This page lists 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 Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before that of ancient Rome.
This list covers the letter V. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.
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| Latin | Translation | Notes |
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| vade ad formicam | go to the ant | A Biblical phrase from the Book of Proverbs. The full quotation translates as "go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom". |
| vade mecum | go with me | A vade-mecum or vademecum is an item one carries around, especially a handbook. |
| vade retro Satana | Go back, Satan! | An exhortation for Satan to begone, often used in response to temptation. From a popular Medieval Catholic exorcism formula, based on a rebuke by Jesus to Peter in the Vulgate, Mark 8:33: vade retro me Satana ("step back from me, Satan!"). The older phrase vade retro ("go back!") can be found in Terence's Formio I, 4, 203. The phrase has been mocked by a Portuguese slogan, "Vai de metro, Satanás" ("Go by the subway, Satan"). |
| vae victis | Woe to the conquered! | Attributed by Livy to Brennus, the chief of the Gauls, while he demanded more gold from the citizens of the recently sacked Rome in 390 BC. |
| vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas | vanity of vanities; everything [is] vanity | More simply, "vanity, vanity, everything vanity". From the Vulgate, Ecclesiastes, 1:2. |
| vaticinium ex eventu | prophecy from the event | A prophecy made to look as though it was written before the events it describes, while in fact being written afterwards. |
| vel non | or not | Summary of alternatives, i.e. "this action turns upon whether the claimant was the deceased's grandson vel non." |
| velle est posse | "To be willing is to be able." (non-literal: "Where there's a will, there's a way.") | Motto of Hillfield, one of the founding schools of Hillfield Strathallan College. |
| velocius quam asparagi coquantur | more rapidly than asparagus will be cooked | Or simply "faster than cooking asparagus". Ascribed to Augustus by Suetonius (The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Book 2 (Augustus), para. 87). Can refer to anything done very quickly. A very common variant is celerius quam asparagi cocuntur ("more swiftly than asparagus is cooked"). |
| velut arbor aevo | As a tree with the passage of time | Motto of the University of Toronto |
| veni, vidi, vici | I came, I saw, I conquered | The message supposedly sent by Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate to describe his battle against King Pharnaces II near Zela in 47 BC. |
| venisti remanebis donec denuo completus sis | From whence you came, you shall remain, until you are complete again | The phrase that the wizard said to the Devil in the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny which trapped him in hell as long as he was missing his tooth. |
| vera causa | true cause | |
| verba docent exempla trahunt | Words instruct, illustrations lead | On the relevance to use illustrations for example when preaching. |
| verba ita sunt intelligenda ut res magis valeat quam pereat | words are to be understood such that the subject matter may be more effective than wasted | When explaining a given subject, it is important to clarify rather than confuse. |
| verba volant, scripta manent | words fly away, writings remain | From a famous speech of Caio Titus at the Roman senate. |
| verbatim | word for word | Refers to perfect transcription or quotation. |
| verbatim et litteratim | word for word and letter by letter | |
| verbi divini minister | servant of the divine Word | A priest (cf. Verbum Dei). |
| verbi gratia (v.gr. or VG) |
for example | literally: "for the sake of a word" |
| Verbum Dei | Word of God | See religious text. |
| verbum Domini manet in aeternum (VDMA) | The Word of the Lord Endures Forever | Motto of the Lutheran Reformation. |
| verbum sap | A word to the wise is sufficient | The hearer can fill in the rest; enough said. Short for Verbum sapienti sat[is] est. |
| veritas | truth | Motto of many educational institutions. |
| veritas, bonitas, pulchritudo, sanctitas | Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and Holiness | Current motto of Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan. |
| veritas Christo et ecclesiae | Truth for Christ and Church | The de jure motto of Harvard University, dating to its foundation; it is often shortened to Veritas to dispose of its original religious meaning. |
| veritas curat | The Truth Cures. | Motto of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research. |
| Veritas Dei vincit | The God's Truth prevails. | Motto of the Hussites. |
| veritas, fides, sapientia | Truth, Faith, Wisdom | Current motto of Dowling Catholic High School. |
| veritas diaboli manet in aeternum | Devil's truth remain eternally | |
| veritas et fortitudo | Truth and Courage | One of the mottoes of Lyceum of the Philippines University. |
| veritas et virtus | Truth and virtue | Motto of University of Pittsburgh, Methodist University. |
| veritas in caritate | Truth Through Caring | Motto of Bishop Wordsworth's School. |
| Veritas Iustitia Libertas | Truth Justice Liberty | Motto of Free University of Berlin. |
| Veritas Liberabit Vos | Truth Shall Set You Free | Motto of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, The first Catholic Philippine Jesuit University located in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, Philippines. |
| veritas lux mea | Truth is my light. | A common non-literal translation is "Truth enlightens me." Motto of Seoul National University. |
