List of Latin phrases (L)

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 the rise of ancient Rome.

This list covers the letter L. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.

L

LatinTranslationNotes
labor ipse voluptasThe pleasure is in the work itself.Motto of Leopold von Ranke
labor omnia vincitHard work conquers all.Popular as a motto; derived from a phrase in Virgil's Eclogue (X.69: omnia vincit Amor – "Love conquers all"); a similar phrase also occurs in his Georgics I.145. Motto of St. Xavier's Institution, Penang. Motto of Brinkworth Area School, South Australia. Motto of Princes Street Primary School, Tasmania, Australia.[1]
laborare pugnare parati sumusTo work, (or) to fight; we are readyMotto of the California Maritime Academy
labore et honoreBy labour and honour&nbsp
laboremus pro patriaLet us work for the fatherlandMotto of the Carlsberg breweries
laboris gloria LudiGames are the glory of work,Motto of the Camborne School of Mines, Cornwall, UK
lacrimae rerumThe poignancy of things.Virgil, Aeneid 1:462
lapsuslapse, slip, error; involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking&nbsp
lapsus calamiinadvertent typographical error, slip of the pen 
lapsus linguaeinadvertent speech error, slip of the tongue 
lapsus memoriaeslip of memorysource of the term memory lapse
latius est impunitum relinqui facinus nocentis (quam innocentem damnari)It is better to let the crime of the guilty go unpunished (than to condemn the innocent)Ulpian, Digest 5:6.
Laudatio Ejus Manet In Secula SeculorumHis Praise Remains unto Ages of AgesMotto of Galway
laudator temporis actipraiser of time pastOne who is discontent with the present and instead prefers things of the past ("the good old days"). In Horace's Ars Poetica, line 173
laudetur Jesus ChristusPraise (Be) Jesus ChristOften used as a salutation, but also used after prayers or the reading of the gospel
laus Deopraise be to GodInscription on the east side at the peak of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.; motto of the Viscount of Arbuthnott and Sydney Grammar School
lectio brevior potiorThe shorter reading is the betterA maxim in text criticism. Codified, but simultaneously refuted, by marxist educators.
lectori salutemgreetings readerOften abbreviated to L.S., used as opening words for a letter
lege artisaccording to the law of the artDenotes that a certain intervention is performed in a correct way. Used especially in a medical context. The 'art' referred to in the phrase is medicine.
legem terraethe law of the land&nbsp
leges humanae nascuntur, vivunt, et moriunturlaws of man are born, live and die&nbsp
leges sine moribus vanaelaws without morals [are] vainFrom Horace's Odes; motto of the University of Pennsylvania
legio patria nostraThe Legion is our fatherlandMotto of the French Foreign Legion
legi, intellexi, et condemnaviI read, understood, and condemned.&nbsp
legis plenitudo charitascharity (love) is the fulfilment of the lawMotto of Ratcliffe College, UK and of the Rosmini College, NZ
legitimelawfullyIn Roman and civil law, a forced share in an estate; the portion of the decedent's estate from which the immediate family cannot be disinherited. From the French héritier legitime (rightful heir).
lex artislaw of the skillThe rules that regulate a professional duty.
lex dei vitae lampasthe law of God is the lamp of lifeMotto of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
lex ferendathe law that should be borneThe law as it ought to be.
lex hac edictalithe law here proclaimsThe rule whereby a spouse cannot by deed inter vivos or bequeath by testament to his or her second spouse more than the amount of the smallest portion given or bequeathed to any child.
lex in casulaw in the eventA law that only concerns one particular case. See law of the case.
lex latathe law that has been borneThe law as it is.
lex locilaw of the place&nbsp
lex non scriptalaw that has not been writtenUnwritten law, or common law
lex orandi, lex credendithe law of prayer is the law of faith&nbsp
lex paciferatthe law shall bring peaceMotto of the European Gendarmerie Force
lex parsimoniaelaw of succinctnessalso known as Occam's Razor
lex rexthe law [is] kingA principle of government advocating a rule by law rather than by men. The phrase originated as a double entendre in the title of Samuel Rutherford's controversial book Lex, Rex (1644), which espoused a theory of limited government and constitutionalism.
lex scriptawritten lawStatutory law; contrasted with lex non scripta
lex talionisthe law of retaliationRetributive justice (i.e., eye for an eye)
libera te tutemet (ex inferis)Free yourself (from hell)Used in the movie Event Horizon (1997), where it is translated as "save yourself (from hell)". It is initially misheard as liberate me (free me), but is later corrected. Libera te is often mistakenly merged into liberate, which would necessitate a plural pronoun instead of the singular tutemet (which is an emphatic form of tu, you).
Libertas Justitia VeritasLiberty Justice TruthMotto of the Korea University and Freie Universität Berlin
Libertas perfundet omnia luceFreedom will flood all things with lightMotto of the University of Barcelona and the Complutense University of Madrid
Libertas quae sera tamenfreedom which [is] however lateLiberty even when it comes late; motto of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Libertas Securitas JustitiaLiberty Security JusticeMotto of the Frontex
