortuna fortibus favet. Fortune favours the brave.
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Glory to God in the highest.
Gloria Patri Glory (be) to the Father.
Habeas corpus That you have the body
Humani nil alienum a me puto
Id est. That is.
In extremis At the point of death
Infra dignitaem Beneath one's dignity
In loco parentis In place of a parent
In memoriam To the memory of; in memory of
In perpetuum Forever
In situ In its original situation
In statu quo In the former state
Inter alia Among other things
Inter nos Between ourselves
In toto In the whole; entirely
Ipse dixit. He himself said it; a dogmatic saying
Ipso facto In the fact itself
Jus divinum The divine law
Jus gladii The right of the sword
Labor omnia vincit. Labour conquers everything.
Lapsus linguae A slip of the tongue
Lapsus memoriae A slip of the memory
Lares et penates Household gods
Laus Deo. Praise to God.
Magna est veritas et prevalebit.
Truth is mighty and will prevail.
Magnum opus A great work
Male fide With bad faith; treacherously
Mens sana in corpore sano A sound mind in a sound body
Meum et tuum Mine and thine
Mirabile dictu Wonderful to relate
Modus operandi Manner of working
Multum in parvo Much in little
Mutatis mutandis With the necessary changes
Ne plus ultra Nothing further; perfection
Nil desperandum. No reason for despair; never despair.
Nolen volens Willing or unwilling
Non compos mentis Not of sound mind
Non sequitur. It does not follow.
Nota bene. Mark well.
Obiit. He (or she) died.
Obiter dictum A thing said by the way
Ora pro nobis. Pray for us.
Ore rotundo With full voice
O tempora! O mores! O the times! O the manners!
Pari passu With equal pace, step for step
Passim Everywhere
Paternoster The Lord's Prayer (lit. Our Father)
Patres conscripti Conscript fathers (Roman senators)
Pax vobiscum. Peace be to you.
Per annum By the year
Per capita By the person; per head
Per contra Contrariwise
Per centum By the hundred
Per diem By the day
Per se Considered by itself
Pons asinorum The ass's bridge
Post meridiem After noon
Post mortem After death
Post scriptum After the writing
Pro bono publico For the good of the public
Pro et contra For and against
Pro patria For our country
Pro tempore For the time being
Quantum libet As much as you please
Quantum sufficit As much as suffices
Quid pro quo Something in return
Quo vadis? Whither goest thou?
Quod erat demonstrandum. Which was to be demonstrated.
Quod erat faciendum Which was to be done.
Requiescat in pace. May he (or she) rest in peace.
Semper fidelis Always faithful
Semper idem Always the same
Semper paratus Always ready
Sic semper tyrannis! Ever so to tyrants!
Sic transit gloria mundi.
Thus passes away the glory of this world.
Similia similibus curantur.
Like things are cured by like.
Sine cura Without charge, or care
Sine die Without a day being appointed
Sine qua non Without which, not
Splendide mendax
Nobly untruthful; untrue for a good object
Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re
Gentle in manner; resolute in action
Sub judice Under consideration
Sub poena (subpoena) Under a penalty
Sub rosa Under the rose; privately
Sui generis Of its own peculiar kind
Summum bonum The chief good
Tabula rasa A smooth or blank tablet
Te deum laudamus. We praise Thee, O God.
Tempus fugit. Time flies.
Terra firma Solid ground
Tertium quid A third something
Tu quoque Thou also
Ultimatum A resolution.
Ultra vires Beyond the power of
Ut infra As below
Ut supra As above
Væ victis! Woe to the conquered!
Veni; vidi; vici. I came: I saw: I conquered.
Verbatim et literatim Word for word and letter for letter
Verbum sat sapienti. A word to the wise is sufficient.
Veritas vos liberabit. The truth shall make you free.
Vice versa Conversely: the order being reverse
Vi et armis By force and by arms
Vita brevis, ars longa. Life is short and art is long.
Viva voce By word of mouth
Vox populi, vox Dei.
The voice of the people is the voice of God.
Useful
Latin Nodes:
A tale of John and Bob
Latin, the language of love
Please msg me if you have a node that you would like hardlinked here.