For example, an ad valorem tax is proportional to the value of the product.Ĭeteris paribus: other things being equal. This expression is used when something is related to the value of an object or transaction. You could say that your wife hassles you ad infinitum, for example.Īd valorem: to the value. Something that goes ad infinitum keeps going forever. An ad hoc political committee, for instance, is formed for one specific case.Īd infinitum: to infinity.
Ad hoc refers to something that was created for a specific purpose or situation. If you think something a priori, you are conceiving it before seeing the facts. Common Latin wordsĪ priori: from the former. And below are listed common Latin words, phrases and prefixes in use in modern English today. Indeed, Latin names in astronomy are extremely common-and probably account for 90% of the nomenclature.Įnglish is heavily influenced by Latin. For example: Mare Tranquillitatis (on the moon) Meridiani Planum (a Martian feature) and, Betelgeuse (a star in the constellation Orion). Similarly, the names of many planetary and lunar features are derived from Latin. For example, Latin and Greek roots are the chief sources of many English terms in science and technology, names of plants, and so on. The direct influence of the classical languages began with the Renaissance and has continued ever since.
“Para bellum” in Latin means ‘prepare for war’, the name applied to a German make of gun, the parabellum.įrom research (as a best guess) almost 30% of modern English words were coined on the basis of Latin precedent a similar percentage may be of French origin about 25% Old English (largely Germanic) and then 5% Greek. Hence our word, belligerent, for describing someone behaving in a hostile way. For example, bellum in Latin means ‘war’. This is why a basic study of Latin can be useful in learning and remembering the meaning of a word.