List of Latin phrases (E)

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 E. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.

E

Latin	Translation	Notes
e causa ignota	of unknown cause	Often used in medicine when the underlying disease causing a symptom is not known.
e pluribus unum	out of many, one	Literally, out of more (than one), one. Used on many U.S. coins and inscribed on the Capitol. Also used as the motto of S.L. Benfica. Less commonly written as ex pluribus unum.
Ecce homo	Behold the man	From the Latin Vulgate Gospel of John 19:5 (Douay-Rheims), where Pontius Pilate speaks these words as he presents Christ, crowned with thorns, to the crowd. It is also the title of Nietzsche's autobiography and of the theme music by Howard Goodall for the ITV comedy Mr. Bean, in which the full sung lyric is Ecce homo qui est faba ("Behold the man who is a bean").
ecce panis angelorum	behold the bread of angels	A quote from the Lauda Sion, occasionally inscribed near the altar in Catholic churches; it makes reference to the Host; the Eucharist; the bread of Heaven; the Body of Christ. See also: Panis Angelicus.
editio princeps	first edition	The first printed edition of a work.
ego te absolvo	I absolve you	Part of the absolution-formula spoken by a priest as part of the sacrament of Penance (cf. absolvo).
ego te provoco	I challenge you	Used as a challenge, "I dare you". Can also be written as te provoco
eheu fugaces labuntur anni	Alas, the fleeting years slip by	From Horace's Odes II, 14.
eluceat omnibus lux	let the light shine out from all	The motto of Sidwell Friends School
emeritus	veteran	Retired from office. Often used to denote a position held at the point of retirement, as an honor, such as professor emeritus or provost emeritus. This does not necessarily mean that the honorand is no longer active. Also "worn-out".
ens causa sui	existing because of oneself	Or "being one's own cause". Traditionally, a being that owes its existence to no other being, hence God or a Supreme Being (cf. Primum Mobile).
ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem	by the sword she seeks a serene repose under liberty	State motto of Massachusetts, adopted in 1775.
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem	entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity	Occam's Razor or Law of Parsimony; that is, that arguments which do not introduce extraneous variables are to be preferred in logical argumentation.
entitas ipsa involvit aptitudinem ad extorquendum certum assensum	reality involves a power to compel sure assent	A phrase used in modern Western philosophy on the nature of truth.
eo ipso	by that very (act)	Technical term used in philosophy and the law. Similar to ipso facto. Example: "The fact that I am does not eo ipso mean that I think." From Latin eo ipso, ablative form of id ipsum, "that (thing) itself".
eo nomine	by that name
equo ne credite	do not trust the horse	Virgil, Aeneid, II. 48–49; a reference to the Trojan Horse
erga omnes	in relation to everyone
ergo	therefore	Denotes a logical conclusion (cf. cogito ergo sum).
errare humanum est	to err is human	Sometimes attributed to Seneca the Younger, but not attested: Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum, et tertia non datur (To err is human; to persist [in committing such errors] is of the devil, and the third possibility is not given.) Several authors contemplated the idea before Seneca: Livy Venia dignus error is humanus (Storie, VIII, 35) and Cicero: is Cuiusvis errare: insipientis nullius nisi, in errore perseverare (Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault) (Philippicae XII, ii, 5). Cicero - well-versed in ancient Greek - may well have been alluding to Euripides' play Hippolytus some four centuries earlier. 300 years later Augustine of Hippo recycled the idea in his Sermones (164, 14): Humanum fuit errare, diabolicum est per animositatem in errore manere. The phrase gained currency in English language after Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1711): "To err is human, to forgive divine." (line 325).
erratum	error	Or "mistake". Lists of errors in a previous edition of a work are often marked with the plural, errata ("errors").
errantis voluntas nulla est	the will of a mistaken party is void	Roman legal principle formulated by Pomponius in the Digest of the Corpus Juris Civilis, stating that legal actions undertaken by man under the influence of error are ineffective.
