M
Machina improba! Vel mihi ede potum vel mihi redde nummos meos! - You infernal machine! Give me a beverage or give me my money back!
Maecenas atavis edite regibus - Maecenas, born of monarch ancestors. (Horace)
Magister artis ingeniique largitor venter - Necessity is the mother of all invention
Magister Artium (MA) - Master of arts
Magister mundi sum! - I am the master of the universe!
Magna charta - Great paper
Magna cum laude - With great honour or academic distinction
Magna res est vocis et silentii temperamentum - The great thing is to know when to speak and when to keep quiet
Magnas inter oper inops - A pauper in the midst of wealth. (Horace)
Magnificat - It magnifies
Magnum bonum - A great good
Magnum opus - Great work, the major work of one's life
Magnus frater spectat te - Big Brother is watching you
Maior risus, acrior ensis: quadragesima octava regula quaesitus - The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife: the 48th rule of acquisition
Mala fide - In bad faith (something which is done fraudulently)
Male parta male dilabuntur - What has been wrongly gained is wrongly lost. (Ill-gotten gains seldom prosper.) (Cicero)
Malum consilium quod mutari non potest - It's a bad plan that can't be changed. (Publilius Syrus)
Malum prohibitum - A prohibited wrong. A crime that society decides is wrong for some reason, not inherently evil
Malum quidem nullum esse sine aliquo bono - There is, to be sure, no evil without something good. (Pliny the Elder)
Manus in mano - Hand in hand
Manus manum lavat - One hand washes the other. The favor for the favor. (Petronius)
Mare clausum - A closed sea
Mare liberum - An open sea
Mare nostrum - Our sea. (Mediterranean)
Margaritas ante porcos - Pearls before swine. To give something valuable to someone not respecting it
Mater artium necessitas - Necessity is the mother of invention
Mater dolorosa - Sorrowful mother. (Virgin Mary)
Mater memento mori - Remember your mortality
Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus - Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries
Mater - Mother
Materfamilias - Mother of family
Materia medica - Medical matter
Materiam superabat opus - The workmanship was better than the subject matter. (Ovid)
Maxima debetur puero reverentia - We owe the greatest respect to a child
Maximus in minimis - Great in little things
Me fallit - I do not know
Me iudice - I being judge; in my judgement
Me oportet propter praeceptum te nocere - I'm going to have to hurt you on principle
Me transmitte sursum, caledoni! - Beam me up, Scotty!
Mea culpa - Through my fault
Mea maxima culpa - Through my very great fault
Mea mihi conscientia pluris est quam omnium sermo - My conscience means more to me than all speech. (Cicero)
Medice, cura te ipsum! - Physician, heal thyself! (Versio Vulgata)
Medici graviores morbos asperis remediis curant - Doctors cure the more serious diseases with harsh remedies. (Curtius Rufus)
Medicus curat, natura sanat - The physician treats, nature cures
Medio tutissimus ibis - You will go safest in the middle. (Moderation in all things) (Ovid)
Mei capilli sunt flagrantes - My hair is on fire
Meliora cogito - I strive for the best
Melitae amor - Love of Malta
Melius est praevenire quam praeveniri - Better to forestall than to be forestalled
Melius frangi quam flecti - It is better to break than to bend
Melius tarde, quam nunquam - Better late than never
Mellita, domi adsum - Honey, I'm home
Memento mori - Remember that you must die
Memento vivere - A reminder of life (literally remember that you have to live)
Memorabilia - Memorable things
Memorandum - A note of; a thing to be remembered
Memoria in aeterna - In everlasting remembrance
Memoriter - From memory
Mendacem memorem esse oportet - A liar needs a good memory. (Quintilianus)
Mens agitat molem - The mind moves the matter. (Vergil)
Mens rea - Guilty mind
Mens regnum bona possidet - An honest heart is a kingdom in itself. (Seneca)
Mens sana in corpore sano - A sound mind in a sound body. (Juvenalis)
Mens sibi conscia recti - A mind conscious of its rectitude
Meum cerebrum nocet - My brain hurts
Meum pactum dictum - My word is my bond
Mihi cura futuri - My concern is the future
Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi - Excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog
Millennium (millennia) - A thousand year period
Minime senuisti! - You haven't aged a bit!
