twenty popular foreign phrases

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A little Latin, or French is always joyful to your heart. Some most commonly used phrases along with their meaning – for your reading or writing pleasure:

  • annus mirabilis – wonderful year
  • bona fides – good faith; credentials
  • carpe diem – seize the day; enjoy the present
  • casus belli – cause justifying a war
  • de facto – of fact; it is
  • Deo volente – God willing
  • ecce homo – behold man
  • exempli gratia – for example
  • humanum est errare – to err is human
  • in toto – entirely; in total
  • modus operandi – mode of operating
  • multum in parvo – there is much in little
  • nil admirari – wondering at nothing
  • nolens volens – willing or not
  • persona non grata – unwelcome person
  • pro forma – as a matter of form; standard
  • quod erat demonstrandum – which was demonstrated; that which was shown
  • sine qua non – without which, nothing; it is essential
  • tempus fugit – time flies
  • verbatim et literatim – word for word, letter for letter

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