libra (lb)balance; scalesIts abbreviation lb is used as a unit of weight, the pound.
littera scripta manetThe written word enduresAttributed to Horace
loco citato (lc)in the place citedMore fully written in loco citato; see also opere citato
locum tenensplace holderA worker who temporarily takes the place of another with similar qualifications, for example as a doctor or a member of the clergy; usually shortened to locum.
locus classicusa classic placeThe most typical or classic case of something; quotation which most typifies its use.
locus minoris resistentiaeplace of less resistanceA medical term to describe a location on or in a body that offers little resistance to infection, damage, or injury. For example, a weakened place that tends to be reinjured.
locus poenitentiaea place of repentanceA legal term, it is the opportunity of withdrawing from a projected contract, before the parties are finally bound; or of abandoning the intention of committing a crime, before it has been completed.
locus standiA right to standStanding in law (the right to have one's case in court)
longissimus dies cito conditureven the longest day soon endsPliny the Younger, Epistulae 9/36:4
lorem ipsumsorrow itself; pain for its own sakeA mangled fragment from Cicero's De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (On the Limits of Good and Evil, 45 BC), used as typographer's filler to show fonts (a.k.a. greeking). (The first syllable of lorem is cut off; the original was dolorem ipsum').
luceat lux vestraLet your light shineFrom Matthew Ch. 5 V. 16; popular as a school motto
lucem sequimurWe follow the lightMotto of the University of Exeter
luceo non uroI shine, not burnMotto of the Highland Scots Clan Mackenzie
lucida sideraThe shining starsHorace, Carmina 1/3:2
luctor et emergoI struggle and emergeMotto of the Dutch province of Zeeland to denote its battle against the sea, and the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame
Luctor, non mergor'I struggle, but am not overwhelmedMotto of the Glass Family (Sauchie, Scotland)[2]
lucus a non lucendo[it is] a grove by not being lightFrom late 4th-century grammarian Honoratus Maurus, who sought to mock implausible word origins such as those proposed by Priscian. A pun based on the word lucus (dark grove) having a similar appearance to the verb lucere (to shine), arguing that the former word is derived from the latter word because of a lack of light in wooded groves. Often used as an example of absurd etymology, it derives from parum luceat (it does not shine [being darkened by shade]) by Quintilian in Institutio Oratoria.
ludemus bene in companiaWe play well in groups Motto of the Barony of Marinus
lupus est homo hominiA man to a man is a wolfPlautus' adaptation of an old Roman proverb: homo homini lupus est ("man is a wolf to [his fellow] man"). In Asinaria, act II, scene IV, verse 89 [495 overall]. Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit ("a man to a man is a wolf, not a man, when the other doesn't know of what character he is.")[3]
lupus in fabulathe wolf in the storyWith the meaning "speak of the wolf, and he will come"; from Terence's play Adelphoe.
lupus non mordet lupuma wolf does not bite a wolf
lupus non timet canem latrantema wolf is not afraid of a barking dog
lux aeternaeternal lightepitaph
lux et lexlight and lawMotto of the Franklin & Marshall College and the University of North Dakota
lux et veritaslight and truthA translation of the Hebrew Urim and Thummim. Motto of several institutions, including Yale University.
lux ex tenebrislight from darknessMotto of the 67th Network Warfare Wing
lux hominum vitalight the life of manMotto of the University of New Mexico
lux in Dominolight in the LordMotto of the Ateneo de Manila University
lux in tenebris lucetThe light that shines in the darknessMotto of Columbia University School of General Studies[4] Also: John 1:5.
lux libertaslight and libertyMotto of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lux mentis Lux orbisLight of the mind, Light of the worldMotto of Sonoma State University
lux sitlet there be lightA more literal Latinization of the phrase; the most common translation is fiat lux, from Latin Vulgate Bible phrase chosen for the Genesis line "וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי אוֹר; וַיְהִי-אוֹר" (And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light). Motto of the University of Washington.
lux tua nos ducatYour Light Guides UsMotto of St. Julian's School, Carcavelos, Portugal[5]
lux, veritas, virtuslight, truth, courageMotto of Northeastern University

References

  1. "Pages - Home". education.tas.edu.au.
  2. Sir Bernard Burke (1884). The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time. (London: Harrison).
  3. Titus Maccius Plautus (1912). "Asinaria, or The Ass-Dealer". In Riley, Henry Thomas. The Comedies of Plautus. London: George Bell & Sons. Act II, scene IV. OCLC 11166656.
  4. "GS at a Glance". columbia.edu.
  5. MASSIVE - Digital Interactive Agency. "St. Julian’s School". St. Julian's School.

Additional sources

  • Adeleye, Gabriel G. (1999). Thomas J. Sienkewicz; James T. McDonough, Jr., eds. World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0865164223. 
  • Stone, Jon R. (1996). Latin for the Illiterati. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415917751. 
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