All Questions
Tagged with idiomatisms or idiom
478 questions
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無為 (wu wei) "effortless action": how to translate to Latin?
The Taoist concept of "wu wei" (無為) would have seemed pretty obvious to an ancient stoic. According to Wikipedia, it is "[...] an ancient Chinese concept which has a polymorphic meaning ...
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1
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An accurate translation for "you are what you keep"
is "es quod retines" or "es quod servas" the best way to specifically say "you are what you keep" in terms of money you don't spend/save or is there a more accurate ...
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Is "can be read as" "potest legi" or "potest legi ut"? Or maybe something else?
So, how would you say "If Illyrian was a centum language, 'Curicum' can be read as 'northern wind'." in Latin? Would you say "Si lingua Illyrica erat 'centum' lingua, 'Curicum' potest ...
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1
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How would one say "fly too close to the sun"?
The phrase "to fly too close to the sun" comes from the myth of Icarus and his father Daedalus, who almost managed to escape the labyrinth of Crete on hand-crafted wings, until Icarus flew ...
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How would you say the idiom "To tie up loose ends" in Latin?
How would you say "To tie up loose ends" in Latin?
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Origin of "De gustibus non est disputandum"
The origins of the phrase De gustibus non est disputandum do not seem to be well documented.
Some references say "an ancient Roman adage"; some say "of medieval origin"; others say ...
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3
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1
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What's a more idiomatic way of writing "the prize belongs to the one who sees"?
I thought about
Præmium videntis
but this felt laconic and uninspired. Another option that came to me was
Præmium cernentis est
which seemed more in line with the idea of seeing as understanding ...
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2
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What exactly means "Idi adsum"
In a quest to finding myself, I would like a latin tattoo with the symbol X and the writing "Idi adsum". Because it's permanent, and because I don't want to endup with something that doesn't ...
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How would I say the exclamation "What a [blank]" in Latin?
So I know that "quam" can be used as an intensifier with adjectives and adverbs that expresses astonishment and things along those lines, like "Quam pulcherrima" and stuff like ...
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Is there an equivalent in Latin for "Brown-eyed"?
I know that the the colours in Latin aren't like today, but how would they describe someone Brown-eyed or juts tell that someone has brown eyes? I saw adjectives like "fuscus, fulvus, pullus"...
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How would you say "travel broadens the mind" in Latin?
My knowledge of Latin is quite poor and would say "iter dilatat animum"? Is it even grammatically correct?
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What are some idioms where subtle differences in phrasing lead to a big difference in meaning?
I've seen a meme going around recently:
In 1000 years people won't understand the difference between "butt dial" and "booty call" and THAT is why the Bible can't be a reliable ...
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How would you say "There's no going back." in Latin?
One of the listened-to song in Croatia these days is "Rim Tim Tagi Dim", and its reffrain is "There's no going back.". How would you say that in Latin? My attempt would be "...
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Clean the house
A friend of mine put a reminder to clean his house before going out, in the inner-facing side of the front door. As a humorous note, he wrote it in Latin, attached to a well-known quote:
Memento mori....
- 11.6k
4
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1
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How would you ask "Is there a Klingon word for loneliness?" in Latin?
How would you translate the idiom "word for X" in Latin? Would you say "verbum pro X" ("Exsistitne in lingua Klingonica verbum pro solitudine?")? Or would you say "...
2
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1
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How would you translate "blood for blood" into Latin?
How would you translate "blood for blood" into Latin? This is similar to how you would use "eye for an eye" and things along those lines.
I got sanguis pro sanguine from Google. Is ...
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«Dream and believe» in Latin
I want to get a tattoo in Latin. I already have one but for another, my knowledge is not enough to translate correctly. The text I want is:
“Dream and believe”
Just to clarify, the phrase does not ...
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Origin of Cicero quote
"I criticize by creation, not by finding fault." Is this translation indeed a Cicero quote? What is the source and the original in Latin?
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1
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Latin phrase meaning "this is the end of the road, and of the map"
Somewhere I encountered a phrase, in print or electronically I don't remember, which I took to mean, "this is the end of the road, and of the map". I seem to recall the phrase in Latin being ...
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Trying to translate "Mastery Through Hardwork"
I have looked at the following, i'm interested if there is something closer.
"per ardua ad peritiam" -> "through the arduous to the skill."
"dominium in labore" -> &...
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Unable to find a source for "Cave quid optes"
After checking several online databases/dictionaries, I have been unable to find a source for what I assumed was a familiar Latin idiom, Cave quid optes. Could it be apocryphal? In an essay I'm ...
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"I close, therefore I am"
In response to an SE close voter's (what I perceive to be) shifting justification for voting to close a question, I wrote:
...and whenever I see someone's close reason evolve and morph during a ...
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Is there a Latin idiom for in the doghouse?
In English if you are "in the doghouse" you are in disgrace.
From Merriam Webster:
in a bad situation because someone is angry at one : in trouble
He's in the doghouse for forgetting his ...
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Is there a way to say the English phrase "Get it over with" in Latin?
Like if an activity is unpleasant to do, but someone must or wants to do it anyway, someone in English might say something along the lines of "Let's get this over with", or if a person is ...
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Prequel, or the story before?
There was a writing term posted in a class I had taken 10 years ago, and it essentially meant prequel or “the story before” and for the life of me I cannot remember it nor find any sort of phrase that ...
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1
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How would you translate "Nothing but the rain"?