Minus habens - Absentminded
Mirabile dictu - Wonderful to say/relate. (Vergil)
Mirabile visu - Wonderful to behold
Miserere - Have mercy
Missa solemnis - Solemn Mass. (high Mass)
Mittimus - We send (to prison)
Modus agendi - Manner of operation
Modus operandi (m.o.) - Way of operating
Modus vivendi - Way of living
Monstra mihi pecuniam! - Show me the money!
Moratorium - A delay
Morituri te salutant - Those who are about to die salute you
Mors ultima linea rerum est - Death is everything's final limit. (Horace)
Mors ultima ratio - Death is the final accounting
Mortvi non mordant - Dead me don't bite; Dead men tell no tale
Motu proprio - Of one's own initiative
Mulier taceat in ecclesia - Let the woman be silent in church. (Paul)
Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur - Many fear their reputation, few their conscience. (Pliny)
Multis post annis - Many years later
Multum in parvo - Much in little. (small but significant)
Multun, non multa - Much, not many (quality not quantity)
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur - The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived!
Mundus vult decipi - The world wants to be deceived
Munit haec et altera vincit - One defends and the other conquers
Mus uni non fidit antro - A mouse does not rely on just one hole. (Plautus)
Musica delenit bestiam feram - Music soothes the savage beast
Mutatis mutandis - The necessary changes having been made
Mutato nomine - The name being changed
Mvlti svnt vocati, pavci vero electi - Many are called [but] few are chosen
Mvndvs vvlt decipi - The world wishes to be deceived there's a sucker born every minute
Mvtatis mvtandis - The things that ought to have changed having been changed with the necessary substitutions having been made
N
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas es - Knowledge is power. (Sir Francis Bacon)
Nascentes morimur - From the moment we are born, we begin to die
Natale solum - Native soil
Natura abhorret a vacua - Nature abhors a vacuum
Natura in minima maxima - Nature is the greatest in the smallest things
Natura nihil fit in frustra - Nature does nothing in vain
Natura, artis magistra - Nature, the mistress of art
Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret - You can drive nature out with a pitchfork but she always comes back
Navigare necesse est - To sail is necessary
Ne auderis delere orbem rigidum meum! - Don't you dare erase my hard disk!
Ne cede malis - Yield not to evils
Ne feceris ut rideam - Don't make me laugh
Ne humanus crede - Trust no human
Ne nimium - Not too much
Ne plus ultra - No further. Impassable obstacle
Ne quid nimis - Nothing in excess. (Terence)
Nec laudas nisi mortuos poetas: tanti non est, ut placeam, perire - If only dead poets are praised, I'd rather go unsung
Nec mortem effugere quisquam nec amorem potest - No one is able to flee from death or love
Nec possum tecum vivere, nec sine te - I am able to live / I can live neither with you, nor without you. (Martial)
Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus interpres - As a true translator you will take care not to translate word for word. (Horace)
Necesse est multos timeat quem multi timent - He must fear many, whom many fear. (Laberius)
Necessitas non habet legem - Necessity knows no law
Negotium populo romano melius quam otium committi - The Roman people understand work better than leisure
Nemine contradicente (nem. con.) - With no one speaking in opposition. Unanimously
Nemine dissentiente (nem. diss.) - With no one disagreeing
Nemo ante mortem beatus - Nobody is blessed before his death. We never know what is future preparing for us!
