(Sanskrit and Tibetan philosophical terms, and reference terms, have not been included)
Key: Foreign phrase {Correct spelling} Page (Language) Definition
À la lettre 411 (French) to the letter
A priori 143, 194, 218, 304, 362 (Latin) from the former. Presupposed independent of experience.
À quoi bon, A quoi bon 193, 517 (French) to what good
Ab initio 124 (Latin) from the beginning
Ad infinitum 9, 89, 141, 190, 192, 199, 514, 520 (Latin) to infinity. Forevemore
Ad libitum 265 (Latin) to pleasure. According to what pleases
Adversum flumen 193 (Latin) against the stream
Al piaccere {piacere} 345 (Italian) to pleasure
Alter ego 160, 296, 309 (Latin) other self
Anak 339 possibly (Indonesian) child, or (Hebrew) biblical father of a Canaanite race of giants
Après moi – le déluge 212 (French) after me – the deluge
Argumentum ad hominem 440 (Latin) fallacious personal "argument at the man"
Assirvadam {Asirvadam} 398 (Telegu) blessings
Atmânam, âtmanâ paśya 339 (Sanskrit) See the self by the self
Au fond 247 (French) basically ("to the foundation")
Au naturel 20 (French) natural
Au pluriel 277 (French) in the plural
Avant couriers 84, 126, 134 (French) before couriers
Bakbak 439 (Hindi) incoherent talk, gibberish
Beau valseur 339 (French) handsome waltzer, charmer
Ber-chhén 28 (Tibetan) cloak, garment
Bona fide 188,300 (Latin) in good faith, genuinely
Braggadocios 442 (English-Italian) boastful or arrogant behavior; braggart
Bulbul 260 (Persian, from Arabic) songbird
Carte blanche 232, 299, 420 (French) blank document, full discretionary power
Cause célèbre, 324 (French) famous case, controversial issue
Censor elegantiarum 335 (Latin) censor of tastes
Con amore 232 (Italian) with love
Consummatum est 292 (Latin) it is completed
Conversazione 238 (Italian) A gathering for discussion, especially of literature or arts
Cooloted 374 (possibly from French culotte, shorts or pants resembling a divided skirt) adapted?
Coups d’état 390 (French) "blows" or overthrow(s) of state,
Coups de bec 50 (French) pecks, taps or bites with a beak
Cuneus cuneum trudit 156 (Latin) wedge drives wedge
Das Sollen 215 (German) moral duty
De facto 266, 415, 474 (Latin) from the fact, in reality
De haut en bas 223 (French) from top to bottom, in a condescending manner
De lunatico 339 (Italian) insane
De novo 93, 97 (Latin) anew
Delirium tremens 170 (Latin) A psychotic condition typical of withdrawal, involving tremors, hallucination, anxiety, and disorientation
Deus omnium 455 (Latin) God of all
Diminuendo 73 (Italian) Gradual decrease in loudness
Doppleganger {Doppelgänger} 43 (German) "double-walker," an apparition or double of a living person
Durbar 260 (Urdu) the court of an Indian ruler
En attendant 33 (French) waiting
En herbe 447 (French) budding
En passant 157, 311 (French) in passing, by the way
En relief 426 (French) in relief, embossed
Entente cordiale 214 (French) cordial agreement, friendly understanding
Entrée en matière 331 (French) entry into a matter, a way in
Et voici pourquoi nous n’irons plus au bois 19 (French) And here is why we will no longer go to the woods
Faculæ 164 (Latin) torch
Fata morgana 26 (Latin) A mirage
Faut de s’entendre 289 (French) need to agree or get along
Faute de mieux 146 (French) for lack of better
Fecit 26 (Latin) He/she made it
Felo de se 132 (Latin) felon from himself, suicide
Festina lente 329 (Latin) make haste slowly
Fiat 396 (Latin) "let there be," a command
Finis 282 (Latin) the end
Fortissimo 73 (Italian) Very loud
Glacé 34 (French) smooth, glossy, or highly polished surface like ice
Hakim 531 (Urdu) judge, ruler, or governor in India
Haute Magie 280 (French) High Magic
Havanas 165 (Spanish) famous cigars from Havana, Cuba
Hidalgos 269 (Spanish) a gentleman
