Latin is obviously vital for the operation of many fundamental professions and disciplines, and for the rest of us, Latin remains fascinating and helpful in the understanding of our day-to-day language, especially the Latin expressions and terminology Latin phrases and words have entered (directly and unchanged) the English language, and many other languages too - and the words, rules and structures of Latin have determined - and continue to determine - the way that new words are created.(The 'Romance' languages notably include Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian.) The conventional English alphabet (along with those of the Romance languages) is known as the Latinate alphabet, because its origins are in ancient Latin, chiefly via French, had a significant influence in the development of the English language.Organizes our understanding of every living thing on the planet. Particularly related to the above, Latin terminology remains the underpinning language of living things and the biological taxonomy which.Latin has for many centuries been a crucial language for all of the sciences, therefore Latin has been crucial also to innovation, invention, exploration, transport, discovery, medicine, health, anatomy, every human and animal condition, and life.Christianity became an empire of sorts, which in its own way for centuries effectively ruled most of the world. Latin has for many centuries been the language of the Christian religion, notably of Roman Catholicism.Law is crucial to governance and leadership, society and civilization, diplomacy and international relations, business, trade, and commerce, finance, the military, and therefore so is Latin. Latin has for many centuries been used widely in law.Also, for centuries, in fact for two millennia, Latin been a main language of scholarship and academia.Latin is the (or a) main and most recent root language for many major world languages.Latin is still taught to millions of students around the world, and will continue to be for a very long time to come. Its resilience would be extraordinary were Latin a living language.

There are many more very familiar Latin terms in the listing below, together with the literal/original meanings, and modern usage examples.įor a 'dead' language, the resilience of Latin is extraordinary. Here are just a few examples of Latin terms which are used very widely in English, including some extremely common abbreviations: Latin however remains very much alive as a highly significant language, especially in technical references. Latin is a regarded as a 'dead' language because it is not used as a main language in day-to-day communications and life. The modern meanings and usage, while evolved and adapted, mostly still generally reflect the original literal translations. Latin terminology, expressions and phrases feature widely in the English language. Some of this Latin terminology is very common in general speech and written communications other Latin terms are more rarely used, in specialized situations, notably for example in law, science, and education/academia. Latin terminology, origins, meanings, translations, usageīelow is a list of Latin terms which (to varying degrees) are still used in English.

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