Comments on: Common Latin Phrases

By: ellen

ellen — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:27:57 +0000

My favorite mis quote is the alumni, alumnus, alumnae thing. The first one is the most commonly used for all of them. Is it too Geeky to still try and use them correctly?

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:39:54 +0000

Thanks for this fun list! I have been thinking a lot about Latin phrases (actually more specifically Latin endings of words) and how they are integrated into our daily speech. A friend of mine recently argued that the word Octopi was incorrect and that the correct ending should be Octopuses. I have a certain fondness of the word Octopi but my friend seemed insistent. I argued that Octopi was not incorrect but rather (for some reason) the Greek ending of phrases were starting to get more popular then the Latin ending. I found it very interesting and find myself still in the midsts of this argument.

By: Kevin Muldoon

Kevin Muldoon — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:54:04 +0000

Not at all Patrick, I appreciate the correction. I checked a few sources for this article and they all said After Death for post mortem. I was supposed to write that it means after death but nowadays it sometimes means the autopsy.

I never did Latin at school but I do love some of the phrases (e.g. carpe diem). It's amazing how much the language has influenced languages around the world.

By: Patrick Curl

Patrick Curl — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:34:35 +0000

Actually – Post Mortem simply means After Death – not autopsy. Post means after and mortem means death. It is the word from which we derive mortuary, mortician, etc.

Sorry, I'm a stickler for Latin, and took 4 years of Latin in High School. It was my best and favorite subject.

Also Rigor Mortis isn't the physical chemical changes after death it's just one part of the chemical changes- it simply means Rigid or Stiff(Rigor) Death(Mortis). It is the stage of death where the body becomes stiff.

The rest are pretty close to the translations. I just wanted to clarify as someone who loves Latin. I know I'm a major geek lol.

By: A Quick Guide To Common Writing Abbreviations

A Quick Guide To Common Writing Abbreviations — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:27:21 +0000

[...] no way exhaustive but I’m sure you will find it useful. Tomorrow I will be talking more about popular phrases which are derived from Latin so make sure you are subscribed to Blogging Tips Written by Kevin Muldoon from System0 on [...]