List of Latin phrases (O)

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This page lists English translations of notable 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 the rise of ancient Rome.

This list covers the letter O. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.
LatinTranslationNotes
O Deus ego amo te O God I Love Youattributed to Saint Francis Xavier
O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint, agricolasThe farmers would count themselves lucky, if only they knew how good they had itfrom Virgil in Georgics II, 458
o homines ad servitutem paratosMen 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
O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne tulistiO tyrant Titus Tatius, what terrible calamities you brought onto yourself!from Quintus Ennius, Annales (104), considered an example of a Latin tongue-twister
Obedientia civium urbis felicitasThe obedience of the citizens makes us a happy cityMotto of Dublin
obiit (ob.)one died"He/she died", inscription on gravestones; ob. also sometimes stands for obiter (in passing or incidentally)
obit anis, abit onusThe old woman dies, the burden is lifted Arthur Schopenhauer
obit caelepsOb. Cael. or died a bachelor (implying no legitimate offspring ever existed to inherit, cf. d.s.p., d.s.p.s. and d.s.p.m.) Heraldic visitation or County Visitation Books for England
obiter dictuma thing said in passingin 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 curateForget private affairs, take care of public onesRoman 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 thingsfrom Virgil
obscurum per obscuriusthe obscure by means of the more obscureAn explanation that is less clear than what it tries to explain; synonymous with ignotum per ignotius
obtineo et teneoto obtain and to keepmotto
obtorto collowith a twisted neckunwillingly
oculus dexter (O.D.)right eye Ophthalmologist shorthand
oculus sinister (O.S.)left eye
oderint dum metuantlet them hate, so long as they fearfavorite saying of Caligula, attributed originally to Lucius Accius, Roman tragic poet (170 BC)
odi et amoI hate and I loveopening 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 to me and I am burning up.)
odi profanum vulgus et arceoI hate the unholy rabble and keep them away Horace, Carmina III, 1
odium theologicum theological hatredname for the special hatred generated in theological disputes
oleum camino(pour) oil on the firefrom Erasmus' (1466–1536) collection of annotated Adagia
omne ignotum pro magnificoevery unknown thing [is taken] for greator "everything unknown appears magnificent" The source is Tacitus: Agricola, Book 1, 30 where the sentence ends with 'est'. The quotation is found in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short story "The Red-Headed League" (1891) where the 'est' is missing.
omne initium difficile estevery beginning is difficult
omne vivum ex ovoevery living thing is from an eggfoundational concept of modern biology, opposing the theory of spontaneous generation
Omnes homines sunt asini vel homines et asini sunt asiniAll men are donkeys or men and donkeys are donkeysa sophisma proposed and solved by Albert of Saxony (philosopher)
omnes vulnerant, postuma necat, or, omnes feriunt, ultima necatall [the hours] wound, last one killsusual in clocks, reminding the reader of death
omnia cum deoall with Godmotto for Mount Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale, Victoria, Australia
omnia dicta fortiora si dicta Latinaeverything said [is] stronger if said in Latinor "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 in mensura et numero et pondere disposuistiThou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight. Book of Wisdom, 11:21
Omnia mea mecum porto All that is mine I carry with meis a quote that Cicero ascribes to Bias of Priene
omnia mutantur, nihil interiteverything changes, nothing perishes Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD), Metamorphoses , book XV, line 165
omnia omnibusall things to all men1 Corinthians 9:22
si omnia fictaif all (the words of poets) is fictionOvid, Metamorphoses , book XIII, lines 733–4: "si non omnia vates ficta"
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 contrariumall things are presumed to be lawfully done, until it is shown [to be] in the reversein other words, "innocent until proven guilty"
omnia sponte fluant absit violentia rebuseverything should flow by itself, force should be absent"let it go"
omnia sunt communia all things shall be held in commonfrom Acts of the Apostles
omnis vir enim suiEvery man for himself!
omnibus idemthe same to allmotto of Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, usually accompanied by a sun, which shines for (almost) everyone
omnibus locis fit caedesThere is slaughter everywhere (in every place) Julius Caesar's The Gallic War , 7.67
omnis traductor traditorevery translator is a traitorevery translation is a corruption of the original; the reader should take heed of unavoidable imperfections
omnis vir tigriseveryone a tigermotto of the 102nd Intelligence Wing
omnium gatherumgathering of allmiscellaneous collection or assortment; "gatherum" is English, and the term is used often used facetiously
onus probandi burden of proof
onus procedendiburden of procedureburden of a party to adduce evidence that a case is an exception to the rule
opera omniaall workscollected works of an author
opera posthumaposthumous worksworks published after the author's death
operari sequitur esseact of doing something follows the act of beingscholastic 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 citedused in academic works when referring again to the last source mentioned or used
opere et veritatein action and truthdoing what you believe is morally right through everyday actions
opere laudato (op. laud.) See opere citato
operibus anteireleading the way with deedsto speak with actions instead of words
ophidia in herbaa snake in the grassany hidden danger or unknown risk
opinio juris sive necessitatis an opinion of law or necessitya belief that an action was undertaken because it was a legal necessity; source of customary law
opus anglicanumEnglish workfine embroidery, especially used to describe church vestments
Opus Dei The Work of GodCatholic 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 nobispray for us"Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis pecatoribus"; Brazilian name for Pereskia aculeata
orando laborandoby praying, by workingmotto of Rugby School
oratio recta direct speech expressions from Latin grammar
oratio obliqua indirect speech
orbis non sufficitthe world does not suffice or the world is not enoughfrom 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 unumone worldseen in The Legend of Zorro
ordo ab chaoout of chaos, comes orderone of the oldest mottos of Craft Freemasonry. [1]
(oremus) pro invicem(Let us pray), one for the other; let us pray for each otherPopular salutation for Roman Catholic clergy at the beginning or ending of a letter or note. Usually abbreviated OPI. ("Oremus" used alone is just "let us pray").
orta recens quam pura nitesnewly risen, how brightly you shineMotto of New South Wales

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