| Latin |
Translation |
Notes |
| O Deus Ego Amo Te |
O God I Love You |
attributed to Saint Francis Xavier |
| o homines ad servitutem paratos |
Men ready to be slaves! |
attributed (in Tacitus, Annales, III, 65) to the Roman Emperor Tiberius, in disgust at the servile attitude of Roman senators; said of those who should be leaders but instead slavishly follow the lead of others |
| O tempora, o mores! |
Oh, the times! Oh, the morals! |
also translated "What times! What customs!"; from Cicero, Catilina I, 2 |
| obiit (ob.) |
one died |
"He/she died", inscription on gravestones; ob. also sometimes stands for obiter (in passing or incidentally) |
| obit anus, abit onus |
The old woman dies, the burden is lifted |
Arthur Schopenhauer |
| obiter dictum |
a thing said in passing |
in law, an observation by a judge on some point of law not directly relevant to the case before him, and thus neither requiring his decision nor serving as a precedent, but nevertheless of persuasive authority. In general, any comment, remark or observation made in passing |
| obliti privatorum, publica curate |
Forget private affairs, take care of public ones |
Roman political saying which reminds that common good should be given priority over private matters for any person having a responsibility in the State |
| obscuris vera involvens |
the truth being enveloped by obscure things |
from Virgil |
| obscurum per obscurius |
the obscure by means of the more obscure |
An explanation that is less clear than what it tries to explain; synonymous with ignotum per ignotius |
| obtorto collo |
with a twisted neck |
unwillingly |
| oculus dexter (O.D.) |
right eye |
Ophthalmologist shorthand |
| oculus sinister (O.S.) |
left eye |
| oderint dum metuant |
let them hate, so long as they fear |
favorite saying of Caligula, attributed originally to Lucius Accius, Roman tragic poet (170 BC); Motto of the Russian noble family Krasnitsky |
| odi et amo |
I hate and I love |
opening of Catullus 85; the entire poem reads, "odi et amo quare id faciam fortasse requiris / nescio sed fieri sentio et excrucior" (I hate and I love. Why do I do this, you perhaps ask. / I do not know, but I feel it happening and am tormented) |
| odi profanum vulgus et arceo |
I hate the unholy rabble and keep them away |
from Horace |
| odium theologicum |
theological hatred |
name for the special hatred generated in theological disputes |
| oleum camino |
(pour) oil on the fire |
from Erasmus' (1466–1536) collection of annotated Adagia |
| omne ignotum pro magnifico |
every unknown thing [is taken] for great |
or "everything unknown appears magnificent" The source is Tacitus: Agricola, Book 1, 30 where the sentence ends with 'est'. The quotation is from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story 'The Red-Headed League' where the 'est' is missing. |
| omne initium difficile est]] |
every beginning is difficult |
|
| omne vivum ex ovo |
every living thing is from an egg |
foundational concept of modern biology, opposing the theory of spontaneous generation |
| Omnes homines sunt asini vel homines et asini sunt asini |
All men are donkeys or men and donkeys are donkeys |
a sophismata proposed and solved by Albert of Saxony (philosopher) |
| omnes vulnerant, postuma necat or omnes feriunt, ultima necat |
all [the hours] wound, last one kills |
usual in clocks, reminding the reader of death |
| omnia cum deo |
all with God |
motto for Mount Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale, Victoria, Australia |
| omnia dicta fortiora si dicta Latina |
everything said [is] stronger if said in Latin |
or "everything sounds more impressive when said in Latin"; a more common phrase with the same meaning is quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur (whatever said in Latin, seems profound) |
| omnia extares! |
Interpreted as "Let it all hang out!", but in fact incorrect Latin construction with no real meaning[1] |
motto for The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, USA[2] |
| omnia in mensura et numero et pondere disposuisti |
Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight. |
Book of Wisdom, 11:21 |
| omnia mutantur, nihil interit |
everything changes, nothing perishes |
Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD), Metamorphoses, book XV, line 165 |
| omnia omnibus |
all things to all men |
1 Corinthians 9:22 |
| si omnia ficta |
if all (the words of poets) is fiction |
Ovid |
| omnia vincit amor |
love conquers all |
Virgil (70 BC – 19 BC), Eclogue X, line 69 |
| omnia munda mundis |
everything [is] pure to the pure [men] |
from The New Testament |
| omnia praesumuntur legitime facta donec probetur in contrarium |
all things are presumed to be lawfully done, until it is shown [to be] in the reverse |
in other words, "innocent until proven guilty" |
| omnibus idem |
the same to all |
motto of Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, usually accompanied by a sun, which shines for (almost) everyone |
| omnibus locis fit caedes |
Let there be slaughter everywhere |
Julius Caesar's The Gallic War, 7.67 |
| omnis traductor traditor |
every translator is a traitor |
every translation is a corruption of the original; the reader should take heed of unavoidable imperfections |
| omnis vir tigris |
everyone a tiger |
motto of the 102d Intelligence Wing |
| omnium gatherum |
gathering of all |
miscellaneous collection or assortment; "gatherum" is English, and the term is used often used facetiously |
| onus probandi |
burden of proof |
|
| onus procedendi |
burden of procedure |
burden of a party to adduce evidence that a case is an exception to the rule |
| opera omnia |
all works |
collected works of an author |
| opera posthuma |
posthumous works |
works published after the author's death |
| operari sequitur esse |
act of doing something follows the act of being |
scholastic phrase, used to explain that there is no possible act if there is not being: being is absolutely necessary for any other act |
| opere citato (op. cit.) |
in the work that was cited |
used in academic works when referring again to the last source mentioned or used |
| opere et viritate |
in action and truth |
doing what you believe is morally right through everyday actions |
| opere laudato (op. laud.) |
|
See opere citato |
| operibus anteire |
leading the way with deeds |
to speak with actions instead of words |
| ophidia in herba |
a snake in the grass |
any hidden danger or unknown risk |
| opinio juris sive necessitatis |
an opinion of law or necessity |
a belief that an action was undertaken because it was a legal necessity; source of customary law |
| opus anglicanum |
English work |
fine embroidery, especially used to describe church vestments |
| Opus Dei |
The Work of God |
Catholic organisation |
| ora et labora |
pray and work |
This principle of the Benedictine monasteries reads in full: "Ora et labora (et lege), Deus adest sine mora." "Pray and work (and read), God is there without delay" (or to keep the rhyme: "Work and pray, and God is there without delay") |
| ora pro nobis |
pray for us |
"Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis pecatoribus" |
| orando laborando |
by praying, by working |
motto of the Rugby School |
| oratio directa |
direct speech |
expressions from Latin grammar |
| oratio obliqua |
indirect speech |
| orbis non sufficit |
the world does not suffice or the world is not enough |
from Satires of Juvenal (Book IV/10), referring to Alexander the Great; James Bond's adopted family motto in the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service; it made a brief appearance in the film adaptation of the same name and was later used as the title of the nineteenth James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough. |
| orbis unum |
one world |
seen in The Legend of Zorro |
| ordo ab chao |
out of chaos, comes order |
one of the oldest mottos of Craft Freemasonry.[3] |
| oremus pro invicem |
Let us pray, one for the other; let us pray for each other |
Popular salutation for Roman Catholic clergy at the beginning or ending of a letter or note. Usually abbreviated OPI. |
| orta recens quam pura nites |
newly risen, how brightly you shine |
Motto of New South Wales |
