abracadabra

[äbräˈkäːd̪äbrä]

Inscrībis chartae quod dīcitur "abracadabra",
Saepius, et subter repetis, sed dētrahe summae,
Ut magis atque magis dēsint elementa figūrīs
Singula, quae semper rapiēs, et cētera fīgēs,
dōnec in angustum redigātur littera cōnum:

c. 200 CE, Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, Liber Medicinalis

Write on a piece of paper the word abracadabra, repeating it below while taking away the last letter, so that a single letter is further and further lacking, until it has the shape of a cone: remember to surround the [patient's] neck with linen with the paper hanging from it.


tax

bad argument #1 to 'lower' (string expected, got nil)

an onomatopoeia expressing the sound of blows, whack, crack


age

well now, well then, come now (transition)

very well, good, right (sign of affirmation)


o

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὦ (ô), cognate, or onomatopoeic.

O tempora, o mores! Senatus haec intellegit, consul videt; hic tamen vivit. Vivit?

63 BCE, Cicero, Catiline Orations Oratio in Catilinam Prima in Senatu Habita.II

Shame on the age and on its principles! The senate is aware of these things; the consul sees them; and yet this man lives. Lives!

et reversus de Galgalis ubi erant idola dixit ad regem verbum secretum habeo ad te o rex et ille imperavit silentium egressisque omnibus qui circa eum erant (Then returning from Galgal, where the idols were, he said to the king: I have a secret message to thee, O king. And he commanded silence: and all being gone out that were about him,)

4th century, St Jerome, Vulgate, Judges 3:19


en

look! behold! (presenting something in a lively or indignant manner)

really!? (surprise or anger in questions)

come on! (exhortation to action in imperatives)


bee

onomatopoeic

imitative

nec multo secus nostri ab eadem voce, sed ab alia litera. vox earum non me, sed bee sonare videtur.

116 BCE – 27 BCE, Marcus Terentius Varro, Agricultural Topics 2.1.7, (The spelling "be" is also read in this passage)


ah

Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ā or perhaps *h₂eh₂.


ha

expressing joy or laughter: hurrah!, ha ha!


em

Fossilised (2nd person singular) imperative of emō.


au

Alternative form of hau (“expressing pain or grief; oh! ah!”)


eu

Compare Ancient Greek εὖ (eû, “well”, adverb).


ne

Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme

From Proto-Indo-European *né-h₁ (“that way, so”), which consists of *áno- (“yonder”, pronomial stem, distal) + *-h₁ (modal and instrumental suffix). Cognate with Ancient Greek νή (nḗ, “yes, indeed”) and Proto-Germanic *-nā (emphatic suffix after adverbs) which features in Icelandic svona (“so”), hérna (“here”), and þarna (“there”). The same pronominal stem is also present in the words enim (“for; truly”), nempe (“indeed”), and nam (“for”).

cog

At enim te in disciplinam meam tradideras—nam ita dixisti—domum meam ventitaras. Ne tu, si id fecisses, melius famae, melius pudicitiae tuae consuluisses.

You had however committed yourself to my instruction and frequented my house, or so you claimed. You would certainly have been more mindful of your virtue and reputation if you had!

truly!, indeed!; only joined with personal pronouns and commonly connected with other affirmative particles


ei

Alternative form of hei (“expression of grief or fear”)


veto

From earlier votō, from Proto-Italic *wotaō, from Proto-Indo-European *weth₂- (“to say”).


fiat

Fiat, fiat!

Maledictus qui indivisam deitatem Patris, et Filii, et sancti Spiritus non confitetur. Fiat, fiat.

c. 5th century CE, Vigilius of Thapsus, De Trinitate 6.255

Accursed be he who does not confess the undivided godhead of Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit. So let it be, so let it be.

Expression of affirmation; make it so, so let it be, so be it


pax

→ Ancient Greek: πᾱ́ξ! (pā́x!)

From Proto-Italic *pāks, Proto-Indo-European *péh₂ḱ-s (“peace”), from the root *peh₂ḱ- (“to join, to attach”).

Pāx! Abī!

c. 206 BCE, Plautus, Miles Gloriosus 3.1.213

...capillus passus, prōlixus, circum caput reiectus negligenter; pāx!

163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 2.3.49

...her hair loose, long, and thrown back carelessly about her temples. Enough said!

Pāx, id est nōmen mihī - hoc cottīdiānum est.

