Latin mottos & phrases

Over 900 Latin mottos and Latin motto phrases with English translations to explore. A motto (usually in Latin) is a phrase, sentence, or word expressing a principle or ideal of a person or an organisation.
A mari usque ad mare - From sea to sea (Bible) (Canada)

Ad astra per aspera - To the stars through difficulties (Kansas)

Ad fontes - To the sources (Renaissance Humanism)

Ad lucem - Towards the light (University of Lisbon)

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (AMDG) - For the greater glory of God (Jesuit Order)

Ad utrumque paratus - Prepared for everything (Lunds University)

Adspicit lucem in calestis - Seeking light in the heavens (University of Copenhagen)

Alenda lux ubi orta libertas - Let learning be cherished where liberty has arisen (Davidson College)

Alis grave nil - Nothing is heavy to those who have wings (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro)

Alis volat propiis - She flies with her own wings (Oregon)

Amat victoria curam - Success loves (favors) those who take pains (Baylor School) (Catullus)

Amore Ac Studio - Love of Learning (Bates College) (Charles Sumner)

Ars Gratia Artis - Art for Art's Sake (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Audax at fidelis - Bold but faithful (Queensland)

Audeamus - Let us dare (Otago University Students' Association)

Audemus iura nostra defendere - We dare defend our rights (Alabama)

Audere est facere - To dare is to do (Tottenham Hotspur)

Aut Caesar, aut nihil - Caesar or nothing (All or nothing) (Cesare Borgia)

Benedicere, laudare, praedicare - To bless, to praise and to preach (Dominican Order)

Cedant arma togae - Let arms yield to the toga (Let violence give place to law) (Wyoming) (Cicero)

Christo et Doctrinae - For Christ and Learning (Furman University)

Citius, Altius, Fortius - Swifter, Higher, Stronger (Modern Olympics)

Civilitas successit barbarum - Civilization succeeds barbarism (Minnesota)

Concordia Prorsum - Forward In Harmony (Aylesbury Vale)

Concordia Salus - Salvation through harmony (Montreal)

Concordia cum veritate - In harmony with truth (University of Waterloo)

Contemplata aliis tradere - Handing on to others the fruit of our contemplation (Dominican Order)

Cor ad cor loquitur - Heart speaks to heart (Newman Clubs)

Crescat scientia, vita excolatur - Let knowledge increase, let life be perfected (University of Chicago)

Crescit eundo - It grows as it goes (New Mexico)

Crescite et multiplicamini - Increase and multiply (Maryland)

Crux spes unica - The cross is the only hope (Notre Dame University)

Cum Scientia Caritas - Scientific knowledge applied with compassion (Royal College of General Practitioners)

Cygnus insignis - Distinguished by its swans (Western Australia)

Dat deus incrementum - God grants the increase (Westminster School)

De Oppresso Liber - Free From Having Been Oppressed (US Army Special Forces)

Defensor fortis - Defender of the force (The United States Air Force Security Force)

Dei sub numine viget - Under God's Spirit she flourishes (Princeton University)

Deo juvante - With God's help (Monaco)

Deo vindice - (With) God as (our) protector (With an avenging God) (Confederate States of America)

Desiderantes meliorem patriam - They desire a better country (Order of Canada)

Deus (lo) vult! - God wills it! (Crusades)

Deus lux Mea - God is my light (Catholic University of America)

Deus nobis fiducia - God is our trust (George Washington University)

Dirigo - I direct; I arrange (Maine State)

Disciplina praesidium civitatis - Instruction is the safeguard of the state (University of Texas)

Ditat Deus - God enriches (Arizona)

Domine, dirige nos - Lord, direct us (London)

Dominus illuminatio mea - The Lord is my light (Oxford University)

Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus - A sleeping dragon must never be tickled (Harry Potter's alma mater)

Ducimus - We lead (Canadian Infantry)

Dum spiramus tuebimur - While we breathe, we shall defend (U.S. 133rd Field Artillery Regiment)

Dum spiro, spero - While I breathe, I hope (South Carolina) (Cicero)

Dum vivimus, servimus - While we live, we serve (Presbyterian College)

Dum vivimus, vivamus - While we live, let us live (The Epicureans)

E Caelo Nobis Vires - From the Sky to Us Strength (Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN)

E pluribus unum - From many, one (One out of many) (United States of America)

En Avant - Forward (Minneapolis)

