iacta alea est
Latin edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Grammatically incorrect translation, by Suetonius, of an Ancient Greek phrase by Menander, ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos, “let the die be cast”), quoted in its original language by Julius Caesar. A more accurate translation would be iacta alea esto.[1] See the die is cast for more.
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈi̯ak.ta ˈaː.le.a est/, [ˈi̯äkt̪ä ˈäːɫ̪eä ɛs̠t̪]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈjak.ta ˈa.le.a est/, [ˈjäkt̪ä ˈäːleä ɛst̪]
Phrase edit
- (idiomatic) the die is cast (the future is determined)
References edit
- ^ “ālĕa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press