Hush, that's my name - that's for everyday use.


amen

Borrowed from Koine Greek ᾱ̓μήν (āmḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, “certainly, truly”); cognate with Arabic آمِين (ʔāmīn), Aramaic אַמִין (ʾamīn), Classical Syriac ܐܰܡܺܝܢ (ʾamīn).


vale

→ English: vale

From the verb valeō (“I am well, healthy”).

ave atque vale


io

Echoic; compare Greek ἰώ (iṓ), or English yo.

An exclamation of joy: Ho!, Hurray!, Hurrah!

illa quidem clāmābat ‘iō, cārissima māter, auferor!’
Indeed, she was crying out, “Oh! mother dearest – I am being taken away!”

(See Persephone. The full context implies a cry of anguish as well as a plea for help from Persephone's mother, Ceres. The alternative ‘‘Help!’’ calls for an imperative such as ‘‘ferte auxilium!’’.)

An exclamation for getting one’s attention, used in a sudden or vehement call: Look!, Quick!, Yo!


ave

Borrowed with an unspelled /h/ from Punic [script needed] (ḥawe, “live!”, 2sg. imp.), cognate to Hebrew חוה (“Chava, the biblical Eve”), and as avō from Punic [script needed] (ḥawū, 2pl. imp.), from Semitic root ḥ-w-y (live). The form might have been contaminated by Etymology 2, especially as the latter one's long vowel also ended up short via iambic shortening; this would explain the reluctance to spell the aspirate, as well as its interpretation as a verb form. Attested since Plautus.

bor

Aue Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.

Avē̆ atque valē!

Hail and farewell! (esp. before a long departure and as a last good-bye to the dead).

Avē̆ imperātor, moritūrī tē salūtant!

Hail, commander, the ones going to their deaths salute you!

hail, hello, farewell, greetings! (a formal expression of greeting)


quid

Balkan Romance:

Aromanian: tsi

Megleno-Romanian: tse

Romanian: ce

Italo-Romance:

Italian: che

Neapolitan: che

Sicilian: chi

Padanian:

Friulian: ce

Piedmontese: quei, que

Romansch: tge

Venetian: ché

Gallo-Romance:

Catalan: què

Franco-Provençal: quei, que

French: que, quoi

Norman: quei, qui, que

Picard: quoé

Occitan: qué

Ibero-Romance:

Aragonese: que

Asturian: que

Mozarabic: כי (ky)

desctree

Old Galician-Portuguese: que, q̃, q̇ (abbreviation, in manuscripts)
Fala: que
Galician: que
Portuguese: que
Indo-Portuguese: que

Spanish: que

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷid; compare *kʷis.
The sense “why” is an adverbial accusative; compare Ancient Greek τί (tí).

Quid, an nescīs

(discussing moetacism) Plērumque enim aut suspēnsiōne prōnuntiātur aut exclūsiōne […] Nōs quid sequī dēbēmus? Quid, per suspēnsiōnem tantum modo. Quā ratiōne? Quia si […]

Pompeius, Commentum in Artis Donati partem tertiam Keil, GL V, p. 287/14 = Zago (2017), p. 16/7

It's mostly pronounced either by pausing or by leaving it out […] Which solution should we adopt? Why, only by pausing. What is the reason? Because if […]


pol

Myrrhina: Et pol ego istuc ad te. Sed quid est, quod tuo nunc animo aegrest?

Myrrhina: And, troth, I was coming here to yours. But what is it that now distresses your mind?


fi

English: fy, fie

Esperanto: fi

Fi, fi fetet!

pah!, pooh!, foh!, bah!, an expression of disgust


salve

Italian: salve

Portuguese: salve

Romanian: salve

Spanish: salve

[ˈs̠äɫ̪u̯eː]


hei

onomatopoeic

Expressive

hei mihi!


hau

Expressing pain or grief; oh! ah! ow! ouch!!


hui

Spanish: uy, huy


malum

Erotium: Certo, tibi et parasito tuo.

c. 200 BCE, Plautus, Menaechmi 2.3.389.390

Certainly you did, for yourself and your parasite."
"For whom? Fuck, parasite? Surely this woman isn't quite right in her senses.

Sosicles: Quoi, malum, parasito? Certo haec mulier non sana est satis.


vae

Old French: vé

Romanian: vai

Sicilian: vai

From Proto-Indo-European *wáy. Cognate with Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai).

Vae victīs!

Vae, putō deus fīō.


