This page is one of a series listing English translations of notable Latin phrases, such as veni, vidi, vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as ancient Greek rhetoric and literature started centuries before the beginning of Latin literature in ancient Rome.
- This list covers the letter T. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.
Lists of Latin phrases
References| Latin | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| tabula gratulatoria | congratulatory tablet | A list of congratulations. |
| tabula rasa | scraped tablet | Thus, "blank slate". Romans used to write on wax-covered wooden tablets, which were erased by scraping with the flat end of the stylus. John Locke used the term to describe the human mind at birth, before it had acquired any knowledge. |
| talis qualis | just as such | "Such as it is" or "as such". |
| taliter qualiter | somewhat | |
| talium Dei regnum | for of such (little children) is the kingdom of God | from St Mark's gospel 10:14 "talium (parvuli) est enim regnum Dei"; similar in St Matthew's gospel 19:14 "talium est enim regnum caelorum" ("for of such is the kingdom of heaven"); motto of the Cathedral School, Townsville. |
| tanquam ex ungue leonem | we know the lion by his claw | Said in 1697 by Johann Bernoulli about Isaac Newton's anonymously submitted solution to Bernoulli's challenge regarding the Brachistochrone curve. |
| tantum religio potuit suadere malorum | to such heights of evil are men driven by religion | Lucretius, De rerum natura I.101 Quoted by Christopher Hitchens in ch. 2 of God Is Not Great. |
| tarde venientibus ossa | To the late are left the bones | |
| Te occidere possunt sed te edere non possunt nefas est | They can kill you, but they cannot eat you, it is against the law. | The motto of the fictional Enfield Tennis Academy in the David Foster Wallace novel Infinite Jest. Translated in the novel as "They can kill you, but the legalities of eating you are quite a bit dicier". |
| technica impendi nationi | Technology impulses nations | Motto of Technical University of Madrid |
| temet nosce | know thyself | A reference to the Greek γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnothi seauton), inscribed on the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, according to the Greek periegetic writer Pausanias (10.24.1). Rendered also with nosce te ipsum, temet nosce ("thine own self know") appears in The Matrix translated as "know thyself". |
| tempora heroica | Heroic Age | Literally "Heroic Times"; refers to the period between the mythological Titanomachy and the (relatively) historical Trojan War. |
| tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis | the times are changing, and we change in them | 16th century variant of two classical lines of Ovid: tempora labuntur ("time labors", Fasti) and omnia mutantur ("everything changes", Metamorphoses). See entry for details. |
| tempus edax rerum | time, devourer of all things | Also "time, that devours all things", literally: "time, gluttonous of things", edax: adjectival form of the verb edo to eat. From Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15, 234-236. |
| tempus fugit | Time flees. Time flies. |
From Virgil's Georgics (Book III, line 284), where it appears as fugit inreparabile tempus. A common sundial motto. See also tempus volat, hora fugit below. |
| tempus rerum imperator | time, commander of all things | "Tempus Rerum Imperator" has been adopted by the Google Web Accelerator project. It is shown in the "About Google Web Accelerator" page. Also, motto of Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. |
| tempus vernum | spring time | Name of song by popular Irish singer Enya |
| tempus volat, hora fugit | time flies, the hour flees | |
| tendit in ardua virtus | virtue strives for what is difficult | Appears in Ovid's Epistulae ex Ponto |
| teneo te Africa | I hold you, Africa! | Suetonius attributes this to Julius Caesar, from when Caesar was on the African coast. |
| tentanda via | The way must be tried | motto for York University |
| ter in die (t.i.d.) | thrice in a day | Medical shorthand for "three times a day". |
| terminat hora diem; terminat auctor opus. | The hour finishes the day; the author finishes his work. | Phrase concluding Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus. |
| terminus ante/post quem | limit before/after which | In archaeology or history, refers to the date before which an artefact or feature must have been deposited. Used with terminus post quem (limit after which). Similarly, terminus ad quem (limit to which) may also refer to the latest possible date of a non-punctual event (period, era, etc.), while terminus a quo (limit from which) may refer to the earliest such date. |
| terra australis incognita | unknown southern land | First name used to refer to the Australian continent |
| terra firma | solid earth | Often used to refer to the ground |
| terra incognita | unknown land | |
| terra nova | new land | Latin name of Newfoundland (island portion of Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, capital- St. John's), also root of French name of same, Terre-Neuve |
| terra nullius | land of none | That is, no man's land. A neutral or uninhabited area, or a land not under the sovereignty of any recognized political entity. |
| terras irradient | let them illuminate the lands | Or "let them give light to the world". An allusion to Isaiah 6.3: plena est omnis terra gloria eius ("the whole earth is full of his glory"). Sometimes mistranslated as "they will illuminate the lands" based on mistaking irradiare for a future indicative third-conjugation verb, whereas it is actually a present subjunctive first-conjugation verb. Motto of Amherst College; the college's original mission was to educate young men to serve God. |
| tertium non datur | no third (possibility) is given | A logical axiom that a claim is either true or false, with no third option. |
