This table was compiled from multiple sources on the Internet; in other words, it's guaranteed to be inaccurate. Caveat lector!
| Vacca foeda | Stupid cow |
| Vade in pace | Go in peace (Roman way of saying goodbye) |
| Vade mecum | Come with me. A vade-mecum or vademecum is an item one carries around, especially a handbook. |
| Vade retro Satana! | Go back, Satan! or "Go back, Lucifer!"-- implied meaning "go away, do not dare to tempt me!". From a popular Medieval Catholic exorcism formula, apparently based on a rebuke by Jesus to Peter in the Vulgate, Mark 8:33: vade retro me, Satana. ("step back from me, Satan!"). |
| Vade retro! | Go back! -- i.e., "step back!", "begone!" Publius Terent, Formio I, 4, 203. |
| Vademecum | Go with me. |
| Vae puto deus fio | Alas, I think I am becoming a god (Vespasian, on his deathbed; an ironic remark on the deification of emperors) |
| Vae victis! | Woe to the conquered! (vanquished) (Livy) |
| Vae! | Damn! |
| Vagans | Cruising |
| Vah! Denuone latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur. | Oh! Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out. |
| Vale | Farewell |
| Vale mas el nombre bueno que la riqueza | A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches |
| Vale, lacerte! | See you later, alligator! |
| Valui ad satanam in computatrum meum invocandum. | I succeeded in summoning satan into my computer. |
| Vanitas vanitatvm, omnis vanitas | Vanity of vanities, all is vanity |
| Varia lecto (v.l.) | Variant reading |
| Variatio delectat | There's nothing like change! (Cicero) |
| Variorum | Of various people |
| Vaticinium ex eventu | Prophecy from the event - prophecy made to look as written before the events it describes, while in fact being written afterwards. |
| Vel non | Or not |
| Velis et Remis | Go For It! |
| Velle est posse | To be willing is to be able |
| Velut arbor aevo | As a tree in the passage of time |
| Venari, lavari, luders, ridere: occ est vivere | To hunt, to swim, to play, to grin: this is to live |
| Veni, veni, veni Locamovae cum me | Come on, come on, do the Locomotion with me |
| Veni, vidi, ambulavi. | I came, I saw, I walked. |
| Veni, vidi, deus vicit | I came, I saw and God has won. (Polish king Jan Sobieski after defeating Turkish army on the outskirts of Vienna in 16th century) |
| Veni, vidi, dormivi | I came, I saw, I slept. |
| Veni, vidi, territus sum, curcurri! | I came, I saw, I got scared, I ran! |
| Veni, vidi, vege! | I came, I saw, I ate vegetarian! |
| Veni, vidi, vici | I came, I saw, I conquered -- the full text of a message sent by Julius Caesar to the Roman Senate, to describe his battle against King Pharnakles of Pontus near Zela in 47 BC. |
| Veni, vidi, volo in domum redire | I came, I saw, I want to go home |
| Venienti occurrite morbo | Meet the misfortune as it comes. (Persius) |
| Venire facias | You must make come |
| Ventis secundis, tene cursum | Go with the flow |
| Ventis secundis, tene/tenete cursum | The winds being favorable, hold the course |
| Vera causa | The true cause (of) |
| Verba de futuro | Words about the future |
| Verba ita sunt intelligenda, ut res magis valeat quam pereat | Legal phrase meaning "Words are to be so understood that the subject-matter may be preserved rather than destroyed". |
| Verba movent, exempla trahunt | Words move people, examples draw/compel them. Deeds, not words, give the example |
| Verba volant, (littera) scripta manet | Words fly away, the written (letter) remains |
| Verbatim | Exactly as said |
| Verbatim et litteratim | Word by word and letter by letter. |
| Verbi divini minister | Servant of the word of God -- i.e., a priest. |
| Verbum sapienti satis est | A word to the wise is sufficient. Enough said |
| Verbum sat sapienti | A word to the wise suffices |
| Veritas | Truth - the current motto of Harvard University. Also the British political party Veritas. |
| Veritas et utilitas | Truth and usefulness |
| Veritas Lux Mea | The truth is my light. Motto of Seoul National University in South Korea |
| Veritas numquam perit | Truth never perishes. (Seneca) |
| Veritas odit moras | Truth hates delay. (Seneca) |
| Veritas vincit | Truth conquers |
| Veritas vos liberabit | The truth will set you free |
| Veritas, Christo et Ecclesiae | Truth for Christ and the Church - the founding motto of Harvard University |