Deo gratias

[ˈd̪eoː ˈɡräːt̪iäːs̠]

[ˈd̪ɛːo ˈɡrät̪ː͡s̪iäs]

thanks be to God; thank God!, thank goodness!


ecce

Neapolitan: ce

Old French: es, ez, eis, as, ais

Old Galician-Portuguese: aque

Galician: aque (archaic)

Quem quaero, optime ecce obviam mihi est.

Behold! There comes he I was wishing for.

Ecce hominem miserum.

Ecce autem video rure redeuntem senem.

But look, I see the old man returning to the country.

see!, look!, behold!, points out something with emphasis

Quid cessamus ludos facere? Circus noster ecce adest!

Why should we stop playing games? We have our theatre here!

Quid me quaeris? Ecce me.

Ecce.

Ecce odium meum. Quid me vis?

See here my aversion. What is it you want with me?

Ecce tuae litterae de Varrone.

Lo and behold, your letters about Varro!

, Stasimus in the play Trinummus by Titus Maccius Plautus
Ecce hominem te, Stasime, nihili.

See now, Stasimus, what a worthless fellow you are.

(mostly elliptical) here!, or here am/are/is!; used to denote that something is present (compare French voici or Italian ecco)


eheu

Expressive; compare heu (“alas!”), and Sanskrit अहो (aho). Because of the latter comparison a Proto-Indo-European origin was traditionally assumed.

sound-symbolic

Expressive

I can just hear you call your Palace class: / Come learn the Latin Eheu for alas.

[1942, Robert Frost, “The Lesson for Today”, in A Witness Tree (in English):


eho

Eho tu!

Eho puer.

Eho dic mihi, quis illic igitur est?

Captivi ("the captives") by Plautus (English and Latin text)


eia

aha! come now! come on! (expressing delight, playful remonstrance, encouragement)


heu

Expressive. Compare Latin ēheu, English oho.

Expressive

‘heu ubi Mārs pater est?’

“Alas! Where is Mars, my father?”
(The ghost of Remus laments his fate; Mars was the divine father of the twin brothers Romulus and Remus.)

heu hercle mulier, multum et audāx et mala·s

oh blimey, woman, you have as much boldness as evil in you!

heu mē miseram, interiī!

oh! alas! ah!, ay! (expressing dismay, grief, pain, indignation)


Kyrie eleison

the words Kyrie eleison from the Kyriale Mass XI: Orbis Factor

From the Ancient Greek phrase Κῡ́ριε ἐλέησον (Kū́rie eléēson), from the vocative of Κῡ́ριος (Kū́rios, “Lord”) plus an inflected form (second person aorist imperative) of ἐλεέω (eleéō, “to have pity, to be merciful”).

(Ecclesiastical Latin) O Lord, have mercy! (upon us)


raca

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥακά (rhaká), from Aramaic רֵיקָא (rēqā, “worthless person”) or Classical Syriac ܪܝܩܐ (rēqā, “vanity”).

der

4th C. CE, Saint Jerome, Vulgate, Matthew 5:22

And whoever says to his brother, idiot!, shall be liable to answer to the council.

Quī autem dīxerit frātrī suō, raca!, reus erit conciliō.

397 CE, Tyrannius Rufinus (translator), Instituta Monachorum, question 145, original author: Basil of Caesarea, in Patrologia Latina (volume 103), Jacques-Paul Migne (editor), Paris 1851, column 538

What is raca? The answer: A provincial, that is, a pagan word used for example as a mild insult, which is usually said to servants and to those who rely on you.

Quid est raca? Respōnsum: Prōvinciālis, id est, gentīlis illīus sermō est velut convīciī leviōris, quod domesticīs et hīs quōrum fīdūciam quis gerit, dīcī solet.


laus Deo

Anno denique 1597. praesentem Tomum Tertium, ac postremum Operum omnium S. Patris nostri Ephraem Syri; tandem (Laus Deo) Romae absolutum, ex Vaticana Typographia edidimus.

1619, Sancti Patris Ephraem Syri Scriptoris Ecclesiae Antiquissimi et Dignissimi Opera Omnia […] , page 620:

Finally in the year 1597 we published the present Third Volume, and the last of the whole works of our Holy Father Ephrem the Syrian, at length (praise be to God) absolved by Rome.

In dubio porro est obediendum principi, quia si bene fecerit, laus Deo, si male, hoc permittit Deus pro punitione populi […]

1691, Francesco Gallo, edited by Bernardino Gallo, Tractatus de Fructibus […] , page 222:

The prince, furthermore, is to be obeyed when in doubt, because if he has done good, praise be to God, if bad, God allows this for the punishment of the people […]

praise be to God (exclamation of happiness or thanks)


valete

[u̯äˈɫ̪eːt̪ɛ]


perge

The imperative form of pergō (“I proceed, I go on”).