In the science fiction TV show Battlestar Galactica, two characters share the following greeting on occasion:
What do you hear?
Nothing but the rain.
I've been wondering what would be the closest ...
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1
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Dissecting Quod erat demonstrandum
The question Translation: that which was to have been made deals with grammatical aspects of the expression quod erat demonstrandum, but I am interested in a detailed break-down of the meaning ...
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How to say "Game Changer" in Latin
How can we describe the disruptive influence of a new factor/invention/information to a sphere of life? as the English idiom "game changer"?
In particular, it would be great to have a ...
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1
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Does a quote like this exist: "Now that the gods are involved, [fate is sealed]."
I'm looking for an ancient quote that resembles something like, "Now that the gods are involved, fate is sealed / all hope is lost / it's useless to fight our fate" vel sim.
Essentially, I'm ...
cmw♦
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Was there an idiom meaning the same as English idiom "Must be a day ending in 'y'!" or Croatian "Ista priča svakog dana!"?
Croatian "Ista priča svakog dana!" literally translates as "Eadem fabula cuiusque diei!".
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Is there an antonymous phrase to dies mali?
"dismal" in English was originated from Latin dies mali ‘evil days’.
Is there an antonymous phrase to dies mali?
If yes, is there an English word originated from that?
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2
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Use of subjunctive in translation of movie quote
I want to translate the phrase
rise and rise again until lambs become lions
into Llatin, with the idea of never giving up or daring to the impossible. My translation so far is
surge et surge ad ...
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"To have knife between the teeth"
Is there a nice way to describe a situation when one acts aggressively even fiercely and fearlessly and has "whatever it takes" mindset to achieve a certain goal as in English we say "...
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The feeling of home
I believe there is an idiom in English that says:
It feels like home
Or
something [about it] felt [somehow] like home
This means when you’re at a place where you feel comfortable and as if it was ...
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Euphemisms for stupidity
In English we can say something like "Not the sharpest pencil in the box" - Do we have a parallel kind of expression in Latin?
We can say brutus or stipes, which not sure if they are not ...
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Idiomatic translation of „lilacs“
I'm searching for an idiomatic translation of the word "lilac(s)" (the deciduous shrub), in the context of its scent.
For example, in English, we may would say:
She smells of lilacs.
I‘d ...
7
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1
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What does „fecerunt pedes“ mean in Latin inscriptions?
I have found several inscriptions in Latin that include the phrase „fecerunt/fecit pedes“
E.g. in the Basilica Sant‘Eufemia in Grado, Italy:
Martini/anus et Simplicia / cum fili/is suis / f(ecerunt) ...
2
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0
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552
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How would you express the idiom, "It is what it is"?
In English, we have the idiom:
It is what it is.
It usually describes a thing or situation with immutable negative qualities, so you have no choice but to accept them.
How would one express this in ...
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needs a good Latin quote to caption magazine to mark my father in law's 100 birthday
my father in law who turns 100 is a lover of latin phrases . So we were looking to caption the magazine to mark the occasion. The phrase should signify a life well spent or lived or similar Do you ...
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2
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Is the inscription "avoca te" really a novel phrase?
In this article (in Dutch) it is claimed that an ancient Roman drinking mug found during an archaeological dig in the town of Mortsel in Belgium, contains the only known instance of the Latin ...
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How would you translate the phrase “for myself”?
When I say “for myself” I mean it in a way such as “everything I do is for myself”. How can I phrase this in Latin?
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Versions of natura non saltum facit
There seem to be at least two versions of a saying sometimes attributed to Leibniz:
Natura non saltum facit.
Natura non facit saltus.
(I hope I did not commit any case errors here). Which of them ...
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1
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Is the expression "ut poësis pictura" formally correct?
I'm writing an essay in which I'd like to use the expression "ut poësis pictura" with the intent of flipping the original expression by Horace "ut pictura poësis". I never studied ...
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1
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Moonfleet latin idiom
"Ita in vita ut in lusu alae pessima jactura arte corrigenda est"
In the text of Moonfleet by Meade Falkner, this phrase is translated to mean
"As in life, so in a game of hazard, skill ...
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1
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What conjunctive function does "ruat caelum" have in "Fiat justitia, ruat caelum"?
"Fiat justitia, ruat caelum" is often rendered as "May justice be done though heaven falls/may fall".
While I have no problem with the translation of "Fiat justitia", I ...
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How do you say "What about us?" in Latin?
In English, a short for "What will happen to us because of your decisions?" is "What about us?". "What about us?" would literally translate as "Quid de nobis?". ...
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2
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Is there a phrase meaning specifically "as far as I know", as opposed to "as far as I see" ("quantum ab hoc")?
I know that "as far as I see" is "quantum ab hoc [videtur]". But is there a way to say specifically "as far as I know" or "as far as I can tell"?
I am trying to ...
3
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0
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Can "ultra vires" mean "without authorization"?
The legal term ultra virēs literally means "beyond their powers"; it refers to, say, a government official trying to make a law they don't have the authority to make (making that law is &...
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16th century vocabulary - harpsichord
In a 16th century text about musical tuning by Benedetti, the author provides this diagram, which he uses to describe his process of tuning the notes on a harpsichord:
In the text, he begins his ...
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Greek or Latin word to express "revealing the sacred in the mundane?
Greetings from a newbie with a very limited knowledge of Latin and less of Greek - some from working in the sciences and more from obsessive reading of English etymologies.
I'm seeking a word in ...
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