Symbols for many of those chemical elements of the periodic table known in ancient times reflect and echo their Latin names, like Au for aurum ( gold) and Fe for ferrum ( iron). The most prominent retention of Latin occurs in the classification of living organisms and the binomial nomenclature devised by Carl Linnaeus, although the rules of nomenclature used today allow the construction of names which may deviate considerably from historical norms.Īnother continuation is the use of Latin names for the constellations and celestial objects (used in the Bayer designations of stars), as well as planets and satellites, whose surface features have been given Latin selenographic toponyms since the 17th century. In fields as varied as mathematics, physics, astronomy, medicine, pharmacy, biology, and philosophy, Latin still provides internationally accepted names of concepts, forces, objects, and organisms in the natural world. Some common phrases that are still in use in many languages have remained fixed in Latin, like the well-known dramatis personae or habeas corpus.įurther information: International scientific vocabulary and English words of Greek origin Similarly, the motto on the Canadian Victoria Cross is in Latin, perhaps due to Canada's bilingual status. The official motto of the multilingual European Union, adopted as recently as 2000, is the Latin In varietate concordia. Queen by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith). F♽ ( Dei Gratia Regina, Fidei Defensatrix, i.e.Similarly, current pound sterling coins are minted with the Latin inscription ELIZABETH

Old mottos like E pluribus unum, found in 1776 on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782, are still in use. The official use of Latin in previous eras has survived at a symbolic level in many mottos that are still being used and even coined in Latin to this day. Some minor communities also use Latin in their speech. Latin is still present in words or phrases used in many languages around the world, as a relic of the great importance of New Latin, which was the formerly dominant international lingua franca down to the 19th century in a great number of fields. 7 Dictionaries, glossaries, and phrase books for contemporary Latin.4.4 Supporting institutions and publications.

Latin modern roman for word