This page is one of a series listing English translations of notableLatin phrases, such asveni, vidi, vici andet cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations ofGreek phrases, asancient Greekrhetoric andliterature started centuries before the beginning ofLatin literature inancient Rome.[1]
| Latin | Translation | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uberrima fides | most abundant faith | Or "utmost good faith" (cf.bona fide). A legal maxim ofinsurance contracts requiring all parties to deal ingood faith. | ||
| ubertas et fidelitas | fertility and faithfulness | Motto ofTasmania. | ||
| ubi amor, ibi dolor | where [there is] love, there [is] pain | |||
| ubi bene, ibi patria | where [it is] well, there [is] the fatherland | Or "Home is where it's good"; see alsoubi panis ibi patria. | ||
| ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est | where there is charity and love, God is there | |||
| ubi dubium, ibi libertas | where [there is] doubt, there [is] freedom | Anonymous proverb. | ||
| ubi jus, ibi remedium | Where [there is] a right, there [is] a remedy | |||
| ubi mel, ibi apes | where [there is] honey, there [are] bees | Valuable things are often protected and difficult to obtain. | ||
| ubi libertas. ibi patria | where [there is] liberty, there [is] the fatherland | Or "where there is liberty, there is my country".Patriotic motto. | ||
| ubi nihil vales, ibi nihil velis | where you are worth nothing, there you will wish for nothing | From the writings of the Flemish philosopherArnold Geulincx; also quoted bySamuel Beckett in his first published novel,Murphy. | ||
| ubi non accusator, ibi non iudex | where [there is] no accuser, there [is] no judge | Thus, there can be no judgment or case if no one charges a defendant with a crime. The phrase is sometimes parodied as "where there are no police, there is no speed limit". | ||
| ubi panis ibi patria | where there is bread, there is my country | |||
| ubi pus, ibi evacua | where there is pus, there evacuate it | |||
| ubi, re vera | when, in a true thing | Or "whereas, in reality..." Also renderedubi, revera ("when, in fact" or "when, actually"). | ||
| ubi societas, ibi ius | if there's a society, law will be there | ByAristotle. | ||
| ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant | They make a desert and call it peace | from a speech byCalgacus reported/constructed byTacitus,Agricola,ch. 30. | ||
| ubi sunt? | where are they? | Nostalgic theme of poems yearning for days gone by. From the lineubi sunt, qui ante nos fuerunt? ("Where are they, those who have gone before us?"). | ||
| ubique, quo fas et gloria ducunt | everywhere, where right and glory leads | Motto of theRoyal Engineers,Royal Artillery and most other Engineer or Artillery corps within the armies of the British Commonwealth (for example, theRoyal Australian Engineers,Royal Canadian Engineers,Royal New Zealand Engineers,Royal Canadian Artillery,Royal Australian Artillery,Royal New Zealand Artillery). Interunit rivalry often leads to the sarcastic translation ofubique to meanall over the place in a derogative sense. Motto of the AmericanCouncil on Foreign Relations, where the translation ofubique is often given asomnipresent, with the implication of pervasive hidden influence.[2] | ||
| ultima forsan | perhaps the last | i.e. "perhaps your last hour." A sundial inscription. | ||
| ultima ratio | last method the final argument the last resort (as force) |
| ||
| ultimo mense(ult.) | in the last month | Used in formal correspondence to refer to the previous month. Used withinst. ("this month") andprox. ("next month"). | ||
| ultra vires | beyond powers | "Without authority". Used to describe an action done without proper authority, or acting without the rules. The term will most often be used in connection with appeals and petitions. Can be used as a preposition: "the court found that the law wasultra vires Parliament." | ||
| ultra posse nemo obligatur | No one is obligatedbeyond what he is able to do. | Equivalent toad impossibilia nemo tenetur,impossibilium nulla obligatio est andnemo potest ad impossibile obligari.[4][5] | ||
| ululas Athenas | (to send) owls to Athens | From Gerhard Gerhards' (1466–1536) [better known as Erasmus] collection of annotated Adagia (1508). Latin translation of a classical Greek proverb. Generally means putting large effort in a necessarily fruitless enterprise. Compare "selling coal to Newcastle". | ||
| una hirundo non facit ver | one swallow does not make summer | A single example of something positive does not necessarily mean that all subsequent similar instances will have the same outcome. | ||
| una salus victis nullam sperare salutem | the only safety for the conquered is to hope for no safety | Less literally, "the only safe bet for the vanquished is to expect no safety". Preceded bymoriamur et in media arma ruamus ("let us die even as we rush into the midst of battle") inVirgil'sAeneid, book 2, lines 353–354. Used inTom Clancy's novelWithout Remorse, where characterJohn Clark translates it as "the one hope of the doomed is not to hope for safety". It was said several times in "Andromeda" as the motto of the SOF units. | ||
