# A little Latin translation help, please?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 21, 2001, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377 "2001-08-21T17:43:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fillet)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/1 "2001-08-21T17:43:55Z")

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For a joke, I wanted to translate “Seize the rock!” into Latin, along the lines of “Carpe diem!” I know the “petra” is the world for rock, but I don’t know the appropriate grammatical form to put into the phrase. Can anyone lend a hand? Thanks in advance. 🙂

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**Author:** ![chutwig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@chutwig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chutwig)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/2 "2001-08-21T17:44:47Z")

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Carpe petram.

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**Author:** ![Fillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fillet)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/3 "2001-08-21T17:45:53Z")

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Wow, that was fast! Thanks!

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**Author:** ![chutwig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@chutwig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chutwig)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/4 "2001-08-21T17:46:14Z")

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I’m always on the ball. 🙂

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/5 "2001-08-21T19:12:33Z")

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While you’re at it:

Vox Populi - voice of the people  
E Pluribus Unum - out of many, one

Is “Vox Pluribus” a correct construction? “Many voices”?

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**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/6 "2001-08-21T19:18:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Is “Vox Pluribus” a correct construction? “Many voices”?

No. If you are using “many voices” as the subject of a sentence, then you need “voces plures.” Not very elegant or euphonic, but there it is.

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**Author:** ![maskedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@maskedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maskedman)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-latin-translation-help-please/77377/7 "2001-08-21T21:13:32Z")

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Romani ite domum!  
Romans go home!