Ensenar deleitando - To teach so that learning is enjoyable (Letra Hispanica)

Erimus - We shall be (Middlesbrough)

Eruditio et religio - Learning and religion (Duke University)

Esse quam videri - To be, rather than to seem (North Carolina)

Esto perpetua - May she live forever (Idaho)

Et discere et rerum exquire re causas - Both to learn and to investigate the causes of things (Georgia)

Ex Diversitate Vires - From Diversity, Strength (Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH)

Ex Imperiis, Veritas - From Power, Truth (Scorpio Research Institute)

Ex Unitate Vires - From unity, strength (South Africa)

Ex astris, Scientia - From the stars, Knowledge (Starfleet Academy, Star Trek)

Ex luna, scientia - From the moon, knowledge (Apollo 13)

Ex sciencia tridens - From knowledge, comes (sea) power (United States Naval Academy)

Excelsior - Ever higher (Ever upward!) (New York State)

Fac fortia et patere - Do brave deeds and endure (Prince Alfred College, Adelaide)

Facta, non verba - Actions, not words (United States Navy Destroyer Squadron 22)

Fide et Amore - By Faith and Love (Conwy of Bodrhyddan)

Fidei Defensor (FD) - Defender of the faith (Sovereigns of England since Henry VIII)

Fides quaerens intellectum - Faith seeking understanding (Saint Anselm)

Floreat regina regina - May it flourish (Regina, Saskatchewan)

Fluctuat nec mergitur - She wavers and is not immersed (Paris)

Fortes et liber - Strong and free (Alberta)

Fortis est veritas - The truth is strong (Oxford)

Fortes et veritas - Strength and Truth

Fortitudine et Prudentia - With Strength and Prudence (Edward, Lord Herbert of Chirbury and Castle Island d. 1648)

Gloriosus et liber - Glorious and free (Manitoba)

Gradibus ascendimus - Ascending by degrees (Grey College, Durham)

Gustibus mens dat incremntum - Knowledge enhances sensory preception (Wine Guild of England)

Hic si stas, hinc eris - Here you stay, here you belong (Sundial Motto)

Hinc robur et securitas - Hence strength and security (Swedish National Bank)

Hortus in urbe - A garden in the city (Chicago Park District)

In Deo speramus - In God we hope (Brown University)

In arduis fidelis - Faithful in adversity (Royal Army Medical Corps)

In luce Tua videmus lucem - In Thy light we see light (Valparaiso University)

In lumine tuo, videbimus lumen - In your light, we shall see light (Ohio Wesleyan and Columbia Universities)

In somno securitas - In sleep there is safety (Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland)

In varietate concordia - United in diversity (European Union)

In via virtuti(s) nulla est via - In the path of virtue there is no path (Hockleton)

Industria et Probitate - By Work and Integrity (Ballyclare)

Ingenio et labore - By natural ability and hard work (University of Auckland)

Justitia omnibus - Justice for all (District of Columbia)

Justitia, pietas, fides - Justice, piety, loyalty (Suriname)

Labora Ut Requiescas - Work hard so that ye will rest (Caulfield Grammar School)

Leges sine moribus vanae - Laws without morals (are) vain (University of Pennsylvania)

Libertas quae sera tamen - Freedom which (is) however late (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Libertate unanimus - Unified by freedom (Netherland Antilles)

Luctor et emergo - I struggle and emerge (Dutch province of Zeeland)

Lux et lex - Light and law (Franklin & Marshall College)

Lux et veritas floreant - Let Light and Truth Flourish (Winnipeg University)

Lux et veritas - Light and Truth (Yale and Indiana Universities)

Magna Europa est Patria Nostra - Greater Europe is our (common) Fatherland (Pan-Europeanists)

Meliora - Better (Carrying the connotation of 'always better') (University of Rochester)

Memento mori - Remember your mortality (Remember to die) (Friars of Trappa)

Mens agitat molem - The mind moves the mass (Oregon, Warwick and Eindhoven Universities) (Virgil)

Mens et Manus - Mind and Hand (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Montani Semper Liberi - Mountaineers are Always Free (West Virginia)

Multis e gentibus vires - From many peoples, strength (Saskatchewan)

Munit haec et altera vincit - One defends and the other conquers (Nova Scotia)

Naturam primum cognoscere rerum - First, to learn the nature of things (Australian National University)

Nec Dei, Nec Domini - No Gods – No Masters (Margaret Sanger, 1914)

