Latin Phrases in English

Many Latin phrases are still used in English, though generally more in written English than in
spoken English. This page lists some of the more common phrases from Latin, with meanings,
comments and contextual examples. Although you may not need to use Latin phrases yourself,
it's useful to recognise them when you come across them.

Latin
meaning example or comment
phrase
formed or done for a particular An ad hoc committee was set up to oversee the
ad hoc
purpose only matter.
repeating or continuing to the The apparent risks of secondary smoking have
ad nauseam
point of boredom been debated ad nauseam.
Only bona fide members of the club may use
bona fide genuine; real
the clubhouse.
The principle that the buyer is responsible for
caveat
let the buyer beware checking the quality and suitability of goods
emptor
before a purchase is made.
circa; c. around; approximately The house was built circa 1870.
interrupted congress; aborting
coitus Coitus interruptus is the only form of birth
sexual intercourse prior to
interruptus control that some religions allow.
ejaculation
compos in control of the mind (often used Please call me back later when I'm compos
mentis ironically) mentis.
Although the Emperor was the head of state,
de facto in fact; in reality
the de facto ruler of Japan was the Shogun.
ergo therefore cogito ergo sum
Lists of errors from a previous publication are
erratum error; mistake often marked "errata" (the plural, meaning
errors).
We urgently need to buy medical equipment,
et cetera; etc and the rest; and so on; and more
drugs et cetera.
from kindness or grace (without
They received an undisclosed ex gratia
ex gratia recognizing any liability or legal
payment.
obligation)
ex libris from the books; fromthe library In the front of a book: Ex Libris John Brown
a court order instructing that a The right of habeas corpus has long been
habeas
person under arrest be brought regarded as an important safeguard of
corpus
before a judge individual liberty.
in loco Teachers sometimes have to act in loco
in the place of a parent
parentis parentis.
The paintings have been taken to the museum
in situ in its original place
but the statues have been left in situ.
 Latin
meaning example or comment
phrase
(in biology) taking place outside a
in vitro living organism (for example in a in vitro fertilization
test tube)
The report covers, inter alia, computers,
inter alia among other things
telecommunications and air travel.
per for each This petrol station charges $5.00 per gallon.
per annum; The population is increasing by about 2% per
for each year
p.a. annum.
The country's annual income is $5000 per
per capita for each person
capita.
per se in itself/themselves; intrinsically These facts per se are not important.
examination of a body after death; The post-mortem revealed that she had been
post-mortem
autopsy murdered.
The car rental charge is $50 per day and then
pro rata proportional; proportionally
pro rata for part of a day.
favour or advantage given or Similar to "tit for tat", "give and take" and "You
quid pro quo
expected in return for something scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."
Re: Unpaid Invoice
re about; concerning; regarding
I spoke to the manager re your salary increase.
essential condition; thing that is
sine qua non absolutely necessary; "without Words are a sine qua non of spoken language.
which not"
Monarchies naturally wish to maintain the
status quo existing state of affairs
status quo.
dry land; the ground as opposed to Shackleton and his men set foot on terra firma
terra firma
the air or sea after three weeks at sea.
verbatim in exactly the same words I had to memorize the text verbatim.
What are the benefits of organic versus
inorganic foods?
versus; vs.;
against
v.
In the case of Bush versus Gore, the judges
decided...
vice versa the other way round My telephone serves me, and not vice versa.
persona non unacceptable or unwelcome From now on, you may consider yourself
grata person persona non grata in this house.