| veritas vitæ magistra | Truth is Life's Teacher. | Another plaussible translation is 'Truth is Life's Mistress'. Unofficial Motto of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, appearing in its Tower. |
| veritas odit moras | Truth hates delay | Seneca the Younger. |
| veritas omnia vincit | Truth conquers all | Motto of Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario. See also national motto Satyameva Jayate of India and motto of Triangle Fraternity. |
| veritas unitas caritas | Truth, Unity, Love | Motto of Villanova University. |
| veritas vincit | truth conquers | Motto of the Scottish clan Keith. Used to be motto of Protektorate of Bohemia and Moravia and in Czech translation motto of Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic |
| Veritas. Virtus. Libertas. | Truth. Courage. Freedom. | Motto of the University of Szeged in Hungary. |
| veritas vos liberabit | the truth will set you free | Motto of Johns Hopkins University. |
| veritate duce progredi | Advancing (with) Truth Leading. | Motto of University of Arkansas. |
| [in] veritate et caritate | with truth and love | Motto of Catholic Junior College, Singapore. |
| veritate et virtute | with truth and courage | Motto of Sydney Boys High School. Also "virtute et veritate", motto of Walford Anglican School for Girls. |
| veritatem dilexi | I delight in (or, I have chosen) the truth. | Motto of Bryn Mawr College. |
| veritatem fratribus testari | to bear witness to the truth in brotherhood | Motto of Xaverian Brothers High School. |
| vero nihil verius | nothing truer than truth | Motto of Mentone Girls' Grammar School |
| vero possumus | Yes, we can | A variation of the campaign slogan used by then-Senator Barack Obama on a Great Seal variation during the 2008 US presidential campaign.[1] |
| versus (vs) or (v.) | towards | Literally "in the direction". Mistakenly used in English as "against" (probably from "adversus"), particularly to denote two opposing parties, such as in a legal dispute or a sports match. |
| veto | I forbid | The right to unilaterally stop a certain piece of legislation. Derived from ancient Roman voting practices. |
| vi et animo | With heart and soul | Or "Strength with Courage". Motto of Ascham School and the McCulloch clan crest. |
| vi veri universum vivus vici | by the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe | Supposedly from Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus although it is conspicuously absent from both the uncensored A and edited B text, (where the B text is the version originally shown shortly after Marlowe's Death and the A text being, supposedly, closer to Marlowe's original Manuscript.) Strangely the nature of the quote is more in keeping with the themes of truth portrayed in the original Germanic Faust folk tale. Note that v was originally the consonantal u, and was written the same before the two forms became distinct, and also after in many cases, when u and v were both capitalized as V: thus, Vniversum. Also, universum is sometimes quoted with the form ueniversum (or Veniversum), which is presumably a combination of universum and oeniversum, two classically attested spellings). Recently quoted in the Alan Moore graphic novel and film adaptation, V for Vendetta, by the main character, V. |
| via | by the road | "by way of" or "by means of"; e.g. "I'll contact you via e-mail." |
| via media | middle road | Can refer to the radical center political stance. |
| via, veritas, vita | The Way, the Truth and the Life | Motto of The University of Glasgow, Eastern Nazarene College and a number of Canossian schools in Singapore and Hong Kong |
| vice | in place of | "one who acts in place of another"; can be used as a separate word, or as a hyphenated prefix: "Vice President" and "Vice-Chancellor". |
| vice versa versa vice |
with position turned For other uses, see vice versa |
Thus, "the other way around", "conversely", etc. Historically, vice is properly pronounced as two syllables, but the one-syllable pronunciation is extremely common. Classical Latin pronunciation dictates that the letter C can only make a hard sound, like K, thus vee-keh vehr-sah. (Note that in classical times, the V was pronounced like a W.)[2] |
| victoria aut mors | Victory or death! | similar to aut vincere aut mori. |
| victoria concordia crescit | Victory comes from harmony | The official club motto of Arsenal F.C. |
| victrix causa diis placuit sed victa Catoni | the victorious cause pleased the gods, but the conquered cause pleased Cato | Lucan, Pharsalia 1, 128. Dedication on the south side of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. |
| vide | "see" or "refer to" | |
| vide infra (v.i.) | "see below" | |
| vide supra (v.s.) | "see above" | Or "see earlier in this writing". Also shortened to just supra. |
| videlicet (viz.) | "namely", "that is to say", "as follows" | Contraction of videre licet: "permitted to see". |
| video et taceo | I see and keep silent | The motto of Queen Elizabeth I of England. |
| video meliora proboque deteriora sequor | I see and approve of the better, but I follow the worse | From the Metamorphoses VII. 20–21 of Ovid. A summary of the experience of akrasia. |
| video sed non credo | I see it, but I don't believe it | Caspar Hofmann after being shown proof of the circulatory system by William Harvey. |
| videre licet | "it is permitted to see", "one may see" | |
| vim promovet insitam | promotes one's innate power | Motto of University of Bristol taken from Horace Ode 4.4. |
| vince malum bono | Overcome Evil with Good | Partial quotation of Romans 12:21 also used as a motto for Old Swinford Hospital and Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. |
