Common Latin Terms

You might want to throw on some Ricky Martin before you read this because we’re going Latin. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be as sexy as Señor Martin was at his hip-gyrating peak.

In your proofreading career you will encounter several Latin terms, and you may already be familiar with many of them. However, it’s always good to know where terms come from. So we’ve put together a whirlwind tour of the origins of some common Latin terms.

General Terms

Et cetera: In Latin, et means and, while cetera is the plural of ceterum, meaning left over. So et cetera literally means and the rest.

De facto: If we refer to something that happens in practice rather than in theory or according to the law, it is de facto. This translates to of fact.

In vitro: We use this term if something is developed in an artificial or laboratory environment. It literally means in glass.

Curriculum vitae: As a proofreader you may find yourself working on many CVs, so you might like to know that curriculum vitae translates as course of life.

Ad hoc: If a solution is put together for an immediate purpose without taking into account long-term considerations, we say that it is ad hoc. This literally translates as to this, as in ‘to be applied to this particular situation’.

Bona fide: In Latin, bona fide means in good faith. We use it to mean the same thing or simply to mean genuine.

Academic Terms

Some of the following terms may be found in any kind of document, but all are likely to turn up sooner or later when proofreading essays and dissertations. 

Ibidem: In referencing, ibid. is used for repeat references to the same source. Ibidem means in the same place.

Et alia: If a source has so many authors that citing them all would look messy, the first author may be cited followed by et al. The Latin et alia means and others.

Sic: When quoting a source that contains an error (e.g. a typo), you can add sic in brackets after the error to show that it is present in the original text. In Latin this simply means so or thus. However, it is usually better to edit and correct errors in quotes.

Nota bene: We use n.b. to indicate a note to follow. It means note well.

Terms You Didn’t Know Were Latin

Appendix: An appendix is literally a supplement.

Campus: A campus usually refers to university grounds. In Latin it translates to plain or grassland.

Alter ego: This term might refer to Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent’s superhero aliases. Appropriately, it means other self.

I could carry on ad infinitum (to infinity), but tempus fugit (time flies) and you’re probably getting bored. Mea culpa (my fault).