List of Latin phrases (H)

This page lists English translations of notable Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of Greek phrases, as Greek rhetoric and literature reached its peak centuries before the rise of ancient Rome.

This list covers the letter H. See List of Latin phrases for the main list.
LatinTranslationNotes
habeas corpusYou should have the bodyA legal term from the 14th century or earlier. Refers to a number of legal writs to bring a person before a court or judge, most commonly habeas corpus ad subiciendum (you may have the body to bring up). Commonly used as the general term for a prisoner's legal right to challenge the legality of their detention. (Corpus here is used in a similar sense to corpus delicti, referring to the substance of the reason for detention rather than a physical human body.)
habemus papamwe have a popeUsed after a Catholic Church papal election to announce publicly a successful ballot to elect a new pope.
Habent sua fata libelliBooks have their destiny [according to the capabilities of the reader]Terentianus Maurus, De Litteris, De Syllabis, De Metris, 1:1286.
hac legewith this law
haec olim meminisse iuvabitone day, this will be pleasing to rememberCommonly rendered in English as "One day, we'll look back on this and smile". From Virgil's Aeneid 1.203. Also, motto of Handsworth Grammar School, and the Jefferson Society.
haec ornamenta mea [sunt]"These are my ornaments" or
"These are my jewels"
Attributed to Cornelia Africana (talking about her children) by Valerius Maximus in Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX, IV, 4, incipit.[1][2]
Hannibal ad portasHannibal at the gatesFound in Cicero's first Philippic and in Livy's Ab urbe condita
Hannibal was a fierce enemy of Rome who almost brought them to defeat.
Sometimes rendered "Hannibal ante portas", with verisimilar meaning: "Hannibal before the gates"
haud ignota loquorI speak not of unknown thingsThus, "I say no things that are unknown". From Virgil's Aeneid, 2.91.
Hei mihi! quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis.Oh me! love can not be cured by herbsFrom Ovid's Metamorphoses ("Transformations"), I, 523.
hic abundant leoneshere lions aboundWritten on uncharted territories of old maps; see also: here be dragons.
hic et nunchere and now

The imperative motto for the satisfaction of desire. "I need it, Here and Now"