Nemo autem regere potest nisi qui et regi - Moreover, there is no one who can rule unless he can be ruled. (Seneca)
Nemo dat quod non habet - No one gives what he does not have
Nemo gratis mendax - No man lies freely. A person with no reason to lie is telling the truth
Nemo hic adest illius nominis - There is no one here by that name
Nemo liber est qui corpori servit - No one is free who is a slave to his body
Nemo malus felix - No bad man is lucky. (Juvenal)
Nemo me impune lacessit - No one provokes me with impunity. (motto of the Kings of Scotland)
Nemo nisi mors - Nobody except death (will part us). (Inscription in the wedding ring of the Swedish Queen Katarina Jagellonica)
Nemo propheta in patria sua - No one is considered a prophet in his hometown/homeland
Nemo repente fuit turpissimus - No one ever became thoroughly bad in one step. (Juvenal)
Nemo risum praebuit, qui ex se coepit - Nobody is laughed at, who laughs at himself. (Seneca)
Nemo saltat sobrius nisi forte insanit - Nobody dances sober unless he's insane
Nemo saltat sobrius - No man dances sober
Nemo sine iudex - No one is a judge of himself
Nemo sine vitio est - No one is without fault. (Seneca the Elder)
Nemo surdior est quam is qui non audiet - No man is more deaf than he who will not hear
Nemo timendo ad summum pervenit locum - No man by fearing reaches the top. (Syrus)
Nervos belli, pecuniam. (Nervus rerum.) - The nerve of war, money. (The nerve of things.) (Cicero)
Nescio quid dicas - I don't know what you're talking about
Neutiquam erro - I am not lost
Nihil ad rem - Nothing to do with the point
Nihil agere delectat - It is pleasant to do nothing. (Cicero)
Nihil aliud scit necessitas quam vincere - Necesssity knows nothing else but victory. (Syrus)
Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione - I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult
Nihil declaro - I have nothing to declare
Nihil est ab omni parte beatum - Nothing is good in every part. (Horace)
Nihil est incertius volgo - Nothing is more uncertain than the (favour of the) crowd. (Cicero)
Nihil est miserum nisi cum putes - Nothing is unfortunate if you don't consider it unfortunate. (Boethius)
Nihil est--In vita priore ego imperator romanus fui - That's nothing--in a previous life I was a Roman Emperor
Nihil obstat - Nothing stands in the way
Nihil sub sole novum - Nothing new under the sun
Nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia possit - No fort is so strong that it cannot be taken with money. (Cicero)
Nihil - Nothing
Nil actum credens dum quid superesset agendum - Thinking nothing done, while anything was yet to do
Nil actum reputa si quid superest agendum - Don't consider that anything has been done if anything is left to be done. (Lucan)
Nil admirari - To admire nothing. (Horace)
Nil agit exemplum, litem quod lite resolvit - Not much worth is an example that solves one quarrel with another. (Horace)
Nil desperandum! - Never despair! (Horace)
Nil homini certum est - Nothing is certain for man. (Ovid)
Nil sine numine - Nothing without the Divine Will
Nill illigitimi carborundum - Do not let the bastards get you down
Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis - Unless you will have believed, you will not understand. (St. Augustine)
Nisi prius - Unles previously
Nisi - Unless
Nolens volens - Whether one likes it or not; willing or unwilling
Noli equi dentes inspicere donati - Do not look a gift horse in the mouth. (St. Jerome)
Noli me tangere! - Don't touch me! (Versio Vulgata)
Noli me voca, ego te vocabo - Don't call me. I'll call you
Noli nothis permittere te terere - Dont let the bastards get you down
Noli simul flare sobereque - Don't whistle and drink at the same time
Noli turbare circulos meos! - Don't upset my calculations! (Archimedes)
Nolite id cogere, cape malleum majorem - Don't force it, get a bigger hammer
Nolle prosequi - Do not pursue
Nolo contendere - I do not wish to contend
Nomen est omen - The name is the sign
Nomina stultorum parietibus haerent - The names of foolish persons adhere to walls (Fools names and fools faces are often seen in public places.)
Nominatim - By name
Non bis in idem - Not twice for the same thing
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat - It's not the heat, it's the humidity
Non compos mentis - Not in possession of one's senses
Non curo. Si metrum non habet, non est poema - I don't care. If it doesn't rhyme, it isn't a poem
Non erravi perniciose! - I did not commit a fatal error!
Non est ad astra mollis e terris via - There is no easy way from the earth to the stars. (Seneca)
Non est ei similis - There is no one like him
Non est mea culpa - It's not my fault
Non est vivere sed valere vita est - Life is not being alive but being well (life is more than just being alive)
Non Gradus Anus Rodentum! - Not Worth A Rats Ass!
Non ignara mals, miseris svccvrrere disco - No stranger to misfortune [myself] I learn to relieve the sufferings [of others
Non illigitamus carborundum - Don't let the bastards grind you down
Non licet - It is not allowed
Non liquet - It is not clear
Non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis - Not for you, not for me, but for us - the foundation of a good relationship
Non mortem timemus, sed cogitationem mortis - We do not fear death, but the thought of death. (Seneca)
Non multa, sed multum - Not many, but much. (Meaning, not quantity but quality) (Plinius)
Non nobis, Domine - Not unto us, O Lord
Non omne quod licet honestum est - Not everything that is permitted is honest. (Corpus Iuris Civilis)
Non omne quod nitet aurum est - Not all that glitters is gold
Non omnes qui habemt citharam sunt citharoedi - Not all those who own a musical instrument are musicians. (Bacon)
Non omnia moriar - Not all of me will die. (Horace)
Non omnia possumus omnes - Not all of us are able to do all things (We can't all do everything.) (Virgil)
Non omnis moriar - Not all of me will die. (his works would live forever) (Horace)
Non placet - It does not please
Non plaudite. Modo pecuniam jacite - Don't applaud. Just throw money
Non plus ultra! (Nec plus ultra!) - Nothing above that!
