My love for Latin words and phrases began a while ago after reading and listening to the audiobook of the fantastic Carpe Diem: How to Become a Latin Lover by Harry Mount. That expanded my vocabulary world — still a work in progress — to pay closer attention to Latin, especially in legal writing and documents, and, when time permitted, reading a few treasured original Latin works such as The Gallic War (parallel English–Latin edition). And of course, staying in touch with Wheelock's Latin as much as possible for a deeper understanding of the language.

This post offers a gentle introduction to several common Latin expressions that English uses as-is in everyday writing and communication. When employed appropriately, they convey meaning with precision, concision, and clarity — often accomplishing in a phrase what might otherwise require a paragraph.

If you enjoy these, there is much more to look forward to in the posts ahead.

When employed appropriately, Latin expressions convey meaning with precision, concision, and clarity — often accomplishing in a phrase what might otherwise require a paragraph.

🏮 Ad hominem

An ad hominem argument shifts focus to a person's character, motives, background, or perceived flaws — rather than the substance of their claim.

📌 Examples

• "Do not tell me this is about a tiny minority. This movement has impacted society in disastrous ways, and if you had any sense, you'd be quietly deleting every trace of activist mantras, ad hominem attacks, false equivalence and circular arguments from your X feeds, because the day is fast approaching when you'll want to pretend you always saw through the craziness and never believed it for a second." — J.K. Rowling
• The debate veered off course when the politician abandoned evidence altogether and reached for an ad hominem attack on his opponent's character.
• To my utter chagrin, the manager dismissed the proposal with an ad hominem attack, questioning the presenter's experience instead of addressing the data.

🏮 Ad nauseam

"To a sickening degree," "to the point of nausea," "overkill" — all describe what ad nauseam means. It refers to something repeated so often that it becomes tiresome, irritating, or excessive.

📌 Examples

• The editorial repeated the same economic warnings ad nauseam, leaving readers frustrated by the relentless repetition rather than informed by new insights.
• She talked about her new diet plan ad nauseam, making everyone at the dinner table roll their eyes.
• "The phrase 'fake news' might be the most frequently invoked epithet in U.S. President Donald Trump's lexicon; it has been repeated, quite literally, ad nauseam by the twice-elected U.S. president with equal measures of contempt and glee throughout his tumultuous political career." — Winnipeg Free Press

🏮 Ad infinitum

Ad infinitum points "to infinity" or "without end." To do something ad infinitum is to carry it on indefinitely, long past the point of necessity.

📌 Examples

• The editorial committee debated minor wording changes ad infinitum, yet never reached a final decision.
• The scandal has been dissected ad infinitum, each new commentary echoing the last without adding substance.
• From Jonathan Swift's 1733 satirical poem On Poetry: A Rhapsody:

🏮 Ad hoc

Ad hoc describes the sense of practicality and improvisation: a solution built for this moment, not engineered for permanence.

📌 Examples

• Over $30 Billion in ad hoc Assistance Delivered to Farmers Since January 2025. Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) is helping farmers recover from the economic hardships of 2024. — USDA.gov
• An ad hoc solution was put in place to handle the unexpected software outage.
• Charles Jencks and Nathan Silver's book was a manifesto for a generation that took pleasure in doing things ad hoc, using materials at hand to solve real-world problems. — Adhocism: The Case for Improvisation

🏮 Ad lib (from ad libitum)

An actor might ad lib a line when the script doesn't account for an unexpected situation, or a speaker might ad lib a comment during a presentation to connect with the audience.

📌 Examples

• Shakespeare wrote out responses for four individual Roman Citizens — hardly a throng. If a director wanted to add voices to the crowd, she might have them murmur a round of nonsense syllables, or another choice would be for the chorus to ad lib phrases such as "Hear, hear!" "Hail Mark Antony," and the like. — tdf.org
• The legendary late actor Robin Williams was a master of ad lib, turning every performance into a spontaneous, unpredictable, and hilarious experience.
• The jazz musician often ad libs over the standard melody, creating a unique experience each night.

🏮 Ad valorem

Ad valorem signals precision and proportionality — the more something is worth, the more it is taxed.

📌 Examples

• The tax must be ad valorem — that is, substantially in proportion to the value of the personal property. A tax which is based on criteria other than value does not qualify as ad valorem. — eCFR.org
• The most familiar ad valorem tax for most consumers is the state and local sales tax on goods and services, which is calculated as a percentage of the purchase price.
• The city council announced that the new ad valorem levy on luxury vehicles would take effect next year, ensuring higher-priced cars contribute more to municipal revenue.

🎯 Vocabuler Summation

It's been quite a bit of reading, but time to wrap up with a few other helpful words we covered along the way.

Word	Meaning
Carpe Diem	Seize the day; make the most of the present
Chagrin	Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated
Epithet	A descriptive word or phrase used to characterize someone or something
Lexicon	The vocabulary of a language, subject, or individual
Manifesto	A public declaration of beliefs, intentions, or policies
Throng	A large, densely packed crowd of people
Levy	A tax, fee, or charge imposed by authority