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5 Latin Phrases You Need To Brighten Your Vocabulary
So much more than carpe diem…
Latin is seen as a stuffy language today and it’s fair to say that beyond academia, it has few uses. My own adventures with the language have given me a passing knowledge of some basic vocabulary that I regularly use, mostly to add a little gravitas to an otherwise uneventful conversation. Here are five of my favourites.
Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)
Famously uttered by Caesar (according to Plutarch at least) following his victory in the east at the Battle of Zela, this is probably one of the few phrases of Latin most people know. Encompassing grandeur and the satisfaction of total and decisive victory, I’ve found it to be a handy phrase at the end of many a challenging project at work. There’s nothing more satisfying than sending a link to a completed project to the whole office in an email, while saying nothing but Veni, Vidi, Vici.
Illegitimi non carborundum (Don’t let the bastards grind you down)
I’ll be honest here ‘Illegitimi non carborundum’ is neither ancient nor ‘proper’ Latin. It’s a kind of pigeon Latin, the kind that gets awkwardly spat out by something like Google Translate. Despite the crudeness though, I love it. You’ll often hear it in translation — Don’t let the bastards…