eruditio et religio	scholarship and religion	Motto of Duke University
esse est percipi	to be is to be perceived	George Berkeley's motto for his idealist philosophical position that nothing exists independently of its perception by a mind except minds themselves.
esse quam videri	to be, rather than to seem	Truly being something, rather than merely seeming to be something. Motto of many institutions. From chapter 26 of Cicero's De amicitia ('On Friendship'). Earlier than Cicero, the phrase had been used by Sallust in his Bellum Catilinae (54.6), where he wrote that Cato esse quam videri bonus malebat (he preferred to be good, rather than to seem so). Earlier still, Aeschylus used a similar phrase in Seven Against Thebes, line 592, ou gar dokein aristos, all' enai thelei (he wishes not to seem the best, but to be the best); also motto of North Carolina and Ashville College and Royal Holloway College
est modus in rebus	there is measure in things	there is a middle ground in things, there is a middle way; from Horace's Satires 1.1.106; see also: Golden mean (philosophy). According to Potempski & Galmarini (Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 9471–9489, 2009) the sentence should be translated as: "There is an optimal condition in all things" which in the original text is followed by the sentence: "There are therefore precise boundaries beyond which one cannot find the right thing" (sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum).
esto perpetua	may it be perpetual	Said of Venice by the Venetian historian Fra Paolo Sarpi shortly before his death. Also the state motto of Idaho, adopted in 1867, and of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka. It is also used as the open motto of Sigma Phi Society, a collegiate Greek Letter Fraternity.
esto quod es	be what you are	Motto of Wells Cathedral School.
et adhuc sub iudice lis est	it is still before the court	Horace, Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry) 1.78.
et alibi (et al.)	and elsewhere	A less common variant on et cetera used at the end of a list of locations to denote unlisted places.
et alii (et al.)	and others	Used similarly to et cetera ("and the rest"), to stand for a list of names. Alii is masculine, so it can be used for men, or groups of men and women; the feminine, et aliae, is appropriate when the "others" are all female; but as with many loanwords, interlingual use (such as in reference lists) is often invariable. Et alia is neuter plural and thus in Latin text is properly used only for inanimate, genderless objects, but some use it as a gender-neutral alternative. APA style uses et al. (normal font) if the work cited was written by more than six authors; MLA style uses et al. for more than three authors; AMA style lists all authors if ≤6, and 3 + et al if >6. AMA style forgoes the period (because it forgoes the period on abbreviations generally) and it forgoes the italic (as it does with other loanwords naturalized into scientific English); many journals that follow AMA style do likewise.
et cetera (etc.) or (&c.)	And the rest	In modern usage, used to mean "and so on" or "and more".
et facta est lux	And light came to be or was made	From Genesis 1:3 "and there was light". Motto of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
et hoc genus omne	And all that sort of thing	Abbreviated to e.h.g.o. or ehgo
et in Arcadia ego	and in Arcadia [am] I	In other words, "I, too, am in Arcadia". See memento mori.
et lux in tenebris lucet	And light shines in the darkness	See also Lux in Tenebris; motto for the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
et nunc reges intelligite erudimini qui judicatis terram	And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth.	From the Book of Psalms, II.x. (Vulgate), 2.10 (Douay-Rheims).
et sequentes (et seq.)	and the following (masc./fem. plural)	Also et sequentia ('and the following things': neut.), abbreviations: et seqq., et seq., or sqq.
et cum spiritu tuo	And with your spirit	A phrase from the Sursum corda of Christian liturgy.
et suppositio nil ponit in esse	and a supposition puts nothing in being	More typically translated as "Sayin' it don't make it so".
et tu, Brute?	And you, Brutus?	Also "Even you, Brutus?" or "You too, Brutus?" Used to indicate a betrayal by someone close. From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, based on the traditional dying words of Julius Caesar. However, these were almost certainly not Caesar's true last words; Plutarch quotes Caesar as saying, in Greek, the language of Rome's elite at the time, καὶ σὺ τέκνον; (Kaì sù téknon?), in English "You too, (my) child?", quoting from Menander.
et uxor (et ux.)	and wife	A legal term.
et vir	and husband	A legal term.
