Monday, October 31, 2011

Glossary : Latin Phrases

Criminology / Legal
Affidavit (L) = “he asserted”, is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by a affiant or deponent under an oath.

Alias (L) = “at another time”, “otherwise”, an assumed name or pseudonym.

Alibi (L) = “elsewhere”, a legal defense where a defendant attempts to show that he was elsewhere at the time a crime was committed.

Alter ego (L) = “the other I”, is a second self, a second personality within a person, who is often oblivious to the persona’s actions.

Bona fide (L) = “in good faith”, denotes sincere, honest intention or belief, regardless of the outcome of an action

De facto (L) = “by [the] fact”,  means “in practice but not necessary ordained by law”.

Ex gratia (L) = “from grace”, refers to someone voluntarily performing an act purely out of kindness.  An ex gratia payment is one made without recognizing any liability or legal obligation.

Ex officio (L) = “from the office”, “by right of office”, often used when someone holds one position by virtue of holding another.

Ex parte (L) = “from [by or for] one party”, means a legal proceeding brought by one person in absence of and without representation or notification of other parties.

Habeas corpus (L) = “may you have [your] body” , is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention.

In absentia (L) = “in the absence”, means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present.

In utero (L) = “in the uterus”, refers to an embryo or fetus, or unborn child.

Modus operandi  (L), ( plural modi operandi ) = “mode of operation”, usually refers to criminal’s manner of working.  Often shortened to M.O.

Per se (L) = “ in itself”, without referring to anything else.

Pro bono publico (L) = “for the public good”, professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at reduced fee as a public service.  Usually shortened to pro bono.

Quorum (L) = “of whom”, the number of members whose presence is required under the rules to make any given meeting constitutional.

Status quo (L) = “the state in which”, meaning the current or existing state of affairs.

Sub poena (L) = “under penalty”, is a write by government agency, or court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure.

Veto (L) = “I forbid”, the right to unilaterally stop a certain piece of legistlation.




Academic
Alma mater (L) = “nourishing mother”, is often any school, college, or university at which one has studied and, usually from which one has graduated.

Alumnus (L), ( plural alumni ) = “male pupil”, refer to former student, member, employee, contributor, inmate.
Alumna (L), ( plural alumnae ) = “female pupil”

Emeritus (L) = “male veteran”, usually used to designate a retired professor, bishop or other professional or as a title.
Emerita (L) = “female veteran”

Et alii (L) = “and others”, used to stand for a list of names.  Often shortened to et. al.



Sciences
Ex situ (L) = “off-site”. Antonym of in situ

In situ (L) = “in the place”, in the original place, appropriate position, or natural arrangment.

In silico (L) = “in silicon”, means performed on computer or via computer simulation.

In vivo (L) = “within the living”, is experiment or process within a living organism.  Antonym to in vitro.

In vitro (L) = “within glass”, is experiment or process within a laboratory setting.

Sensu lato (L) = “with the broad meaning”, in the wide sense

Sensu stricto (L) = “with the tight meaning”, in the strict sense.

Sensu strictissimo “with the tightest meaning”, in the strictest sense.




Others
Ad hoc (L) = “for this”, generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes.

Agenda (L) = “things to be done”

Cum (L) = “together with”

Re (L) = “[in] the matter of”, about, regarding, with reference to ; especially in letters and  document.

Via (L) = “by the road”, by way of, by means of

Vice versa (L) = “with position turned”, the other way around.


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Glossary

Time & Date
A.M.     =          ante meridiem (L), “before midday”  
P.M.     =          post meridiem (L),  “after midday”

BC        =          Before Christ
AD       =           Anno Domini (L), “in the year of the Lord”

AM     =          Anno Mundi, "Year of the World"
BCE      =          Before the Common Era / Christian Era
CE        =          Common Era / Christian Era

c / ca   =          circa (L), “approximately”



Communications
cc         =          carbon copy
Bcc      =          Blind carbon copy      
P.S.      =          post scriptum (L), “after what has been written”
RSVP    =         reponez s'il vous plait (F), "please respond"
Viz       =          videlicet (L), "namely"


Titles & Academic Titles
Ir          =          Ingenieur (G), “Engineer”      
Ph.D.    =          Philosophiae Doctor (L), “Doctor of Philosophy”
M.S.     =          Magister Scientiae (L), “Master of Science” 
LL.B.    =          Legum Baccalaureus (L), “ Bachelor of Laws”



