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Common Latin Phrases

Latin phrases and abbreviations that show up in everyday English.

Phrase	Meaning	Literal / use
e.g.	for example	exempli gratia, "for the sake of example"
i.e.	that is; in other words	id est, "that is"
etc.	and so on; and the rest	et cetera, "and the others"
et al.	and others (of people, e.g. co-authors)	et alii, "and others"
vs.	against; as opposed to	versus, "turned toward"
ad hoc	made or done for one specific purpose	"for this"
bona fide	genuine; in good faith	"in good faith"
carpe diem	seize the day; make the most of now	"pluck the day"
status quo	the existing state of affairs	"the state in which"
vice versa	the other way around	"with position turned"
per se	in itself; intrinsically	"by itself"
de facto	in fact, whether by right or not	"from the fact"
in vitro	in an artificial environment, outside a living body	"in glass"
alma mater	the school or college one attended	"nourishing mother"
post mortem	after death; an analysis after an event	"after death"
pro bono	done without charge for the public good	pro bono publico, "for the public good"
quid pro quo	a favor or advantage given in return for something	"something for something"
alibi	evidence of being elsewhere when an act occurred	"elsewhere"
verbatim	word for word; exactly as spoken or written	"word for word"
cum laude	with honors (academic distinction)	"with praise"

20 entries · Source: Wikipedia