Hello hello!
How do you add a little Ox-Bridge style flair to your work… By adding a little Latin of course!
Whether it is a school motto or a wizarding spell, Latin in various forms is rife throughout the books we love.
So how do you slip a little in? Well, you are probably doing it in your current work without realizing it.
Have you ever given a character an alibi (elsewhere) or a bonus (good)? Maybe they have a huge ego (me/I) or a dermatological (skin) condition.
You will also use good old Latin prefixes all the time:
Semi (half)
Duo (two)
Tri (three)
Octo (eight)
Extra (in addition to)
Hyper (over)
Inter (between)
Micro (small)
Mono (single)
Writing crime / a court room drama / legal thriller … These beauties are your friend:
Quid Pro Quo (something for something)
Pro Bono (for the public good)
Mens Rea (guilty mind)
Ipso Facto (by the fact itself)
Bona Fide (good faith)
Want to drop Latin into light conversation… How about:
Vice Versa (the other way around)
Per Se (by itself)
De Facto (common in practice)
Ad Hoc (to this)
Finally, to really make your character raise some eyebrows, have them use one of these famous Latin phrases:
Deus Ex Machina (God out of a machine)
Carpe Diem (seize the day)
Cogito Ergo Sum (I think therefore I am)
Veni Vidi Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)
I can’t wait to see how you squeeze a little Latin into your work.
If you have any others you have used, drop me a note!
G.D.
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