Others

a.s.a.p =          as soon as possible   
a.k.a.   =          also known as
C.V.      =          curriculum vitae (L). “course of life”
e.g.      =          exempli gratia (L), “for example”
etc       =          et cetera (L), “and the rest”
i.e.       =          id est  (L), “in other words”
kiv        =          keep in view
R.I.P     =          requiescat in pace (L), "may he/she/they rest in peace" 
s.o.s.    =          si opus sit (L). "if occasion require"
v / s     =          versus (L), "against" 
W.C.     =          water closet

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Days of the Week


Monday is the first day of the week, according to international standard ISO 8601.
The name ‘Monday’ is derived from Old English ‘Mōnandæg’ and Middle English ‘Monenday’, which means “Moon day”, after Norse god Mani.
The Germanic term is a Germanic interpretation of Latin ‘lunae dies’.


Tuesday is derived from Old English ‘Tiwesdæg ‘ and Middle English ‘Tewesday’, meaning “Tiw's day”, a translation of Lation ‘Martis dies’.
‘Tiw’ is the Old English form of the Pro-Germanic god Tiwaz, or Tyr in Norse, a god of war and law, an equivalent to Mars, the Roman god of war.



Wednesday is from the Old English Wōdnesdæg and Middle English ‘Wednesdei’,  "Wodanaz's day”, ultimately a calque of ‘Mercurii dies’, "Mercury's day". 
Germanic god Wodanaz is equivalent to Latin god Mercury, god of trade.



Thursday is from the Old English ‘Þūnresdæg’ and Middle Engish ‘Thuresday’, which means “Thunor’s day".  Thunor, or Thor are derived from the Proto-Germanic god Thunaraz, god of thunder.
In Latin, it is known as ‘lovis dies’, “Jupiter's day”, the roman god of sky and thunder.



Friday is from the Old English ‘Frīġedæġ ’, “day of Frige”.  Frige is the Germanic goddess of love.
In Latin it is ‘Veneris dies’, “Venus' day”, Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility.



Saturday is from Old English ‘Saeternesdæg’, after the planet Saturn, also the Roman god of agricultue.
In Latin, it is 'Saturni dies’.



Sunday is the seventh day and last day of the week, according to international standard ISO 8601.  For Hebrew and Islamic calendars, Sunday is the first day of the week.
The name ‘Sunday’ derived from Old Englsih ‘Sunnandæg‘, “Sun's day”, a Germanic goddess.   
In Latin, it is ‘solis dies’.




Friday, October 14, 2011

Coloured Books


Green books, or green papers, are consultation documents.   Green paper may merely propose a strategy to be implemented without any commitment to action.  IThey may result in the production of a white paper.  They are often related to optimistic prospects of the study.

e.g. The Green Book : A Guide to Member’s Allowance, The Negro Motorist Green Book, etc


White books, may refer to white papers, are authoritative reports or guides that helps solve a problem.  White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields.  Policy makers frequently request white papers from universities or academicians to assist policy developers with expert opinions or relevant research.

e.g. 1996 Defence White Paper, White Paper on Full Employment, etc


Blue books refer to an almanac or other compilations of statistics and information.  

e.g Treachery of the Blue Books, Missouri Blue Book, Healthcare Blue Book, Aircraft Bluebook, The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, etc


Black books  refer to books containing the names of people to be punished, blacklisted, etc.


Red books, are government publications bound in red, especially finance.   They also refer to technical guidelines, reference manuals, handbooks and standards published by authorities, and research reports on critical issues.

e.g. AAP Red Book, IBM Redbooks, IUPAP Red Book, Red Book of Endangered Species, etc

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Columbian Exchange


What is curry without chili ?
What would it be if there’s no roasted peanut, papaya, pineapple in a rojak buah?
What would left in a bubur cacar, if there are not sweet potatoes and tapioca ?
What if on a hot tropical day, no iced-Milo® to quench the thirst ?
What is a pasta without tomato ?
What if there’s no potato chips or popcorn over a movie ?!!
Oh NO !



1492 was the turnkey of all the question above.   Even though if Christopher Columbus didn’t lost his way, and landed on the land then he thought was India, and the Indians were red instead of black, the world may be not much different now.  Someone else would eventually cross the Atlantic Ocean, and made himself a top-10 important person in human history.

