List of Latin phrases: H
Encyclopedia
H
| Latin | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| habeas corpus Habeas corpus is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations... |
You should have the body | A legal term from the 14th century or earlier. Refers to a number of legal writs to bring a person before a court or judge, most commonly habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (you may have the body to bring up). Commonly used as the general term for a prisoner's legal right to challenge the legality of their detention. |
| habemus papam Habemus Papam Habemus Papam! is the announcement given in Latin by the senior Cardinal Deacon upon the election of a new pope.The announcement is given from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican... |
we have a pope | Used after a Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity... papal election to announce publicly a successful ballot to elect a new pope. |
| Habent sua fata libelli Habent sua fata libelli The Latin expression "Pro captu lectoris habent sua fata libelli" is verse 1286 of De litteris, De syllabis, De Metris by Terentianus Maurus.... |
Books have their destiny [according to the capabilities of the reader] | |
| hac lege | with this law | |
| haec olim meminisse iuvabit | one day, this will be pleasing to remember | Commonly rendered in English as "One day, we'll look back on this and smile". From Virgil Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid... 's Aeneid Aeneid The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter... 1.203. Also, motto of the Jefferson Society Jefferson Literary and Debating Society The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is a debating and literary society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest organization at The University and one of the oldest continuously existing debating societies in North America.... . |
| Hannibal ad portas | Hannibal is at the gates | Roman parents would tell their misbehaving children this, invoking their fear of Hannibal. |
| Hannibal ante portas | Hannibal before the gates | Refers to wasting time while the enemy is already here. Attributed to Cicero Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief... . |
| haud ignota loquor | I speak not of unknown things | Thus, "I say no things that are unknown". From Virgil Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid... 's Aeneid Aeneid The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter... , 2.91. |
| hic abundant leones | here lions abound | Written on uncharted territories of old maps. |
| hic et nunc | here and now | The imperative motto for the desire for satisfaction. "I need it, Here and Now" |
| hic jacet (HJ) | here lies | Also rendered hic iacet. Written on gravestone Headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :... s or tombs, preceding the name of the deceased. Equivalent to hic sepultus (here is buried), and sometimes combined into hic jacet sepultus (HJS), "here lies buried". |
| hic manebimus optime | here we'll stay excellently | According to Titus Livius Livy Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC... the phrase was pronounced by Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome.... , addressing the senators Roman Senate The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic... who intended to abandon the city, invaded by Gaul Gaul Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of... s, circa 390 BC. It is used today to express the intent to keep one's position even if the circumstances appear adverse. |
| hic sunt dracones | here there are dragons | Written on uncharted territories of old maps. |
| hic sunt leones | here there are lions | Written on uncharted territories of old maps. |
| hinc et inde | from both sides | |
| hinc illae lacrimae | hence those tears | From Terence Terence Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,... , Andria, line 125. Originally literal, referring to the tears shed by Pamphilus Pamphilus (mythology) Pamphilus , a son of Aegimius and brother of Dymas, was king of the Dorians at the foot of mount Pindus, and along with the Heracleidae invaded Peloponnesus. After him, a tribe of the Sicyonians was called Pamphyli.... at the funeral of Chrysis, it came to be used proverbially in the works of later authors, such as Horace Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:... (Epistula XIX, 41). |
| hinc robur et securitas | herefore strength and safety | Motto of the Central Bank of Sweden. |
| historia vitae magistra | history, the teacher of life | From Cicero Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief... , Tusculanas, 2, 16. Also "history is the mistress of life". |
| hoc age | do this | Motto of Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School is a co-educational, independent school in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire. Headmaster, Stephen Davidson is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference . The school was founded in 1548 and granted its Charter by King Charles II in 1662... , often purposefully mistranslated by pupils as "Just do it!". |
| hoc est bellum | This is war | |
| hoc est Christum cognoscere, beneficia eius cognoscere | To know Christ is to know his benefits | Famous dictum by the Reformer Melanchthon in his Loci Communes of 1521 |