Hukum 531 (Urdu) a ruling
Ici bas même 193 (French) even here
In abscondito 97, 520 (Latin) concealed, hidden
In actu 412 (Latin) in the very act, in reality
Inst. {Instante mense} 13 (Latin) date of the current month
Inter se 519 (Latin) Between or among themselves
Interregnum 351 (Latin) interval between two reigns or governments
Jeremiades 294 (French) lamentations
Jusqu’à nouvel ordre 403 (French) until further (new) notice
Kam mi ts’har 321 (Tibetan) sentence fragment implying the KH should "not complete this" — the Chohan would do it
Kin-t-an, Na-lan-da, Dha-ra-ni 419 (Chinese & Sanskrit) codewords translated as "Gautama — ancient Buddhist university —'holder,' (i.e. a short sutra similar to but longer than a mantra)"
Lakh 380, 381, 383, 387 (fr Sanskrit lakṣa) a hundred thousand
Lapsus calami 177, 480 (Latin) a slip of the pen
Le néant ne laisse pas d’avoir du bon 196 (French) Nothingness doesn't stop having the good – Voltaire
Le quart d’heure de Rabelais 38, 387 (French) the quarter hour of Rabelais
Les esprits souffrants 109 (French) suffering spirits
Lex talionis 150 (Latin) law of retaliation; retributive justice, "an eye for an eye"
Literati 324 (Latin) the educated class, intelligentsia
Locus standi 108 (Latin) right to stand or be heard
Lusus naturae 104 (Latin) sport of nature, a freak
Mace 253 (Malay-Dutch) former Chinese monetary unit equal to 1/10th of a tael, approximately 3.78 grams of silver
Mage 399 (Chaldean) magician or learned person
Mala fides 313 (Latin) bad faith, intent to deceive or defraud
Materia prima 61, 93 (Latin) first matter, formless primeval substance regarded as the original material of the universe
Mea culpa 302, 460 (Latin) through my fault, acknowledgement of one’s errors
Mella 248 {melā}(Hindi) meeting, assembly
Mephitis 37 (Latin) poisonous stench
Mirabile dictu 113 (Latin) wonderful to relate
Missio in partis infidelium 31 (Latin) mission of the infidels
Modus operandi, Modus operandus 144, 193, 318, 470 (Latin) mode of operation
Moi fluidique 183 (French) fluidic me
Morendo pianissimo 73 (Italian) dying very slowly, decreasing soft volume
Multum in parvo 19 (Latin) much in little
N’est-ce pas 240 (French) Isn’t it so
Nati 97 (Latin) son, child, children, young of pasture animals
Nazzur {Nazar} of "electron" (Arabic and Greek) 164 amulet made amber
Nec plus ultra 112 (Latin) nothing more beyond, the acme, best, or most extreme example of something
Nihil 139, 142, 518 (Latin) nil; nothing
Nisus 56 (Latin) effort(s), to attain an end
Nolens volens 107, 230 (Latin) whether unwillingly or willingly
Nom de plume 275, 364 (French) pen name
Non possumus 281 (Latin) not possible, we cannot
Nosce te ipsum 175 (Latin) Know thyself
Nota bene 77 (Italian) note well, observe carefully or take special notice
Νους αυτοκρατης (Nous autokrates) 455 (Greek) the self-ruling Mind (Nous)
Nous verrons, nous verrons 184 (French) We shall see what we shall see
Padri(s’) 259, 318, 362, 468, 469, 473 (Spanish) Father(s’)
Pagri 533 (Hindi & Urdu) turban (variant of pugaree)
Par consequence 318 (French) consequently, therefore
Par contrebande 80 (French ) by smuggling
Par excellence 201 (French) ultimate, better than all others of the same kind
Pari passu 407 (Latin) with equal step, moving together, on equal footing
Per se 56, 141, 142, 158, 164, 196, 280 (Latin) intrinsically
Phanerosis 241 (fr. Greek) attaining visibility, shining forth of manifestation
Phlogiston 56, 164 (Greek) a substance said to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion
Pianissimo 73 (Italian) very quiet
Plât 339 (French) a plate, dish
Post mortem xvii, 176, 199 (Latin) occurring or performed after death
Post nubila Phœbus 325 (Latin) after the clouds, the sun
