List of Latin phrases (B)

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

This list covers the letter B. For the main list, see: List of Latin phrases.

B

Latin	Translation	Notes
barba tenus sapientes	wise as far as the beard	Or wise only in appearance (in what shows). From Erasmus's collection of Adages.
Beata Virgo Maria (BVM)	Blessed Virgin Mary	A common name in the Roman Catholic Church for Mary (mother of Jesus). The genitive, Beatae Mariae Virginis (BMV), occurs often as well, appearing with such words as horae "hours", litaniae "litanies" and officium "office".
beatae memoriae	of blessed memory	See in memoriam.
beati pauperes spiritu	Blessed in spirit [are] the poor.	A Beatitude from Matthew 5:3 in the Vulgate: beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum "Blessed in spirit [are] the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens".
beati possidentes	blessed [are] those who possess	Translated from Euripides.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam	blessed is the man who finds wisdom	from Proverbs 3:13; set to music in a 1577 motet of the same name by Orlando di Lasso.
bella gerant alii Protesilaus amet!	let others wage war Protesilaus should love!	Originally from Ovid, Heroides 13.84, where Laodamia is writing to her husband Protesilaus who is at the Trojan War. She begs him to stay out of danger, but he was in fact the first Greek to die at Troy. Also used of the Habsburg marriages of 1477 and 1496, written as bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube (let others wage war; you, fortunate Austria, marry). Said by King Matthias.
bellum omnium contra omnes	war of all against all	A phrase used by Thomas Hobbes to describe the state of nature.
bellum se ipsum alet	war feeds itself
bibo ergo sum	I drink, therefore I am	A spoof of the common "I think therefore I am"
bis dat qui cito dat	he gives twice, who gives promptly	A gift given without hesitation is as good as two gifts.
bis in die (bid)	twice in a day	Medical shorthand for "twice a day".
bona fide	in good faith	In other words, "well-intentioned", "fairly". In modern contexts, often has connotations of "genuinely" or "sincerely". Bona fides is not the plural (which would be bonis fidebus), but the nominative, and means simply "good faith". Opposite of mala fide.
bona notabilia	note-worthy goods	In law, if a person dying has goods, or good debts, in another diocese or jurisdiction within that province, besides his goods in the diocese where he dies, amounting to a certain minimum value, he is said to have bona notabilia; in which case, the probat of his will belongs to the archbishop of that province.
bona officia	good services	A nation's offer to mediate in disputes between two other nations.
bona patria	goods of a country	A jury or assize of countrymen, or good neighbors.
bona vacantia	vacant goods	United Kingdom legal term for ownerless property that passes to The Crown.
boni pastoris est tondere pecus non deglubere	it is a good shepherd's [job] to shear his flock, not to flay them	Tiberius reportedly said this to his regional commanders, as a warning against taxing the populace excessively.
bonum commune communitatis	common good of the community	Or "general welfare". Refers to what is a benefit to society, as opposed to bonum commune hominis, which refers to what is good for an individual.
bonum commune hominis	common good of a man	Refers to an individual's happiness, which is not "common" in that it serves everyone, but in that individuals tend to be able to find happiness in similar things.
busillis	—	Pseudo-Latin meaning "baffling puzzle" or "difficult point". John of Cornwall (ca. 1170) was once asked by a scribe what the word meant. It turns out that the original text said in diebus illis magnis plenae (in those days there were plenty of great things), which the scribe misread as indie busillis magnis plenae (meaning: in India there were plenty of large busillis).

References

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