(idiomatic) go on!, proceed!, press on!, persist!


cocococo

Et tu cum esses capo, cocococo, atque cor non habebas.

c. 27 CE – 66 CE, Petronius, Satyricon 59

And when you were a cockerel, you said cock-a-doodle-doo and didn't have a heart.


hahae

onomatopoeia expressing joy or laughter.


butubatta

[bʊt̪ʊˈbät̪ːä]

Compare Ancient Greek βατταλογέω (battalogéō)

Butubatta Naevius pro nugatoriis posuit, hoc est, nullius dignationis.

Sexti Pomei Festi De verborum significatione quae supersunt cum Pauli epitome. Emendata et annotata a Carolo Odofredo Muellero. Anno MDCCCXXXIX (1839), p. 36

Butubatta. Hoc Plautus pro nihilo et pro nugis posuit, ut in glossis veterum.


lupus in sermone

[ˈɫ̪ʊpʊs̠ ɪn s̠ɛrˈmoːnɛ]

From lupus (“wolf”) + in (“in”) + sermōne, the ablative of sermō (“conversation, discussion”).

talk of the devil, and he will appear
talk of the devil, and he will appear

(idiomatic) speak of the devil, talk of the devil, talk of the devil, and he will appear, it is he I was speaking of, of a person who comes just as we are talking about him


bombax

indeed! strange! Used to express real or affected surprise.


heus

Ac prior, 'Heus' inquit 'iuvenēs, mōnstrāte meārum

And previously he said, "Hey young men, show me …"

Heus tu, Rufio …


edepol

[ˈeːd̪ɛpɔɫ̪]

Compound of ē (“by”) + deus (“god”) + pol (“Pollux”), literally “by the god Pollux”.

com+

An expression showing that one is surprised, annoyed, or excited.


ecastor

Compound of ē (“by”) + Castor (“Castor”), literally “by Castor”.


scaccus

[ˈs̠käkːʊs̠]


euge

From Ancient Greek εὖγε (eûge, “good! well done! Excellent!”).


maranatha

[mäˈränät̪ʰä]

[mäˈräːnät̪ä]

From Ancient Greek μαράνα θά (marána thá) or μαράν αθά (marán athá), from Aramaic מרנא תא (“Lord, come!”) or מרן אתא (“our lord has come”).


mehercule

From an ellipsis of ita mē Herculēs amet/iuvet or the like.


agedum

age (“act, do, imperative”) + dum (“while, then”)

compound

come on! (or similar words of encouragement or exhortation)


viden

Univerbation of vidēs + ne with subsequent iambic shortening in pre-stressed position.

(expressive or ironic, usually with ut or another relative and indicative or subjunctive) do you see (how...)? would you look at that! see, behold, lo!


ut vales

[ʊt̪ ˈu̯äɫ̪eːs̠]

(idiomatic) how are you? how's it going?


bene ambula

[ˈbɛnɛ ˈämbʊɫ̪äː]


papae

Onomatopoeic, a regional Mediterranean interjection cognate to Ancient Greek παπαῖ (papaî). Compare babae.

Tum ego: "Papae" inquam "ut magna promittis!"

524 CE, Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy 4.2p

"Whoa!", I said, "You promise such great things!"

whoa, ooh, wow, ouch! (expressing any sudden emotion)


vah

onomatopoeic

Exclamatory

Vah, apage te a me.


tuxtax

an onomatopoeia expressing the sound of blows, whack, crack


attatae

[ˈät̪ːät̪äe̯]


os opprime

[oːs̠ ˈɔpːrɪmɛ]


fac taceas

[fäk ˈt̪äːt͡ʃeäs]


evax

[ɛu̯ˈu̯äks̠]

From Ancient Greek εὐαί (euaí), εὐοῖ (euoî), εὐοἵ (euhoí) or similar, all containing εὖ (eû, “good”). Cf. euhoe.

great!, bravo!, hurrah! (an exclamation of delight)


euhoe

Borrowed from Ancient Greek εὐοῖ (euoî), εὐοἵ (euhoí). Cf. evax.