Etiamsi omnes, ego non	Even if all others... I will never	Peter to Jesus Christ (from Vulgate Matthew 26:33; New King James Version: Matthew 26:33).
etsi deus non daretur	even if God were not a given	Sentence synthesizing a famous concept of Grotius (1625).
ex abundanti cautela	out of an abundance of caution	In law, describes someone taking precautions against a very remote contingency. "One might wear a belt in addition to braces ex abundanti cautela". In banking, a loan in which the collateral is more than the loan itself. Also the basis for the term "an abundance of caution" employed by United States President Barack Obama to explain why his oath of office had to be re-administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts and again in reference to terrorist threats.
ex abundantia enim cordis os loquitur	For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.	From the Gospel according to St. Matthew, XII.xxxiv (Vulgate), 12.34 (Douay-Rheims) and the Gospel according to St. Luke, VI.xlv (Vulgate), 6.45 (Douay-Rheims). Sometimes rendered without enim ('for').
ex aequo	from the equal	"On equal footing", i.e., "in a tie". Used for those two (seldom more) participants of a competition, that showed exactly the same performance.
ex Africa semper aliquid novi	"(There's) always something new (coming) out of Africa"	Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 8.42 (unde etiam vulgare Graeciae dictum semper aliquid novi Africam adferre), a translation of the Greek «Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν».
Ex amicitia pax	Peace though friendship	Often seen on internal diplomatic event invitations. Motto sometimes found on flags and mission plaques Diplomatic corps
ex animo	from the soul	Thus, "sincerely".
ex ante	from before	"Beforehand", "before the event". Based on prior assumptions. A forecast.
ex astris scientia	From the Stars, Knowledge	The motto of the fictional Starfleet Academy on Star Trek. Adapted from ex luna scientia, which in turn was modeled after ex scientia tridens.
ex cathedra	from the chair	A phrase applied to the declarations or promulgations of the Pope when, in communion with the college of cardinals, preserved from the possibility of error by the action of the Holy Spirit (see Papal infallibility), he solemnly declares or promulgates ("from the chair" that was the ancient symbol of the teacher and of the governor, in this case of the church) a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at least being intimately connected to divine revelation. Used, by extension, of anyone who is perceived as speaking as though with supreme authority.
ex cultu robur	from culture [comes] strength	The motto of Cranleigh School, Surrey.
ex Deo	from God
ex dolo malo	from fraud	"From harmful deceit"; dolus malus is the Latin legal term for "fraud". The full legal phrase is ex dolo malo non oritur actio ("an action does not arise from fraud"). When an action has its origin in fraud or deceit, it cannot be supported; thus, a court of law will not assist a man who bases his course of action on an immoral or illegal act.
ex facie	from the face	Idiomatically rendered "on the face of it". A legal term typically used to note that a document's explicit terms are defective without further investigation.
ex fide fiducia	from faith [comes] confidence	A motto of St George's College, Harare.
ex fide fortis	from faith [comes] strength	A motto of Loyola School (New York City).
ex glande quercus	from the acorn the oak	The motto of the Municipal Borough of Southgate, London.
ex gratia	from kindness	More literally "from grace". Refers to someone voluntarily performing an act purely out of kindness, as opposed to for personal gain or from being forced to do it. In law, an ex gratia payment is one made without recognizing any liability or legal obligation.
ex hypothesi	from the hypothesis	Thus, "by hypothesis".
ex infra (e.i.) cf. ex supra	"from below"	Recent academic notation for "from below in this writing"
ex juvantibus	from that which helps	The medical pitfall in which response to a therapeutic regimen substitutes proper diagnosis.
ex lege	from the law
ex libris	from the books	Precedes a person's name, with the meaning of "from the library of..."; also a bookplate.