Nemo me impune lacessit - No one provokes me with impunity (1984 Scottish Pound) (Kings of Scotland)

Nihil Sine Deo - Nothing without God (Romania)

Nihil Sine Deus - Nothing without God (Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Royal Family)

Nil desperandum auspice deo - When God is on our side there is no cause for despair (Sunderland)

Nil desperandum - Never give up (Conway House, Marist College Canberra) (Horace)

Nil nisi malis terrori - No terror, except to the bad (King's School, Macclesfield)

Nil satis nisi optimum - Nothing but the Best is Good Enough (Everton Football Club)

Nil sine numine - Nothing without the divine will; Nothing without providence (Colorado State) (Virgil)

Noli nothis permittere te terere - Don't let the bastards wear you down (Mock Latin 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell)

Non Vi Sed Saepe Cadendo - Not By Strength But Often By Applying Oneself (William Penn College, Oskaloosa, IA)

Non ducor duco - I am not led; I lead (São Paulo, Brazil)

Non impediti ratione congitatonis - Unencumbered by the thought process (Radio show Car Talk)

Nulli expugnabilis hosti - Conquered By No Enemy (Gibraltar)

Nulli secundus (Nulli secunda) - Second to none (Coldstream Guards)

Nullius in verba - (Rely) on the word of no man (Royal Society) (Horace)

Nunc aut numquam - Now or never (Sir Thomas Hanmer)

Obedientia Civium Urbis Felicitas - Happy the city where citizens obey (Dublin)

Omnia Bona Bonis - To the good all things are good (Harwich)

Ora et labora - Pray and work (Benedictine Order)

Orbis non sufficit - The world is not enough (Sir Thomas Bond)

Ordo ab chao - Out of chaos, comes order (Craft Freemasonry)

Orta recens quam pura nites - Newly risen, how bright thou shinest (New South Wales)

Parva sub ingenti - The small under the huge (Prince Edward Island)

Pax et bonum! - Peace and the good (Saint Francis of Assisi)

Pax et lux - Peace and light (Tufts University)

Per Mare per Terram - By Sea and by Land (Royal Marines)

Per ardua ad astra - Through adversity to the stars (RAAF, RAF, RNZAF and RCAF)

Per aspera ad astra - The hard way towards the stars (Kansas, NASA) (Seneca)

Per veritatem vis - Through truth, strength (Washington University, St. Louis)

Plus ultra - Further beyond (Spain)

Post tenebras lux - After the darkness comes the light (Protestant Reformation)

Pro Brasilia fiant eximia - Let exceptional things be made for Brazil (São Paulo State, Brazil)

Pro Deo et patria - For God and Country (American university)

Pro mundi beneficio - For the benefit of the world (Panama)

Pro patria - For one's country (Swedish Order of the Sword, Svärdsorden)

Qua patet orbis - As far as the world extends (Royal Netherlands Marine Corps)

Quaecumque vera - Whatever is true (Bible) (Alberta University)

Quaerite primum regnum Dei - Seek ye first the kingdom of God (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Qui docet in doctrina - He that teacheth, on teaching (University of Chester)

Qui transtulit sustinet - He who is transplanted is still sustained (Connecticut)

Quis separabit? - Who will separate us? (Order of St Patrick)

Quo fas et gloria ducunt - Whither right and glory lead (Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery)

Quo fata ferunt - Whither the fates lead us (Bermuda)

Recti cultus pectora roborant - Sound learning strengthens the spirit (Bishop's University, Quebec)

Regnat populus - Let the People rule (Arkansas)

Rerum cognoscere causas - To learn the causes of things (Universities of Sheffield and Guelph)

Rex regum fidelum et - King even of faithful kings (Trinity Broadcasting Network)

Salus populi suprema lex esto - Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law (Missouri) (Cicero)

Sapere aude! - Dare to be wise! (University of New Brunswick) (Horace)

Sapientia Manaque Apta - Wisdom and a Skillful Hand (Canadian Association of General Surgeons)

Sapientia et Virtus - Wisdom and Virtue (University of Hong Kong)

Semper Vigilans - Always Vigilant (Civil Air Patrol)

Semper aliquid novi Africa affert - Africa is always producing some novelty (South African Museum)

Semper fidelis - Always faithful (United States Marine Corps and H.M.S. Exeter)

Semper paratus - Always prepared (The United States Coast Guard)