| tertium quid | a third something | 1. Something that cannot be classified into either of two groups considered exhaustive; an intermediate thing or factor. 2. A third person or thing of indeterminate character. |
| testis unus, testis nullus | one witness is not a witness | A law principle expressing that a single witness is not enough to corroborate a story. |
| textus receptus | received text | |
| Tibi cordi immaculato concredimus nos ac consecramus | We consecrate and entrust ourselves to your Immaculate heart (O Mary). | The inscription found on top of the central door of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, otherwise known as the Manila Cathedral in the Philippines |
| timeo Danaos et dona ferentes | I fear Greeks even if they bring gifts | Danaos being a term for the Greeks. In Virgil's Aeneid, II, 49, the phrase is said by Laocoön when warning his fellow Trojans against accepting the Trojan Horse. The full original quote is quidquid id est timeo Danaos et dona ferentis, quidquid id est meaning "whatever it is" and ferentis being an archaic form of ferentes. Commonly mistranslated "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts". |
| timidi mater non flet | A coward's mother does not weep | A proverb from Cornelius Nepos's Vita of Thrasybulus: praeceptum illud omnium in animis esse debet, nihil in bello oportere contemni, neque sine causa dici matrem timidi flere non solere (that old precept has to be held by all in our minds: nothing should be condemned in war, and it is for a reason that it is said the mother of a coward does not weep ). |
| timor mortis conturbat me | the fear of death confounds me | Refrain originating in the response to the seventh lesson in the Office of the Dead. In the Middle Ages, this service was read each day by clerics. As a refrain, it appears also in other poems and can frequently be found inscribed on tombs. |
| toto cælo | by whole heaven | as far apart as possible; utterly. |
| totus tuus | totally yours | Offering one's life in total commitment to another. The motto was adopted by Pope John Paul II to signify his love and servitude to Mary the Mother of Jesus. |
| traditionis custodes | guardians of tradition | Motu proprio issued by Pope Francis in 2021 regarding the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. |
| transire benefaciendo | to travel along while doing good | Literally "beneficial passage." Mentioned in "The Seamy Side of History" (L'envers de l'histoire contemporaine, 1848), part of La Comédie humaine, by Honoré de Balzac, and Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. |
| translatio imperii | transfer of rule | Used to express the belief in the transfer of imperial authority from the Roman Empire of antiquity to the Medieval Holy Roman Empire. |
| tres faciunt collegium | three makes company | It takes three to have a valid group; three is the minimum number of members for an organization or a corporation. |
| treuga Dei | Truce of God | A decree by the medieval Church that all feuds should be cancelled during the Sabbath—effectively from Wednesday or Thursday night until Monday. See also Peace and Truce of God. |
| tria juncta in uno | Three joined in one | Motto of the Order of the Bath |
| Triste est omne animal post coitum, præter mulierem gallumque | Every animal is sad after coitus except the human female and the rooster | |
| tu autem Domine miserere nobis | But Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us | Phrase said at the end of biblical readings in the liturgy of the medieval church. Also used in brief, "tu autem", as a memento mori epitaph. |
| tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum | Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor | Motto of the Association of Canadian Knights of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. |
| tu fui ego eris | I was you; you will be me | Thus, "what you are, I was; what I am, you will be.". A memento mori gravestone inscription to remind the reader that death is unavoidable (cf. sum quod eris). |
| tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito | you should not give in to evils, but proceed ever more boldly against them | From Virgil, Aeneid, 6, 95. "Ne cede malis" is the motto of The Bronx. |
| tu quoque | you too | The logical fallacy of attempting to defend one's position merely by pointing out the same weakness in one's opponent. |
| tu stultus es | you are stupid | Motto for the satirical news organization, The Onion |
| tuebor | I will protect | Found on the Great Seal on the flag of the state of Michigan. |
| tunica propior est pallio | A tunic is closer than a cloak | From Plautus' Trinummus 1154. Equivalent to "blood is thicker than water" in modern English. |
| turba | lit. 'uproar', 'disturbance', 'crowd'; in music, specifically in the musical settings of the Passion of Jesus, it refers to any text that is spoken by any group of people, including the disciples, the Jews, or the soldiers. | |
| turris fortis mihi Deus | God is my strong tower | Motto of Clan Kelly |
| tutum te robore reddam | I will give you safety by strength | Motto of Clan Crawford |
| tuum est | It's up to you | Motto of the University of British Columbia |
References
- Peter A. Mackridge; Robert Browning; Donald William Lucas; et al. "Greek literature". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- Lucretius. "Liber I". De rerum natura (in Latin) – via Wikisource.
- The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (at Wikisource)
- "The Association of Canadian Knights of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta". The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada. The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
Additional references
- Adeleye, Gabriel G. (1999). Thomas J. Sienkewicz; James T. McDonough, Jr. (eds.). World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 0865164223.
- Stone, Jon R. (1996). Latin for the Illiterati. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415917751.
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