ex luna scientia	from the moon, knowledge	The motto of the Apollo 13 moon mission, derived from ex scientia tridens, the motto of Jim Lovell's Alma Mater, the United States Naval Academy.
ex malo bonum	good out of evil	From St. Augustine's "Sermon LXI" where he contradicts Seneca's dictum in Epistulae 87:22: bonum ex malo non fit (good does not come from evil). Also the alias of the Anberlin song, "Miserabile Visu" from their album New Surrender.
ex mea sententia	in my opinion
ex mero motu	out of mere impulse, or of one's own accord.
ex nihilo nihil fit	nothing comes from nothing	From Lucretius, and said earlier by Empedocles. Its original meaning is "work is required to succeed", but its modern meaning is a more general "everything has its origins in something" (cf. causality). It is commonly applied to the conservation laws in philosophy and modern science. Ex nihilo often used in conjunction with the term creation, as in creatio ex nihilo, meaning "creation out of nothing". It is often used in philosophy or theology in connection with the proposition that God created the universe from nothing. It is also mentioned in the final ad-lib of the Monty Python song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
ex novo	from new	Said of something that has been built from scratch.
Ex Oblivione	from oblivion	The title of a short story by H. P. Lovecraft.
ex officio	from the office	By virtue of office or position; "by right of office". Often used when someone holds one position by virtue of holding another: for example, the President of France is an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. A common misconception is that all ex officio members of a committee or congress may not vote – this may be the case, but it is not guaranteed by that title. In legal terms, ex officio refers to an administrative or judicial office taking action of its own accord, for example to invalidate a patent or prosecute copyright infringers.
ex opere operantis	from the work of the one working	A theological phrase contrasted with ex opere operato, referring to the notion that the validity or promised benefit of a sacrament depends on the person administering it.
ex opere operato	from the work worked	A theological phrase meaning that the act of receiving a sacrament actually confers the promised benefit, such as a baptism actually and literally cleansing one's sins. The Catholic Church affirms that the source of grace is God, not just the actions or disposition of the minister or the recipient of the sacrament.
ex oriente lux	light from the east	Originally refers to the sun rising in the east, but alludes to culture coming from the Eastern world. Motto of several institutions.
ex parte	from a part	A legal term that means "by one party" or "for one party". Thus, on behalf of one side or party only.
ex pede Herculem	from his foot, so Hercules	From the measure of Hercules' foot you shall know his size; from a part, the whole.
ex post	from after	"Afterward", "after the event". Based on knowledge of the past. Measure of past performance.
ex post facto	from a thing done afterward	Said of a law with retroactive effect.
ex professo	from one declaring [an art or science]	Or 'with due competence'. Said of the person who perfectly knows his art or science. Also used to mean "expressly".
ex rel. or ex relatio	[arising] out of the relation/narration [of the relator]	The term is a legal phrase; the legal citation guide called the Bluebook describes ex rel. as a "procedural phrase" and requires using it to abbreviate "on the relation of," "for the use of," "on behalf of," and similar expressions. An example of use is in court case titles such as Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar
ex scientia tridens	from knowledge, sea power.	The United States Naval Academy motto. Refers to knowledge bringing men power over the sea comparable to that of the trident-bearing Greek god Poseidon.
ex scientia vera	from knowledge, truth	The motto of the College of Graduate Studies at Middle Tennessee State University.
ex silentio	from silence	In general, the claim that the absence of something demonstrates the proof of a proposition. An argumentum ex silentio ("argument from silence") is an argument based on the assumption that someone's silence on a matter suggests ("proves" when a logical fallacy) that person's ignorance of the matter or their inability to counterargue validly.
ex situ	out of position	opposite of "in situ"
ex supra (e.s.) cf. ex infra	"from above"	Recent academic notation for "from above in this writing".
ex tempore	from [this moment of] time	"This instant", "right away" or "immediately". Also written extempore.