Semper reformanda - Always being reformed (A shortened form of a Protestant Reformation)

Servo Fidem - I keep the faith (Marist College, Canberra)

Si me perdis, te perdam - Waste me and I'll waste you (Sundial Motto)

Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice - If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you (Michigan)

Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc - We gladly feast on those who would subdue us (The Addams Family)

Sic itur ad astra - Such is the pathway to the stars (The Canadian Air Force) (Virgil)

Sic semper tyrannis - Thus always to tyrants (A statement often accompanying a regicide) (Virginia)

Signum Fidei - Sign of our faith (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools)

Sol tibi signa dabit - The sun will give you signs (Sundial Motto) (Virgil)

Sola Gratia - By Grace Alone (Protestant Reformation)

Soli Deo Gloria - Glory to God alone (Protestant Reformation)

Spem reduxit - He has restored hope (New Brunswick)

Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus - We hope for better things, it will rise from the ashes (Detroit)

Spiritus ubi vult spirat - The spirit spreads wherever it wants (Cayetano Heredia University)

Splendor sine occasu - Brightness without setting (Splendour without diminishment) (British Columbia)

Stamus Contra Malum - We fight against the evil (Jungle Parol, The Phantom)

Strenuis ardus cedunt - The heights yield to endeavour (University of Southampton)

Sua sponte - By its own accord (U.S. Army Rangers)

Sub Cruce Lumen - The light (of learning) under the (Southern) Cross (University of Adelaide)

Sub umbra floreo - Under the shade I flourish (Belize)

Super Ardua - Let us overcome our difficulties (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists)

Surgam - I shall rise (Columbia University's Philolexian Society)

Suum cuique - To each his own (Prussia)

Technica impendi nationi - Technology impulses nations (Technical University of Madrid)

Tentanda via - The way must be tried (York University)

Terra Marique - By land and sea (Newport)

Terras Irradient - Let them give light to the world (Amherst College)

Tuebor - I will protect (Michigan State)

Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum - Support the faithful and serve the poor (Knights Hospitaller)

Ubertas et fidelitas - Fertility and faithfulness (Tasmania)

Ubicumque Felix - Always happy (Napoleon, in times of despair and loss)

Ubique - Everywhere (The Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery)

Unaquaeque optio exitum habet - Every choice has consequences (Danish)

Urbs In Horto - City in a Garden (Chicago)

Ut Omnes Videant - So That All May See (Royal College of Ophthalmologists)

Ut Prosint Omnibus Conjuncti - United for the common good (Adelaide)

Ut incepit fidelis sic permanet - Loyal she began, and loyal she remains (Ontario)

Ut prosim - That I may serve (Virginia State University)

Ventis secundis - With a favourable wind (H.M.S. Hood)

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum (VDMA) - The Word of the Lord Endures Forever (Lutheran Reformation)

Veritas Lux Mea - The truth enlightens me; The truth is my light (Seoul National University)

Veritas omnia vincit - Truth defeats all things (Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario)

Veritas unitas caritas - Truth, Unity, Love (Villanova University)

Veritas vos liberabit - The truth will set you free (Bible) (Johns Hopkins University)

Veritas, Christo et Ecclesiae - Truth for Christ and the Church (Harvard University)

Veritas - Truth (Dominican Order)

Vi virtute virens - Flourishing in strength and virtue (Wynne of Foelas early 17th c.)

Victoria Concordia Crescit - Victory comes from harmony (Arsenal FC)

Vincat Scientia Morbos - Let knowledge conquer disease (Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons)

Vires Artes Mores - Strength, Arts, Morals (Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL)

Vires acquirit eundo - We gather strength as we go (Melbourne) (Virgil)

Virtus sola nobilitat - Virtue alone ennobles (Waverley College NSW)

Virtus unita fortior - Strength united is stronger (Andorra)

Virtus unita fortis agit - United we act stronger (Engineering College of the University of Porto (FEUP))

Virtute et armis - By virtue and arms (Mississippi)

Virtute, vi, et armis - With virtue, strength, and arms (John Salesbury of Saithmarchog 1622)

Vis unita maior nunc et semper - Unity is the biggest strength, now and forever (Kingdom of Portugal)

Vita donum dei - Life is the gift of God (Royal College of Midwives)

Vita, Veritas, Victoria - Life, Truth, Victory (Derry/Londonderry)

Vox clamantis in deserto - A voice crying in the wilderness (Dartmouth College)