| unitas, iustitia, spes | unity, justice, hope | Motto ofVilnius. | ||
| unitas per servitiam | unity through service | Motto for the St. Xavier's Institution Board of Librarians. | ||
| uniti aedificamus | united we build | Motto of the Mississippi makerspace community[citation needed] | ||
| uno flatu | in one breath | Used in criticism of inconsistent pleadings, i.e. "one cannot argueuno flatu both that the company does not exist and that it is also responsible for the wrong." | ||
| uno sumus animo | we are one of soul | Motto of Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden | ||
| unus multorum | one of many | An average person. | ||
| unus papa Romae, unus portus Anconae, una turris Cremonae, una ceres Raconae | One pope in Rome, one port in Ancona, one tower in Cremona, one beer inRakovník | Motto of the Czech Brewery in Rakovník.[6] | ||
| Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno | One for all, all for one | unofficial motto ofSwitzerland, popularized byThe Three Musketeers | ||
| Urbi et Orbi | to the city and the circle [of the lands] | Meaning "ToRome and the World". A standard opening of Roman proclamations. Also a traditional blessing by thepope. | ||
| urbs in horto | city in a garden | Motto of the City ofChicago. | ||
| usque ad finem | to the very end | Often used in reference to battle, implying a willingness to keep fighting until you die. | ||
| usus est magister optimus | practice is the best teacher. | In other words,practice makes perfect. Also sometimes translated "use makes master." | ||
| ut aquila versus coelum | As an eagle towards the sky | Motto ofBowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine | ||
| ut biberent quoniam esse nollent | so that they might drink, since they refused to eat | Also rendered withquando ("when") in place ofquoniam. From a book bySuetonius (Vit. Tib., 2.2) andCicero (De Natura Deorum, 2.3). The phrase was said by Roman admiralPublius Claudius Pulcher right before thebattle of Drepana, as he threw overboard the sacred chickens which had refused to eat the grain offered them—an unwelcomeomen of bad luck. Thus, the sense is, "if they do not perform as expected, they must suffer the consequences". He lost the battle disastrously. | ||
| ut cognoscant te | so that they may know You. | Motto ofBoston College High School. | ||
| ut desint vires, tamen est laudanda voluntas | though the power be lacking, the will is to be praised all the same | FromOvid,Epistulae ex Ponto (III, 4, 79). | ||
| ut dicitur | as has been said; as above | |||
| ut incepit fidelis sic permanet | as she began loyal, so she persists | Poetically, "Loyal she began, loyal she remains." Motto ofOntario. | ||
| ut infra | as below | |||
| ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus. | that in all things, God may be glorified | Motto of theOrder of Saint Benedict | ||
| ut mare quod ut ventus | to sea and into wind | Motto of USNS Washington Chambers | ||
| ut omnes te cognoscant | that all may know you | Motto ofNiagara University | ||
| ut omnes unum sint | That they all may be one | Motto ofJohannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and theUnited Church of Canada | ||
| ut pictura poesis | as is painting so is poetry | quote most famously uttered inHorace'sArs Poetica meaning poetry deserves the same careful interpretation as painting | ||
| ut prosim | that I may serve | Motto ofVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | ||
| ut proverbium loquitur vetus... | you know what they say... | Lit: As the old proverb says... | ||
| ut res magis valeat quam pereat | that the matter may have effect rather than fail[7] | |||
| ut retro | as backwards | Or "as on the back side"; thus, "as on the previous page" (cf.ut supra). | ||
| ut Roma cadit, sic omnis terra | as Rome falls, so [falls] the whole world | |||
| ut sit finis litium | so there might be an end of litigation | A traditionalbrocard. The full form isInterest reipublicae ut sit finis litium, "it is in the government's interest that there be an end to litigation." Often quoted in the context ofstatutes of limitation. | ||
| ut supra | as above | |||
| ut tensio sic vis | as the extension, so the force | Robert Hooke's expression of his discovery ofhis law of linear elasticity. Also: Motto ofÉcole Polytechnique de Montréal. Motto of the British Watch and Clockmaker's Guild. | ||
| utilis in ministerium | usefulness in service | Comes from2 Timothy 4:11. Motto ofCamberwell Girls Grammar School. | ||
| utraque unum | both into one | Also translated as "that the two may be one." Motto found in 18th centurySpanish dollar coins. Motto ofGeorgetown University.From theVulgate, Eph. 2:14,Ipse enim est pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum, "For he is our peace, who hath made both one." | ||
| utrinque paratus | ready for anything | Motto of TheBritish Parachute Regiment. Motto of the Belize National Coast Guard. |
