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# List of Latin phrases: T

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page lists direct English translations of 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 T. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.

## [edit] T

Latin | Translation | Notes
--- | --- | ---
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.
tabula gratulatoria | "congratulatory tablet" | A list of congratulations.
talis qualis | "just as such" | "Such as it is" or "as such".
taliter qualiter | "somewhat" |
tarde venientibus ossa | "To the late are left the bones" |
technica impendi nationi | "Technology impulses nations" | Motto of Technical University of Madrid
temet nosce | "know thyself" | A reference to γνῶθι σεαυτόν, which was inscribed in the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, according to the Greek periegetic writer Pausanias (10.24.1).
Tempora Heroica | "Heroic Age" | Literally "Heroic Times". Refers to the period of time between the mythological Titanomachy and the (relatively) historical Trojan War.
Te occidere possunt sed te edere non possunt nefas est | "They can kill you, but the legalities of eating you are quite a bit dicier" | 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".
tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis | "the times are changing, and we change in them" | Variant of omnia mutantur et nos mutamur in illis, attributed to Lothair I. See entry for details.
tempus edax rerum | "time, devourer of all things" | Also "time, that devours all things", or more literally, "time, devouring of things". From Ovid.
tempus fugit | "time flees" | Commonly mistranslated as "time flies" due to the similar phrase tempus volat hora fugit ("time flies, the hour flees").
tempus rerum imperator | "time, commander of all things" |
tempus vernum | "spring time" | Name of song by popular Irish singer Enya
tempus volat hora fugit | "time flies, the hour flees" | Or "time speeds while the hour escapes".
tentanda via | The way must be tried | motto for York University
teneo te Africa | "I hold you, Africa!" | Suetonius attributes this to Julius Caesar, from when Caesar was on the African coast.
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." | A Latin phrase concluding Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus.[1]
terminus ante quem | "limit before which" | In archaeology or history, refers to the date before which an artifact 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 land" | Often used to refer to the ground.
terra incognita | "unknown land" |
terra nova | "new land" | Also 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 | "a third is not 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.
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 Latin proverb. Occasionally appears on loading screens in the game Rome: Total War.
timor mortis conturbat me | "the fear of death confounds me" | A Latin 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.
totus tuus | "totally yours" | This Latin phrase represents the desire to offer ones 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.
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.
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.
tu autem | "you indeed" | Also "even you" or "yes, you", in response to a person's belief that he will never die. A memento mori epitaph.
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.
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.
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.
tuebor | "I will protect" | Found on the Great Seal on the flag of the state of Michigan.

## [edit] Notes

1. ^ The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (at Wikisource)

## [edit] References

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

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