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio	From a dishonorable cause an action does not arise	A legal doctrine which states that a claimant will be unable to pursue a cause of action, if it arises in connection with his own illegal act. Particularly relevant in the law of contract, tort and trusts.
ex umbra in solem	from the shadow into the light	Motto of Federico Santa María Technical University.
ex undis	from the waves [of the sea]	motto in the coat of arms of Eemsmond
ex unitate vires	union is strength, or unity is strength	motto of South Africa.
ex vi termini	from the force of the term	Thus, "by definition".
ex vita discedo, tanquam ex hospitio, non tanquam ex domo	I depart from life as from an inn, not as from home	Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute (On Old Age) 23
ex vivo	out of or from life	Used in reference to the study or assay of living tissue in an artificial environment outside the living organism.
ex voto	from the vow	Thus, in accordance with a promise. An ex voto is also an offering made in fulfillment of a vow.
ex vulgus scientia	from crowd, knowledge	used to describe social computing, The Wisdom of Crowds
excelsior	higher	"Ever upward!" The state motto of New York. Also a catchphrase used by Marvel Comics head Stan Lee.
exceptio firmat (or probat) regulam in casibus non exceptis	The exception confirms the rule in cases which are not excepted	A juridical principle which means that the statement of a rule's exception (e.g., "no parking on Sundays") implicitly confirms the rule (i.e., that parking is allowed Monday through Saturday). Often mistranslated as "the exception that proves the rule".
excusatio non petita accusatio manifesta	an excuse that has not been sought [is] an obvious accusation	More loosely, "he who excuses himself, accuses himself"—an unprovoked excuse is a sign of guilt. In French, qui s'excuse, s'accuse.
exeat	may he/she leave	A formal leave of absence.
exegi monumentum aere perennius	I have reared a monument more enduring than bronze	Horace, Carmina III:XXX:I
exempli gratia (e.g.)	for the sake of example, for example	Usually read out in English as "for example" (see citation signal and compare how the ampersand is read out as "and"). Often confused with id est (i.e.). Exempli gratiā, "for example", is usually abbreviated "e.g." (less commonly, ex. gr.); in this usage it is sometimes followed by a comma, depending on style.
exercitus sine duce corpus est sine spiritu	an army without a leader is a body without a spirit	On a plaque at the former military staff building of the Swedish Armed Forces.
exeunt	they leave	Third-person plural present active indicative of the Latin verb exire; also seen in exeunt omnes, "all leave"; singular: exit.
experientia docet	experience teaches	This term has been used in dermatopathology to express that there is no substitute for experience in dealing with all the numerous variations that may occur with skin conditions. The term has also been used in gastroenterology.
experimentum crucis	experiment of the cross	Or "crucial experiment". A decisive test of a scientific theory.
experto crede	trust the expert	Literally "believe one who has had experience". An author's aside to the reader.
expressio unius est exclusio alterius	the expression of the one is the exclusion of the other	"Mentioning one thing may exclude another thing". A principle of legal statutory interpretation: the explicit presence of a thing implies intention to exclude others; e.g., a reference in the Poor Relief Act 1601 to "lands, houses, tithes and coal mines" was held to exclude mines other than coal mines. Sometimes expressed as expressum facit cessare tacitum (broadly, "the expression of one thing excludes the implication of something else").
extra domum	[placed] outside of the house	Refers to a possible result of Catholic ecclesiastical legal proceedings when the culprit is removed from being part of a group like a monastery.
extra Ecclesiam nulla salus	outside the Church [there is] no salvation	This expression comes from the writings of Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a bishop of the third century. It is often used to summarise the doctrine that the Catholic Church is absolutely necessary for salvation.
extra omnes	outside, all [of you]	It is issued by the Master of the Papal Liturgical Celebrations before a session of the Papal conclave which will elect a new Pope. When spoken, all those who are not Cardinals, or those otherwise mandated to be present at the Conclave, must leave the Sistine Chapel.
extra territorium jus dicenti impune non paretur	he who administers justice outside of his territory is disobeyed with impunity	Refers to extraterritorial jurisdiction. Often cited in law of the sea cases on the high seas.