| Veritatem dies aperit | Time discloses the truth |
| Veritus et libertas | Truth and liberty |
| Verso | Reverse |
| Versus (vs or v.) | Against -- as in "Good versus Evil". |
| Verum et factum convertuntur | The true and the made are interchangeable. One can know with certainty only what he have created himself |
| Verveces tui similes pro ientaculo mihi appositi sunt | I have jerks like you for breakfast |
| Vescere bracis meis | Eat my shorts |
| Vestigia terrent | The footprints frighten me. (Horace) |
| Vestimentum laxum paululum videtur | This suit looks a little baggy. |
| Vestis virum reddit | The clothes make the man. (Quintilianus) |
| Veto | I forbid -- a right to unilaterally stop a certain piece of legislation. |
| Vi et armis | By force and arms |
| Via crucis | The Way of the Cross |
| Via dolorosa | The Way of Sorrow |
| Via lactea | The Milky Way |
| Via media | Middle path -- the Church of England was said to be a via media between the errors of Roman Catholicism and the extremes of Protestantism. |
| Via perfacilis laqueis semper plena. | The easy way is always mined. |
| Via una | One way |
| Vice | In place of |
| Vice-versa | With places exchanged -- i.e., "in reverse order", "conversely". |
| Victis honor | Honour to the vanquished |
| Victoria aut mori! (Victoria aut mors) | Victory or Death! |
| Victoria Imperatrix Regina (VIR) | Victoria, Empress and Queen |
| Victoria Regina (VR) | Queen Victoria |
| Victoria Regina et Imperatrix (VRI) | Victoria, Queen and Empress |
| Victoria, non praeda | Victory, not loot |
| Victurus te saluto | He who is about to win salutes you |
| Vide et credere | See and believe |
| Vide infra (v.i.) | See below. |
| Vide supra (v.s.) | See above. |
| Vide ut supra | See the above |
| Videbat esse notitia bona id temporis | It seemed to be a good idea at the time |
| Videlicet (viz.) | That is to say; To wit; Namely |
| Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor | I see the better way and approve it, but I follow the worse way |
| Videre est credere | Seeing is believing |
| Videre licet (videlicet, viz.) | One may see -- used to introduce examples or a listing of something just named. |
| Videtis quantum scelus contra rem publicam vobis nuntiatum sit? | How great an evil do you see that may have been announced by you against the Republic? (Cicero) |
| Vidi Vici Veni | I saw, I conquered, I came |
| Vidistine nuper imagines moventes bonas? | Seen any good movies lately? |
| Vigilando, agendo, bene consulendo, prospera omnia cedunt | By watching, by doing, by counsulting well, these things yield all things prosperous. (Sallust) |
| Vigilia pretium libertatis | Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty |
| Vincere est totum | To win is everything |
| Vincit imitationem veritas | Truth conquers imitation |
| Vincit omnia amor | Love conquers all |
| Vincit omnia veritas | Truth conquers all |
| Vincit qui se vincit | He conquers who conquers himself |
| Vincit veritas | Truth prevails |
| Vincula de linguae vel tibi linguae dabit | Lay restraint on thy tongue or thy tongue will lay it on thee |
| Vinculum unitatis | The bond of unity |
| Vinum bellum iucunumque est, sed animo corporeque caret | It's a nice little wine, but it lacks character and depth |
| Vinum et musica laetificant cor | Wine and music gladden the heart |
| Vir bonus, dicendi peritus | A good man, skilled in speaking. (definition of an orator) (Cato the Elder) |
| Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit | A wise man does not urinate against the wind |
| Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur | That man is wise who talks little (know when to hold your tongue) |
| Virago Principessa | Warrior-Princess |
| Viragones Infernae | Warrior-Women from Hell |
| Vires acquirit eundo | It gains strength by going / as it goes. (Virgil) |
| Virescit vulnere virtus | Courage gains strength from a wound |
| Virginibus puerisque | For maidens and youths |
| Virgo intacta | Intact virgin |
| Viri sunt Viri. | Men are slime. |
| Viribus unitis | By united efforts |
| Virtus in medio stat | Virtue stands in the middle |
| Virtute et armis | By courage and by arms |
| Virtute et valare luceo non uro | By virtue and valor I shine, but do not burn |
| Virtvs probata florescit | Manly excellence in trial flourished |
