iacta alea est
Latin
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editGrammatically 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 Latin) 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