A shout of joy at the festivals of Bacchus.


eugepae

[ˈɛu̯ɡɛpäe̯]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek εὖγε παί (eûge paí).


linguae tempera

[ˈlʲɪŋɡʷäe̯ ˈt̪ɛmpɛräː]


attat

[ät̪ˈt̪äːt̪]

Onomatopoeic, of regional Mediterranean origin and cognate to Ancient Greek ἀτταταί, ἀτταταταί (attataí, attatataí).

cog

ἀτταταί, ἀτταταταί

Attat eccam, adest propinquē!

An expression of sudden enlightenment, surprise or painful realisation aha, hey, oh no!

Attat, nōlī, nōlī scrībere, inquam, istud: nōlunt audīre.

234 BCE – 149 BCE, Cato the Elder, Fragments of speeches 171

"No, wait!" I say, "don't write this - they don't want to hear it."


pro dolor

[proː ˈd̪ɔɫ̪ɔr]

A combination of the interjection prō "oh, alas!" and dolor "pain, trouble, indignation etc."


apage

>? Spanish: aba

From Ancient Greek ἄπαγε (ápage, “go away!”), imperative of ἀπάγω (apágō, “to lead or go away”).

(informal) away with you!, go away!, scram! [with accusative]


bene venutus

Catalan: benvingut

Corsican: bonavinuta

Friulian: benvignût

Italian: benvenuto

Neapolitan: bemmenute

Occitan: benvengut

Old French: bienvenu, bienvenue

French: bienvenu, bienvenue

Romanian: binevenit (calque)

Walloon: bénvnowe

Sicilian: binvinutu, bimminutu

Venetian: benvegnuo

bene (“well”) + *venūtus, innovative past participle of veniō (“to come”). The past participle ending *-ūtus are extracted from supine forms of third conjugation verbs with stems ending in -u (i.e. cōnsuō, perfect cōnsuī, supine cōnsūtus).
Calque of Frankish *willjakwemō (with the first element wrongly identified as *wela (“well”) rather than *willjō (“will, desire”)), from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô.


bene venitus

→? Aromanian: ghini vinishi (calque)

Asturian: bienveníu

Old Portuguese:

Galician: benvido, benvindo

Portuguese: bem-vindo, Benvindo

Papiamentu: bon bini

Old Spanish: bienvenido

Spanish: bienvenido

Romansch: bainvegni

Sardinian: bene bennios, benénnidu

Tarantino: bovègne

bene (“well”) + *venītus, innovative past participle of veniō (“to come”). Calque of Frankish *willikumō (with the first element wrongly identified as *wela (“well”) rather than *willjō (“will, desire”)), from Proto-Germanic *wiljakumô.


kyrieleison

Populus autem hec audiebat orans et clamans “kyrieleison”.

c. 12th century, Alain de Lille, Explanatio in Prophetia Merlini Ambrosii 5.52

But the people listened to these things, praying and shouting “Lord, have mercy”.

(Medieval Latin) Alternative form of Kyrie eleison (“Lord, have mercy”)


eccere

Univerbation of ecce (“look!”, interjection) + rē (“in fact”), ablative singular of rēs.

univerbation

there!, would you look at that!, what do you know?, here we go (calling attention to an event as a cause of some emotion)


ad Deum

Italo-Dalmatian

desctree

Italian: addio
→ Greek: αντίο (antío)
→ Romanian: adio
→ Serbo-Croatian: adio, адио
→ Slovene: adȋjo

Sassarese: adiòssu

Sicilian: addiu

→ Maltese: addiju

Occitano-Romance

Catalan: adeu

Occitan: adieu

Old French: adieu

French: adieu (see there for further descendants)

Walloon: ada

→ Middle Dutch: adiu

Dutch: adieu
Negerhollands: adjo, adjoe
→ Virgin Islands Creole: adio

Dutch: aju, ajuus

→ Low German: adjüs ⇒ tschüß

→ German: tschüss

desc

→ Middle English: adieu, adew, adewe, adue

English: adieu

→ Middle High German: adē

German: ade

Sardinian: adiòsu

West Iberian

Aragonese: adiós

Extremaduran: adiós

Old Leonese:

Asturian: adiós

Mirandese: adius

Old Galician-Portuguese:

Galician: adeus

Portuguese: adeus
Papiamentu: ayó

Old Spanish:

Ladino: adio, אדיו

Spanish: adiós (see there for further descendants)

[äd̪ ˈd̪eʊ̃ˑ]

[äd̪ ˈd̪ɛːum]

(Medieval Latin, idiomatic) goodbye (literally "to God")


hercle

Contraction of hercule (“by Hercules!; assuredly!, indeed!”).


mecastor

Ellipsis of adiuvet mē Castor (literally “so help me Castor”).