The Columbian Exchange was then, coined by Alfred W. Crosby, a historian, in his 1972 book The Columbian Exchange, to describe the widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human population, communicable disease, and ideas between the Old World and the newly found New World.

The result of the Columbian Exchange, both world transformed into what it is today.



From the Old World to the New World :

Horses ( Equus ferus caballus ) changed the live of many Native American tribes on the Great Plains, allowing them to shift to a nomadic lifestyle based on hunting bison on horseback.

Texas, of US, Brazil and Argentina top the list of total world cattle ( Bos primigenius ) population.
Coffee ( Coffea arabica, C. canephora, C. liberica ) from African and sugar cane ( Saccharum officinarum ) from Asia become the main crops of Latin American plantations.

Apple ( Malus sp ) and banana ( Musa sp ) becomes important fruit crop in both North and South Americas.

Sunkist® oranges ( Citrus sp ) become an important crop in Florida.



From the New World to the Old World :

Potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) become a staple food for Europe.

Maize ( Zea mays ) and tapioca ( Manihot esculenta ) replaced traditional African crops as the continent’s most important staple food crops.

Tomato sauce from tomatoes ( Solanum lycopersicum ) become an Italian trademark.

Chili ( Capsicum sp ) become an integral part of Indian, Thai and Malay cuisine.

Pineapple ( Ananas comosus ) become an important crop in S.E.Asian, with Thailand and the Philippines top the world production.

Rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis ) planted in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia accounted >70% of total world production of natural rubber.

Once smoked only by Red Indians, now the whole world burns million tones of tobacco ( Nicotina tabacum ) yearly.

Switzerland won’t have the world’s famous Toblerone® chocolate ( made of Theobroma cacao beans ); and many Malaysian can’t have their favourite iced-Milo® ( chocolate drink ) drink after workout.

Satay, a S.E.Asian Malay skewed meat dish best to have it only with peanut-based ( Arachis hypogaea ) sauce.

Papaya ( Carica papaya ), Guava ( Psidium guajava ),  Ciku ( Manikara sapote ), Nona ( Annona squamosa ), and Gajus ( Anarcadium occidentale ) which were so proudly proclaimed as Malaysian’s local fruit, are in fact originated from the New World.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Months

January ( Roman : Ianuarius ), was named after Roman’s Janus the god of the doorway.  Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consists of 10 months, totaling 304 days, winter being considered a monthless period.  Around 713 BC, King Numa Pompilius added the months of January and February, as the last months, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year of 365 days.  In about 450 BC, both January and February were moved to first and second month in the Roman calendar.

February was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on 15th of the month.  It was originally the last month in the Roman calendar, but in 450 BC, it was moved to 2nd month.

The name of March ( Roman : Martius ) comes from ancient Rome’s god of war, Mars.  It was the first month of spring in Mediterranean climate, thus originally the first month of the Roman calendar.

The derivation of the name April ( Roman : Aprilis ) is uncertain.  The traditional etymology is from the Latin aperire, “to open”, in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to ‘open’.  It also has been suggested that Aprilis was originally  derived from Aphrodite ( Greek : Aphros ), Venus’ Greek equivalent, as Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis being held on the first day of the month. 

May was named after Greek goddess Maia, equivalent to Roman’s goddess of fertility Bona Dea.  However, a Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for ‘elders’, and the following month is named for the iuniores, ‘young people’.

June is named after the Roman goddess Juno ( equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera ), wife of Jupiter.


Originally, July was called Quintilis in Latin, since it was the 5th month in the Roman calendar.  Then when it was changed to the 7th month, it was renamed by Augustus to honor Julius Ceasar who was born in July.

August was originally named Sextilis in Latin, for its was the 6th month in the old Roman calendar.  In 8 BC, it was renamed in honor of Augustus.

September was from the Latin word septem which means ‘seven’ and septimus means ‘seventh’, for it was originally 7th month in the Roman calendar.

October was the 8th month in the old Roman calendar.   It retained its named ( from Latin octo, meaning ‘eight’ ) even after it was place 10th month.

November was derived from the Latin word novem, meaning ‘nine’, as it was the 9th month in the old Roman calendar.

December was derived from Latin word decem, which means ‘ten’, originally 10th month in the old Roman calendar.