hic et ubiquehere and everywhere
hic jacet (HJ)here liesAlso rendered hic iacet. Written on gravestones or tombs, preceding the name of the deceased. Equivalent to hic sepultus (here is buried), and sometimes combined into hic jacet sepultus (HJS), "here lies buried".
hic locus est ubi mors gaudet succurrere vitaeThis is the place where death delights in helping lifeA motto of many morgues or wards of anatomical pathology.
hic manebimus optimehere we'll stay excellentlyAccording to Titus Livius the phrase was pronounced by Marcus Furius Camillus, addressing the senators who intended to abandon the city, invaded by Gauls, circa 390 BC. It is used today to express the intent to keep one's position, even if the circumstances appear adverse.
hic Rhodus, hic saltaFrom the Latin version of "The Boastful Athlete" in Aesop's Fables[3] as formulated by Erasmus in his Adagia"Here is Rhodes, here is where you jump." – Prove what you can do, here and now. Cited by Hegel and Marx.
hic sunt draconeshere there are dragonsWritten on a globe engraved on two conjoined halves of ostrich eggs, dated to 1504.
hic sunt leoneshere there are lionsWritten on uncharted territories of old maps.
hinc et indefrom both sides
hinc illae lacrimaehence those tearsFrom Terence, Andria, line 125. Originally literal, referring to the tears shed by Pamphilus at the funeral of Chrysis, it came to be used proverbially in the works of later authors, such as Horace (Epistula XIX, 41).
hinc itur ad astrafrom here the way leads to the starsWritten on the wall of the old astronomical observatory of Vilnius University, Lithuania, and the university's motto.
hinc robur et securitasherefore strength and safetyMotto of the Central Bank of Sweden.
historia vitae magistrahistory, the teacher of lifeFrom Cicero's De Oratore, II, 9. Also "history is the mistress of life".
hoc agedo thisMotto of Bradford Grammar School
hoc est bellumThis is war
hoc est Christum cognoscere, beneficia eius cognoscereTo know Christ is to know his benefitsFamous dictum by the Reformer Melanchthon in his Loci Communes of 1521
hoc est enim corpus meumFor this is my BodyThe words of Jesus reiterated in Latin during the Roman Catholic Eucharist. Sometimes simply written as "Hoc est corpus meum" or "This is my body".
hoc genus omneAll that crowd/peopleFrom Horace's Satires, 1/2:2. Refers to the crowd at Tigellio's funeral (c. 40–39 BC). Not to be confused with et hoc genus omne (English: and all that sort of thing).
hodie mihi, cras tibiToday it's me, tomorrow it will be youInscription that can be seen on tombstones dating from the Middle Ages, meant to outline the ephemerality of life.
hominem pagina nostra sapitIt is of man that my page smellsFrom Martial's Epigrams, Book 10, No. 4, Line 10; stating his purpose in writing.
hominem non morbum curaTreat the Man, not the DiseaseMotto of the Far Eastern University – Institute of Nursing
homo bullaman is a bubbleVarro (116 BC – 27 BC), in the opening line of the first book of Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres, wrote "quod, ut dicitur, si est homo bulla, eo magis senex" (for if, as they say, man is a bubble, all the more so is an old man)[4] later reintroduced by Erasmus in his Adagia, a collection of sayings published in 1572.
homo homini lupusman [is a] wolf to manFirst attested in Plautus' Asinaria (lupus est homo homini). The sentence was drawn on by Hobbes in Leviathan as a concise expression of his views on human nature.
Homo minister et interpres naturaeMan, the servant and interpreter of natureMotto of the Lehigh University
homo praesumitur bonus donec probetur malusOne is innocent until proven guiltySee also: presumption of innocence.
homo sum humani a me nihil alienum putoI am a human being; nothing human is strange to meFrom Terence's Heauton Timorumenos (The Self-Tormentor) (163 BC). Originally "strange" or "foreign" (alienum) was used in the sense of "irrelevant", as this line was a response to the speaker being told to mind his own business, but it is now commonly used to advocate respecting different cultures and being humane in general. Puto (I consider) is not translated because it is meaningless outside of the line's context within the play.
homo unius libria man of a single bookAttributed to Thomas Aquinas: «Hominem unius libri timeo» “I fear a man of a single book.”
honestas ante honoreshonesty before gloryMotto of King George V School (Hong Kong)
honor virtutis praemiumesteem is the reward of virtueMotto of Arnold School, Blackpool, England
honoris causafor the sake of honorSaid of an honorary title, such as "Doctor of Science honoris causa"
hora fugitthe hour fleesSee tempus fugit
hora somni (h.s.)at the hour of sleepMedical shorthand for "at bedtime"
horas non numero nisi serenasI do not count the hours unless they are sunnyA common inscription on sundials.
horresco referensI shudder as I tellFrom Virgil's Aeneid, 2.204, on the appearance of the sea-serpents who kill the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons
horribile dictuhorrible to saycf. mirabile dictu
hortus in urbeA garden in the cityMotto of the Chicago Park District, a playful allusion to the city's motto, urbs in horto, q.v.
hortus siccusA dry gardenA collection of dry, preserved plants
hostis humani generisenemy of the human raceCicero defined pirates in Roman law as being enemies of humanity in general.
humilitas occidit superbiamhumility conquers pride
hypotheses non fingoI do not fabricate hypothesesFrom Newton, Principia. Less literally, "I do not assert that any hypotheses are true".

References

Additional sources

  • Adeleye, Gabriel G. (1999). Thomas J. Sienkewicz; James T. McDonough, Jr. (eds.). World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0865164223.
  • Stone, Jon R. (1996). Latin for the Illiterati. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415917751.
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