Non prosequitur - He does not proceed
Non quis, sed quid - Not who, but what
Non rape me si placet - Please don't rob me
Non scholae sed vitae discimus - We do not learn for school, but for life. (Seneca)
Non semper erit aestas - It will not always be summer (be prepared for hard times)
Non sequitur - It does not follow
Non serviam - I will not serve
Non sibi sed suis - Not for one's self but for one's people
Non sibi, sed patriae - Not for you, but for the fatherland
Non sum pisces - I am not a fish
Non sum qualis eram - I am not what / of what sort I was (I'm not what I used to be.)
Non teneas aurum totum quod splendet ut aurum - Do not take as gold everything that shines like gold
Non timetis messor - Don't Fear the Reaper
Non uno die roma aedificata est - Rome was not built in one day (either)
Non ut edam vivo, sed vivam edo - I do not live to eat, but eat to live. (Quintilianus)
Non vereor ne illam me amare hic potuerit resciscere; quippe haud etiam quicquam inepte feci - I don't think anyone knows I love the girl; I haven't done anything really silly yet
Non, mihi ignosce, credo me insequentem esse - No, excuse me, I believe I'm next
Nonne amicus certus in re incerta cernitur? - A friend in need is a friend in deed. (our equivalent)
Nonne de novo eboraco venis? - You're from New York, aren't you?
Nonne macescis? - Have you lost weight?
Nosce te ipsum - Know thyself. (Inscription at the temple of Apollo in Delphi.)
Nota bene (nb.) - Note well. Observe carefully
Novus homo - A new Man; a man who was the first in his family to be elected to an office
Novus ordo saeculorum - A new order of ages
Novus ordo seclorum - A new order for the ages. (appears on the U.S. one-dollar bill)
Nulla avarita sine poena est - There is no avarice without penalty. (Seneca)
Nulla dies sine linea - Not a day without a line. Do something every day! (Apeles, Greek painter)
Nulla regula sine exceptione - There is no rule/law without exception
Nulla res carius constat quam quae precibus empta est - Nothing is so expensive as that which you have bought with pleas. (Seneca)
Nulla vit melior quam bona - There's no life better than a good life
Nulli expugnabilis hosti - Conquered By No Enemy. (motto of Gibraltar)
Nulli secundus - Second to none
Nullius in verba - (Rely) on the words on no one. (Horace)
Nullo metro compositum est - It doesn't rhyme
Nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege - No crime and no punishment without a (pre-existing) law
Nullum est iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius - Nothing is said that hasn't been said before. (Terence)
Nullum gratuitum prandium - There is no free lunch!
Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae - There is no one great ability without a mixture of madness
Nullum saeculum magnis ingeniis clausum est - No generation is closed to great talents. (Seneca)
Nullus est instar domus - There is no place like home
Nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit - There is no book so bad that it is not profitable on some part. (Pliny the Younger)
Numen - Divine power
Numero pondere et mensura Deus omnia condidit - God created everything by number, weight and measure. (Isaac Newton)
Numerus clausus - A restricted number
Nummus americanus - Greenback. ($US)
Numquam aliud natura, aliud sapientia dicit - Never does nature say one thing and wisdom say another
Numquam non paratus - Never unprepared
Numquam se minus solum quam cum solus esset - You are never so little alone as when you are alone. (Cicero)
Nunc dimittis - Now let depart
Nunc est bibendum - Now we must drink. (Horace)
Nvdvm pactvm - A nude pact an invalid agreement a contract with illusory benefits or without consideration hence unenforceable
Nvllvm qvod tetiget non ornavit - He touched none he did not adorn - not simply 'the Midas touch', or 'he left things better than he found them', but a tribute to a Renaissance man
Nvnc avt nvnqvam - Now or never
Nvnc dimittis - Now let [thy servant] depart - generally any permission to go, specifically to express one's readiness to depart or die
Nvnc pro tvnc - Now for then retroactive |
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