Post scriptum (P.S.) 228 (Latin) written after; an afterthought added to a letter
Poste restante 467 (French) remaining post; general delivery
Pour mes beaux yeux 465 (French) for my beautiful eyes
Præter Deum nulla dari neque concipi potest substantia 53 (Latin) Besides God no substance can be granted or conceived (Spinoza’s Proposition XIV)
Pranams 431 (Hindi) Greetings
Prima facie 35 (Latin) at first sight, accepted as correct until proven otherwise
Pro bono publico 38, 417 (Latin) for the public good
Propria persona 35, 412 (Latin) for one’s self
Proteges {protogés} 260 (French) persons who are guided and supported by an older, more experienced, or influential person
Pucka {Pukka} 189, 297, 298, 299, 300 (Hindi) genuine; authentic, first-class
Pumo 315 (Tibetan bu-mo) girl, daughter, female human being
Qua 96 (Latin) in the capacity of; as being
Quart d’heure de Rabelais. SeeLe quart d’heure de Rabelais
Que voulez vous 438, 532 (French) what do you want
Qui bono {Cui bono} 225, 529 (Latin) who benefits?
Quiproquo, Qui proquo {Quid pro quo} 213, 227, 297 (Latin) this for that, a favor exchanged for a favor
Quoad 520 (Latin) regarding, with respect to
Quondam 331, 372 (Latin) that once was; former
Raison d’être 19, 135, 389 (French) the reason for being
Rapport, En rapport 29,101, 102,229, 283, 509 (French) en harmony; in a state of accord
Rari nantes in gurgite vasto 518 (Latin) few swimmers (survivors) in a vast sea
Reliquiæ 108, 109, 275 (Latin) relics, remains of the dead
Roma ante Romulum fuit 2 (Latin) Rome existed before Romulus
Salams {salaams} 202, 349, 374, 451 (Arabic) (Muslim) greetings, act of deference
Sancta simplicitas 295 (Latin) holy innocence, sacred simplicity
Scandalum magnatum 50 (Latin) the slander of a great man
Sifaten 533 (Indonesian) characteristics, qualities, attributes
Scin-lecca {Scín-læca} 476 (Anglo-Saxon) shining body; mayavi rûpa, astral or spiritual double
Sequelæ 124 (Latin) a secondary result, usually of a disease or injury
Seriatim 70, 77 (Latin) in a series, one subject after another in regular order
Sesam {Open Sesame} 273 (???) to open with a word, to bring about a desired end
Sin qua non {Sine qua non} 213 (Latin) 'without which not," an essential or necessary part of the whole
Soi-disant 185 (French) self-styled; so-called
Statu quo 67, 177 (Latin) the existing state of affairs
Sub rosa 281 (Latin) 'under the rose,' in secret, privately, confidentially, or covertly
Summum bonum 507 (Latin) the highest or supreme good
Suppressio veri, suggestis falsi {Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi} 386 (Latin) Suppression of the truth, suggestion of an untruth
Sutee {satī, often anglicized suttee } 290 (Sanskrit) "chaste wife," the Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre
Tael 253 (Malay) Chinese monetary unit equal to approximately 50 grams of silver. See also Mace
Terra incognita 390 (Latin) unknown or unexplored territory
Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome 387 (French) every road is good which leads to Rome
Tout ou rien 439 (French) all or nothing
Tutti quanti 157 (Italian) all of them, everyone
Ultimo 495 (Latin) of last month (date) [here October 17, 1880]
Un loup garou 53 (French) q werewolf
Vakil, Vaquil 12, 13, 435, 527 (Hindi) legal counsel; lawyer
Vera pro gratis 31 (Latin) truly for free, truly given for thanks only
Vieille garde 485 (French) old guard
Ye-damma 127, 179 (Pali Ye-dhammā, Sanskrit Ye-dharmāḥ) generally the laws or established procedures in nature, meaning by extension the phenomenal world
Zemindars {Zamindar} 378, 388, 389, 390, 391, 395 (Persian) landowner or autonomous ruler of a state in India, especially one who leases land to tenant farmers