# Help turning English Phrase into Latin, please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976 "2005-04-12T15:46:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/1 "2005-04-12T15:46:24Z")
Hey, all. I’m writing a letter. I want it to be in Latin. The body of the letter is easy–it’s a direct quote from something already in Latin. What I need is the closer. You know, “Sincerely yours,” or “I remain, your servant,” or whatever. I’ve visited a few sites, and gotten a little help from those, so I have some vocabulary, but I’m not sure of endings. I think “I remain your servant” would be something like “Subsisto ancilla tua” but is that right? Would “sincerely” be “cum sinceritas”? How would I add a superlative to that? “With greatest sincerity” or something like that? My knowledge of Latin comes almost entirely from singing choral sacred music, so it’s kind of sketchy. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Jerevan\_Somerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@Jerevan\_Somerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerevan_Somerville)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/2 "2005-04-12T17:04:12Z")
I might use the verb _persisto_ (with its implication of “remaining constant”) rather than _subsisto_ – but I’d stay away from _ancilla_ which suggests a more servile relationship (slavery) than you probably want. :dubious: And _cum_ is “with” in the physical/location sense, and not so much “with” a particular thought or emotion or intention in mind. You might try: _De animo sincerissimo meo_ as a good approximation of “with my greatest sincerity”. Literally it translates as “following from my most sincere spirit”. I’m not entirely sure about using the preposition _de_ in this way, but someone else may have a better idea. ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/3 "2005-04-12T17:22:42Z")
> [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > Hey, all. > > I’m writing a letter. I want it to be in Latin. The body of the letter is easy–it’s a direct quote from something already in Latin. > > What I need is the closer. You know, “Sincerely yours,” or “I remain, your servant,” or whatever. > > I’ve visited a few sites, and gotten a little help from those, so I have some vocabulary, but I’m not sure of endings. I think “I remain your servant” would be something like “Subsisto ancilla tua” but is that right? Would “sincerely” be “cum sinceritas”? How would I add a superlative to that? “With greatest sincerity” or something like that? My knowledge of Latin comes almost entirely from singing choral sacred music, so it’s kind of sketchy. > > Thanks! One way in which the Romans ended their sentence, from memory, is with ‘Vale’. I’m not sure if I remember correctly, but we did read an aweful lot of letters in Latin class in the final year. : grabs old Latin textbook : Yep, Pliny ends most of his letters this way. No new line. Of course I’m not sure you’re looking for something historically correct or just a direct translation of something up-to-date. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/4 "2005-04-12T18:00:25Z")
I’m not sure, either, **Arwin** , but I’m thinking “vale” doesn’t quite capture the formal tone I’m after. And it’s ecclesiastical Latin I’m quoting to begin with–though I wonder if I could pair them up. I planned to start the letter with “O [name],” but now that I think of it, “Ave” might work just as well. I wonder–maybe I could end, De animo sincerissimo meo, (thanks, **Jerevan Somerville** –would “in animo” be less doubtful? ) Vale, Bren\_Cameron. Or would that be awkward? Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/5 "2005-04-12T18:13:09Z")
Or, after a scan through another dictionary site, how about “Ex animo sincerissimo meo”? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/6 "2005-04-12T18:56:36Z")
> [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > I’m writing a letter. I want it to be in Latin. The body of the letter is easy–it’s a direct quote from something already in Latin. > > What I need is the closer. You know, “Sincerely yours,” or “I remain, your servant,” or whatever. These are formalisms, so you want a Latin formalism, not a direct translation. **Vale** , _farewell_, is the usual one. ---
**Author:** ![Jerevan\_Somerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@Jerevan\_Somerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerevan_Somerville)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-turning-english-phrase-into-latin-please/298976/7 "2005-04-12T19:15:34Z")
> [@Bren\_Cameron](#): > > would “in [or ex] animo” be less doubtful? ) Generally _in_ means “in/on” (place or time where), “into” (place or time towards which) and even “in such a manner”. But the last does not convey the sense of “from-me-to-you” that you’re after. Same goes for _ex_, which is “from/out of” and usually implies separation of “one” from the “other” or “whole”; vs. _ab_ = “from/out of” which implies movement away/apart. **Quartz** makes an excellent point, though. Salutations and closings are largely formulaic in any language, esp. in formal correspondence. (After all, what does “very truly yours” really mean anyway?) So if this is a formal letter, go with _Vale_ to give it a truly classical ring. If that’s not what you’re after, then I guess you have some other choices. Vale, Ierevanus Somervillius