| vincere scis Hannibal victoria uti nescis | you know [how] to win, Hannibal; you do not know [how] to use victory | According to Livy, a cavalry colonel told Hannibal this after the victory at Cannae in 216 BC, meaning that Hannibal should have marched on Rome directly. |
| vincit omnia veritas | Truth conquers all | |
| vincit qui patitur | he conquers who endures | First attributed to Roman scholar and satirst Persius; frequently used as motto. |
| vincit qui se vincit | he/she conquers who conquers himself/herself | Motto of many educational institutions. Also "bis vincit qui se vincit" ("he/she who prevails over himself/herself is twice victorious"). Also the motto of The Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast as seen on the castle's stained glass window near the beginning of the film. |
| vinculum juris | "the chain of the law", i.e. legally binding | "A civil obligation is one which has a binding operation in law, vinculum juris." Bouvier's Law Dictionary, 1856, "Obligation." |
| vir prudens non contra ventum mingit | "[A] wise man does not urinate [up] against the wind" | |
| virile agitur | "The manly thing is being done" | As used in the motto of Knox Grammar School |
| viriliter agite estote fortes | "Quit ye like men, be strong" | As used in the motto of Culford School |
| virtus et scientia | virtue and knowledge | Frequently used as a motto, preeminently as that of La Salle University of Philadelphia, PA. |
| virtus in media stat | Virtue stands in the middle. | Idiomatically: Good practice lies in the middle path. There is disagreement as to whether "media" or "medio" is correct. |
| virtus sola nobilitas | virtue alone [is] noble | Christian Brothers College, St Kilda's school motto |
| virtus tentamine gaudet | Strength rejoices in the challenge. | The motto of Hillsdale College. |
| virtus unita fortior | virtue united [is] stronger | State motto of Andorra. |
| virtute et armis | by virtue and arms | Or "by manhood and weapons". State motto of Mississippi. Possibly derived from the motto of Lord Gray De Wilton, virtute non armis fido ("I trust in virtue, not in arms"). Also virtute et labore, as by manhood and by work motto of Pretoria Boys High School |
| vis legis | power of the law | |
| visio dei | Vision of a god | |
| vita ante acta | a life done before | Thus, a previous life, generally due to reincarnation. |
| vita, dulcedo, spes | [Mary our] life, sweetness, hope | Motto of University of Notre Dame. |
| vita incerta, mors certissima | Life is uncertain, death is most certain | In simpler English, "The most certain thing in life is death". |
| vita patris | During the life of the father | Hence the term "decessit vita patris" (d.v.p) or "died v.p." seen in genealogy works such as Burke's Peerage. |
| vita summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam | the shortness of life prevents us from entertaining far-off hopes | A wistful refrain, sometimes used ironically. From the first line of Horace's Ode I; later used as the title of a short poem by Ernest Dowson. |
| vitai lampada tradunt | They hand on the torch of life | From Lucretius' poem De rerum natura II.77–79; the normal spelling "vitae" (two syllables) had to be changed to "vitaï" (three syllables) to fit the requirements of the poem's dactylic hexameters. Motto of the Sydney Church of England Grammar School and others. |
| viva voce | living voice | An oral, as opposed to a written, examination of a candidate. |
| vivat crescat floreat | may it live, grow, and flourish! | |
| vivat rex | May the King live! | Usually translated "Long live the King!" Also Vivat Regina ("Long live the Queen!"). |
| Vivat Slovakia! | Long live Slovakia! | Election hit of the People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. |
| vive memor leti | live remembering death | Persius. Compare with "memento mori" |
| vive ut vivas | live so that you may live | The phrase suggests that one should live life to the fullest and without fear of possible consequences. |
| vivere est cogitare | To live is to think | Cicero. Compare with "cogito ergo sum". |
| vivere est vincere | To live is to conquer | Captain John Smith's personal Motto. |
| vivere militare est | To live is to fight | Seneca (Epist. 96,5). Compare with "militia est vita hominis" Book of Job 7:1 |
| vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit | called and not called, God will be present | or "called and even not called, God approaches"; attributed to the Oracle at Delphi. Used by Carl Jung as a personal motto adorning his home and grave. |
| volenti non fit injuria | to one willing, no harm is done | or "to him who consents, no harm is done"; used in tort law to delineate the principle that one cannot be held liable for injuries inflicted on an individual who has given his consent to the action that gave rise to the injury. |
| votum separatum | separate vow | An independent, minority voice. |
| vox clamantis in deserto | the voice of one shouting in the desert | or traditionally, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness"; from Isaiah 40, and quoted by John the Baptist in the Gospels. Usually the "voice" is assumed to be shouting in vain, unheeded by the surrounding wilderness. However, in this phrase's use as the motto of Dartmouth College, it is taken to denote an isolated beacon of education and culture in the "wilderness" of New Hampshire. |
| vox nihili | voice of nothing | Applied to a useless or ambiguous phrase or statement. |
| vox populi | voice of the people | Short non-prearranged interview with an ordinary person (e.g. on the street); sometimes shortened to "vox pop". |
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