2023-06-27 07:02:36
Ad nauseum, sine qua non, to this… You hear strange words and you lose your Latin? Well, precisely, it is from Latin that these not at all barbaric terms come. We explain the meaning of the most common of them.
Ad nauseam
“Until the nausea”. Anything uttered to the point of disgust and, more specifically, a fallacious argument that seeks to impose itself by repetition more than by reason.
Sine qua non
We will speak of a “condition sine qua non », that is to say an essential premise for the realization of a project.
To this
“For this”, that is to say intended exclusively, or perfectly adapted to a specific use. No more no less.
First
” Until proven otherwise “. Since the spelling reform of 1990, it can also be written “a priori”, but it is less classy.
Etc
Better known by the abbreviation “etc. which has a period and not, as we sometimes see, an ellipsis. These can also mean ” etc », write « etc. is a pleonasm.
Carpe diem
“Seize the day”, that is to say “take full advantage of the present moment”: wise advice, first formulated by the Latin poet Horace.
In fine
” At the end “. An elegant way to say “in conclusion” or “to end” in an essay.
On the edge
Originally the phrase referred to someone’s last hour, then it expanded to mean “at the last moment”, “just in time”.
within walls
“Inside the walls”. A term that inhabitants of metropolises are familiar with, since it refers to the city as opposed to its suburbs.
MEA culpa
An admission of guilt or admission of fault. Close, but not exactly synonymous with “in time for me”, which confesses a simple error.
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