| Virtvtis fortvna comes | Good luck is the companion of courage |
| Virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum | Tell me, O Muse, of the skillful man. (Livius Andronicus) |
| Virus | Poison or slime |
| Virute et armis | By valor and arms |
| Vis comica | Sense of humour |
| Vis consili expers mole ruit sua | Brute force bereft of wisdom falls to ruin by its own weight. (Discretion is the better part of valor) (Horace) |
| Vis inertiae | The power of inertia. Why things never change. |
| Vis legis | Force of the law |
| Vis maior | Higher force |
| Vis medicatrix naturae | The healing power of nature |
| Visa | Things seen |
| Visio dei | God's vision. |
| Visne saltare? | Do you want to dance? |
| Vita ante acta | Life lived before -- i.e., a previous life |
| Vita brevis, ars lunga | Life is short, art is long |
| Vita contin git. Vive com eo | Life happens. Live with it |
| Vita luna! | Crazy life! |
| Vita mutatur, non tollitur | Life is changed, not taken away |
| Vita non est vivere sed valere vita est | Life is more than merely staying alive |
| Vita sine libris mors est | Life without books is death |
| Vitam gravite nimis vivis | You live your life with too much seriousness. You are taking life too seriously. |
| Vitam impendere vero | To risk one's life for the truth |
| Vitam regit Fortuna, non sapientia. | Fortune rules our lives, not wisdom. (Cicero) |
| Vitanda est improba siren desidia | One must avoid that wicked temptress, Laziness. (Horace) |
| Vitiis nemo sine nascitur | No-one is born without faults. (Horace) |
| Vitrum edere possum; mihi non nocet | I can eat glass, it does not hurt me. |
| Viva voce | With living voice |
| Vivat Regina! | May the Queen live! |
| Vivat Rex! | May the King live! |
| Vivat, crescat, floreat! | May he/she/it live, grow, and flourish! |
| Vive hodie | Live today (not tomorrow) |
| Vive ut vivas | Live that you may live |
| Vive, Aestimare | Live, be valuable |
| Vivere Bene Revindicatio Optima | Living Well is the Best Revenge |
| Vivere disce, cogita mori | Learn to live; Remember death. (sundial inscription) |
| Vivos voco, mortuos plango | I call the living, I mourn the dead. (church bell inscription) |
| Vix ulla tam iniqua pax, quin bello vel aequissimo sit potior | Scarcely is there any peace so unjust that it is better than even the fairest war. (Erasmus) |
| Vixere fortes ante agamemnona | Brave men lived before Agamemnon. (heroism exists even if it's not recorded) |
| Vixit | He/she has lived |
| Volando, reptilia sperno | Flying, I despise reptiles |
| Volens et potens | Willing and able |
| Volente Deo | God willing |
| Volenti non fit iniuria | A person who consents does not suffer injustice |
| Volo anaticulam cumminosam meam! | I want my rubber ducky! |
| Volo comparare nonnulla tegumembra. | I'd like to buy some condoms. |
| Volo, non valeo | I am willing but unable |
| Voluptatibus meris studers | Devoted to pure pleasure |
| Voluptes! | Satisfaction! |
| Volvptates commendat rarior vsvs | Infrequent use commends pleasure. (moderation in all things) |
| Vos vestros servate, meos mihi linquite mores | You cling to your own ways and leave mine to me. (Petrarch) |
| Votum separatum | An independent, minority voice |
| Vox audita perit, litteras scripta manet | The spoken word vanishes, the written word remains |
| Vox Calontiri | Voice of Calontir |
| Vox clamans in deserto | A voice crying in the wilderness |
| Vox clamantis in deserto | Voice crying in the desert. From Isaiah 40, quoted by John the Baptist in the gospels. Sometimes this has connotations of "unheeded" or "in vain", but it is also the motto of Dartmouth College, where it is taken to mean an isolated beacon of education and culture among the wilds of New Hampshire. |
| Vox populi, vox Dei | The voice of the people is the voice of God. (Public opinion is obligatory) |
| Vulnerant omnes, ultima necat | Every (hour) wounds, the last kills. (sundial inscription) |
| Vulnus pectoris sugens ne properetis mos naturae dicendi est. | A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down. |
| Vulpem pilum mutat, non mores | A fox may change its hair, not its tricks. (People change behaviour but not their aims) |
| Vultur non capit muscam! | The eagle does not catch flies |
| Vultus est index animi | The face is the index of the soul/mind |
