2006-07-10

Latin term surfing on Wikipedia

A rundown on the Confederate States of America led me to the first one:

damnatio memoriae -- "damnation of memory", being removed from history books.

Since this seemed oddly fun, I figured I'd look up a few common ones I know of:

a priori -- propositional knowledge that can be had without experience
a posteriori -- propositional knowledge that can only be had with experience
vaticinium ex eventu -- prophecy after the fact
dramatis personae -- the cast of characters in a theatrical performance
experimentum crucis -- the definitive test of a scientific theory
ignoratio elenchi -- the logical fallacy of making an argument that is valid yet irrelevent to the proposition being discussed
in camera -- deliberations or meeting elements to be held in private session to avoid the public revealing of sensitive information
ipso facto -- "therefore"
lex feranda -- the law as it should be, as in morally right or internally consistent
modus operandi -- the method by which an individual normally acts
non sequitur -- a conclusion which does not follow from the premise
persona non grata -- a person who is not welcome or belonging to a group
quid pro quo -- a favour proffered in return for the performing of an otherwise unrelated favour
res ipsa loquitur -- the existence of an event implies guilt by the party which clearly held a role in the event
sic semper tyrannis -- "thus always to tyrants" where death is the (implied) "thus"
sine qua non -- that part which is essential to the whole of which it belongs to