| hoc est enim corpus meum | This is my Body | The words of Jesus reiterated in Latin during the Roman Catholic Eucharist: "Hoc est corpus" |
| hodie mihi, cras tibi | Today it's me, tomorrow it will be you | |
| hominem non morbum cura | Treat the Man, not the Disease | Motto of the Far Eastern University – Institute of Nursing |
| homo bulla | man is a bubble | Latin expression- Varro Varro Varro was a Roman cognomen carried by:*Marcus Terentius Varro, sometimes known as Varro Reatinus, the scholar*Publius Terentius Varro or Varro Atacinus, the poet*Gaius Terentius Varro, the consul defeated at the battle of Cannae... (116 BC – 27 BC) In the opening line of the first book of De Re Rustica wrote "quod, ut dicitur, si est homo bulla, eo magis senex" (for if, as they say, man is a bubble, all the more so is an old man) later reintroduced by Erasmus in his “Adagia Adagia Adagia is an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus' collection of proverbs is "one of the most monumental ... ever assembled" Adagia (adagium is the singular form and adagia is the plural) is an... ”, a collection of sayings published in 1572. |
| homo homini lupus Homo homini lupus Homo homini lupus est is a Latin phrase meaning "man is a wolf to [his fellow] man." First attested in Plautus' Asinaria , the phrase is sometimes translated as "man is man's wolf", which can be interpreted to mean that man preys upon man... |
man [is a] wolf to man | First attested in Plautus Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus... ' Asinaria Asinaria Asinaria is a comic play by the Latin playwright Titus Maccius Plautus, known as one of the great works of Roman comedy... (lupus est homo homini). The sentence was drawn on by Hobbes Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy... in Leviathan Leviathan (book) Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan... as a concise expression of his human nature view. |
| homo praesumitur bonus donec probetur malus | One is innocent until proven guilty | See also presumption of innocence Presumption of innocence The presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many... . |
| homo sum humani a me nihil alienum puto | I am a human being; nothing human is strange to me | From Terence Terence Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,... , Heautontimoroumenos. Originally "strange" or "foreign" (alienum) was used in the sense of "irrelevant", as this line was a response to the speaker being told to mind his own business, but it is now commonly used to advocate respecting different cultures and being humane in general. Puto (I consider) is not translated because it is meaningless outside of the line's context within the play. |
| homo unius libri (timeo) Homo unius libri Homo unius libri is a phrase that is generally attributed to Thomas Aquinas. According to a literary tradition at least three centuries old, Saint Thomas Aquinas is reputed to have employed the phrase "hominem unius libri timeo" .-Interpretations:Aquinas's phrase has been interpreted in various ways... |
(I fear) a man of one book | Attributed to Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis... |
| honestes ante honores | honesty before glory | Motto of King George V school, Hong Kong, China |
| honor virtutis praemium | esteem is the reward of virtue | Motto of Arnold School, Blackpool, England |
| honoris causa | for the sake of honor | Said of an honorary title Latin honors Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these... , such as "Doctor of Science honoris causa". |
| hora fugit | the hour flees | See tempus fugit Tempus fugit Tempus fugit is a Latin expression meaning "time flees", more commonly translated as "time flies". It is frequently used as an inscription on clocks... . |
| hora somni (h.s.) | at the hour of sleep | Medical shorthand for "at bedtime". |
| horas non numero nisi serenas | I do not count the hours unless they are sunny | A common inscription on sundial Sundial A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a... s. |
| horribile dictu | horrible to say | That is, "a horrible thing to relate". Cf. mirabile dictu. |
| hortus in urbe | A garden in the city | Motto of the Chicago Park District Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita... , a playful allusion to the city's motto, urbs in horto, q.v. |
| hortus siccus | A dry garden | A collection of dry, preserved plants. |
| hostis humani generis Hostis humani generis Hostis humani generis is a legal term of art that originates from admiralty law. Before the adoption of public international law, maritime pirates and slavers were held to be beyond legal protection, and could be dealt with as seen fit by any nation, even if that nation had not been directly... |
enemy of the human race | Cicero Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief... defined pirate Piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator... s in Roman law Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve... as being enemies of humanity in general. |
| hypotheses non fingo Hypotheses non fingo Hypotheses non fingo is a famous phrase used by Isaac Newton in an essay General Scholium which was appended to the second edition of the Principia.... |
I do not fabricate hypotheses | From Newton Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."... , Principia. Less literally, "I do not assert that any hypotheses are true". |