Latin Phrases, etc.

These phrases and abbreviations should be part of your general knowledge base; if you don't know them yet, you should learn them.

a fortiori   for the same reason and to a greater extent.

a.m.   before midday [ante meridiem].

a posteriori   known from experience.

a priori   known independently of experience.

ad hoc   “for this”; done or created for a specific purpose only, such as an explanation for an event that has no explanatory power beyond that one event, thus making the explanation appear contrived and dubious.

ad hominem   “to the man”; a fallacious form of reasoning that criticises an argument by attacking the arguer.

BCE   Before the Common Era (replaces the more parochial ‘BC’ = before Christ).

ca.   about [circa].

CE   Common Era (replaces ‘AD’ = Anno Domini = in the year of the Lord).

cf.   compare [confer].

ceteris paribus   other things being equal.

creatio ex nihilo   creation out of nothing.

de facto   actual.

e.g.   for example [exempli gratia].

eo ipso   by that itself, by that fact alone.

et al.   and others [et alii].

etc.   and so forth [et cetera].

ex nihilo nihil fit   from out of nothing, nothing comes.

i.e.   that is [id est].

inter alia   among other things.

ipso facto   by the fact itself.

loc. cit.   in the place cited [loco citato].

N.B.   note well [nota bene].

non sequitur   where a conclusion does not follow from the premises.

op. cit.   in the work cited [opere citato].

passim   throughout.

per se   by itself; intrinsically.

p.m.   after midday [post meridiem].

post hoc ergo propter hoc   “after this, therefore because of this”; a fallacious form of reasoning that infers from an event preceding another event, to that event causing the other event.

prima facie   at first sight; superficially.

qua   as.

QED   the problem is solved [quod erat demonstrandum].

quid pro quo   tit for tat.

q.v.   which see [quod vide].

reductio ad absurdum   reduction to an absurdity.

sic   thus (indicates that a certain word, phrase, or spelling is to be read as it stands).

sine qua non   without which nothing; a necessary condition.

sui generis   self-caused.

summum bonum   the highest good.

v.g.   for example [verbi gratia]

vincit omnia veritas   truth conquers all.

viz.   namely [videlicet].