30 Latin Phrases You Should Know

Are you confused when your friend says to you carpe diem? Frustrated when your boss tells you to use a quid pro quo approach? Puzzled when the judge says that this case is adjourned sine die?

Here's a list of commonly used words that come from Latin, the preferred choice of language for Gregorian monks and judiciary systems all around the world:

• ad valorem - "to the value" (used in commerce)
• ante bellum - "before the war" (used to refer to wars)
• bona fide - "in good faith" (nowadays it means genuine), opposite of mala fide
• carpe diem - "seize the day"
• ceteris paribus - "all other things being equal" (used in economics)
• coitus interruptus - "interrupted congress" (a form of [ineffective] birth control)
• curriculum vitae - "course of life" (résumé)
• de facto - "in fact" (unofficial)
• de jure - "by law" (official)
• et cetera - "and the rest" (and so on)
• habeus corpus - "you may have the body"" (used in legal text)
• lorem ipsum - "sorrow itself" (a mangled text used as filler in websites)
• magna/summa cum laude - "with great/highest praise" (used to refer to academic honours)
• memento mori - "remember that you will die"
• non sequitur - "it does not follow" (usually used in arguments)
• prima facie - "at first sight" (used to refer to suggestive but not conclusive evidence)
• pro bono - "for the good" (work taken for no expense)
• quid pro quo - "what for what" (a favour exchanged for another)
• rigor mortis - "stiffness in death"
• semper fidelis - "always faithful" (motto of several organisations, including the US Marines)
• sine die - "without a day" (indefinitely)
• status quo - "the situation in which" (the current situation without change)
• tabula rasa - "scraped tablet" (a clean slate)
• terra firma - "solid land"
• verbatim - "word for word"
• veritas - "truth" (motto of several academic institutions)
• veto - "I forbid"
• vox populi - "voice of the people"

Source: Wikipedia - List of Latin phrases (full)