quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur
Used to mockingly describe people who seem to use Latin phrases and quotations only to make themselves sound more important or "educated".
dictum
/ˈdɪk.təm/
noun 4
Collocations
4ADJ.
famous, old
VERB + DICTUM
echoed
DICTUM + NOUN
french
PREP.
from
Definitions
noun
1
An authoritative statement; a dogmatic saying; a maxim, an apothegm.
This should not surprise us who know that van Gogh wrote: 'To paint and to love women is incompatible'; van Gogh was right for himself, which does not mean that he was right for everybody, and I will not draw from his dictum the probably incorrect conclusion that 'To paint and to love literature is incompatible.'
[…]a dictum which he had heard an economics professor once propound[…]
2
A judicial opinion expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case, and are not involved in it.
3
The report of a judgment made by one of the judges who has given it.
4
An arbitrament or award.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
noun — an authoritative declaration
- pronouncement
- say-so
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
This should not surprise us who know that van Gogh wrote: 'To paint and to love women is incompatible'; van Gogh was right for himself, which does not mean that he was right for everybody, and I will
Wiktionary02
[…]a dictum which he had heard an economics professor once propound[…]
Wiktionary03
1. The utmost in steam producing capacity permitted by weight and dimensions; in other words, capacity to boil water—H. A. Ivatt's old dictum.
Wiktionary04
The dictum from that famous case became the basis for a number of important Supreme Court decisions.
Tatoeba · #706346505
It was a Boston critic who echoed the dictum of the French critic—that grammar has no place in the world of letters.
Tatoeba · #1193234106
As Yoda's old dictum goes, "Do or do not. There is no try."
Tatoeba · #12277700Usage Notes
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