Latin phrase for wedidng band

[ac_claire]

Anyways, since I’ve always liked the Ubi Caritas I may get that if there’s enough room. I first need to find a place to engrave and see how much they have room for. Well, first I need to get the ring haha! But this is something I’ve been thinking of since we got engaged. And not knowing any Latin, it’s hard. But I became Catholic after meeting him, and it’s something important to both of us, so I want to have something Catholic, and have the ring be more personal than just what anyone else can pick up

I really like Ubi Caritas. Again, here we have a short traditional phrase (technically, “where charity…”) that implies the longer phrase ("Where charity and love are, there God is"). I think you won’t have any problem getting “Ubi Caritas” on a wedding band. If nohing else you could do the abbreviation like we did, but that might be cryptic for your grandkids to figure out unless you make sure the story is known in the family.

 

[ac_claire]

Thanks for the offer

I think my last question got lost in all the posts, for a female speaking to a male, is the version of Totus Tuus, Tota Tua?

I read that in one other thread on here but others have not mentioned it. I took Spanish in high school, so I realize that in many languages there are female and male ways of saying things.

Wow I can’t believe I’m posting three times in a row. I think that might be a record. Please forgive the hijak, BrokenFortress. I wanted to address the Totus Tuus thing because it wasn’t really answered before. .

I don’t think that the feminine/masculine version of the phrase matters for your usage. Totus Tuus just means “Totally Yours” either way. I actually like that more than Ubi Caritas. You probably already know this, but that was the late Holy Father JPII’s personal motto, regarding the Blessed Mother. And it’s short enough to fit on any ring!

 

[GorgerCracker]

“Nihil nisi mors nos separabit” may be technically the more correct Latin, but the traditional phrase is “Nemo nisi mors”, translated to *nothing *but death. Even though Nemo means “no one”. It’s just how the phrase goes, languages are weird like that. I could think of a hundred different examples of that kind of thing in the English language.

Google nemo nisi mors and wedding rings, you’ll see the world is full of “lame idiots” who’ve engraved it on their rings.

You’re very mistaken. Sorry. “Nemo” means nobody. It never means “nothing.” I even checked in my very large Latin dictionary that has everything. If you have studied Latin, I hope you did more than Google things to translate Latin phrases. The internet is full of bad Latin and bad translations, and I could think of a hundred different examples of people making huge mistakes in Latin, even in ancient times. It’s a difficult language and people screw up all the time, just like English.

I didn’t call the people who have it engraved lame idiots, I said the phrase was lame and the sentiment is pretty lame if you think about it. You’re entitled to like it if you want. You can even tattoo it on your forehead. Whatever floats your boat. I’d rather get a Biblical quote on my ring than a strange quote from the 1500’s. That’s all.

By the way, if you do google it again, you will find that some people translate it correctly. Enough said.

 

[ac_claire]

You’re very mistaken. Sorry. “Nemo” means nobody. It never means “nothing.” I even checked in my very large Latin dictionary that has everything. If you have studied Latin, I hope you did more than Google things to translate Latin phrases. The internet is full of bad Latin and bad translations, and I could think of a hundred different examples of people making huge mistakes in Latin, even in ancient times. It’s a difficult language and people screw up all the time, just like English.

I’m not at all mistaken. The traditional phrase to be inscribed on a ring is “Nemo Nisi Mors”…and it’s translated roughly as “Nothing (or nobody) but death can part us”…or “Only death will part us”, etc. Which comes from the Christian wedding vows.

Again, languages can be weird like that and I could find you a hundred English phrases (espeically traditional sayings) that don’t really mean what each individual word would imply. But yet, the meaning is clear.

This is a conversation about traditional Latin inscriptions for a wedding ring. Did you read the thread title? If this were a thread about how your Latin teacher would grade your Latin test paper or something, then you’d be right.

By the way, if you do google it again, you will find that some people translate it correctly. Enough said.

Yes, when I googled “nihil nisi mors” I found it’s the name of an album by what appears to be a Finnish heavy metal band. Google “nemo nisi mors” and you’ll see it’s a traditional Latin phrase meaning what I explained above, and used primarily for jewelry inscriptions. I understand that you have a problem with that fact. Sorry.

 

[former_Catholic]

Yes, when I googled “nihil nisi mors” I found it’s the name of an album by what appears to be a Finnish heavy metal band. Google “nemo nisi mors” and you’ll see it’s a traditional Latin phrase meaning what I explained above, and used primarily for jewelry inscriptions. I understand that you have a problem with that fact. Sorry.

When we’ve burnt all the books… Google becomes “fact”…
and rock bands define the sum total of our knowledge.
In which case I’ll vote for ancient Greek, not Latin:
Kyrie Eleison

 

[GorgerCracker]

I’m not at all mistaken. The traditional phrase to be inscribed on a ring is “Nemo Nisi Mors”…and it’s translated roughly as “Nothing (or nobody) but death can part us”…or “Only death will part us”, etc. Which comes from the Christian wedding vows.

Again, languages can be weird like that and I could find you a hundred English phrases (espeically traditional sayings) that don’t really mean what each individual word would imply. But yet, the meaning is clear.

This is a conversation about traditional Latin inscriptions for a wedding ring. Did you read the thread title? If this were a thread about how your Latin teacher would grade your Latin test paper or something, then you’d be right.

Yes, when I googled “nihil nisi mors” I found it’s the name of an album by what appears to be a Finnish heavy metal band. Google “nemo nisi mors” and you’ll see it’s a traditional Latin phrase meaning what I explained above, and used primarily for jewelry inscriptions. I understand that you have a problem with that fact. Sorry.

Dude, you’re mistaken about the meaning. Get over it. I have studied Latin for years. If by “traditional” you mean that a lot of people have gotten it, then sure, it’s traditional, but “nemo” still means nobody, and it meant nobody 500 years ago too. (And 2,000 years ago for that matter.) I guess “nemo nisi mors” is a nice sentiment if you want to reassure your significant other that you won’t cheat on them. But I still think it’s lame. And why exactly do I have to like a “tradition” that is only a few hundred years old anyway?

The members of the Finnish band probably studied Latin in school, so they actually knew how to say “nothing except death.” Even if they didn’t study Latin, they were probably wise enough to consult someone who knew Latin before giving their album a Latin name.

The bottom line: couples should do more than google phrases if they want to be certain about what they’re putting on their wedding rings. Otherwise, they may well be disappointed later.

 

[GorgerCracker]

When we’ve burnt all the books… Google becomes “fact”…
and rock bands define the sum total of our knowledge.
In which case I’ll vote for ancient Greek, not Latin:
Kyrie Eleison

Yeah, it’s pretty funny when people think Google trumps any and all Latin reference books and the mother of all Latin dictionaries… What is the world coming to? The internet is only so-so as a source for Latin, and you have to know where to look. (And I did consult a dictionary that includes more modern Latin and Church Latin, by the way. “Nemo” means nobody, no one, a nobody etc. in that dictionary too.)

 

[ac_claire]

Dude, you’re mistaken about the meaning. Get over it. I have studied Latin for years. If by “traditional” you mean that a lot of people have gotten it, then sure, it’s traditional, but “nemo” still means nobody, and it meant nobody 500 years ago too. (And 2,000 years ago for that matter.) I guess “nemo nisi mors” is a nice sentiment if you want to reassure your significant other that you won’t cheat on them. But I still think it’s lame. And why exactly do I have to like a “tradition” that is only a few hundred years old anyway?

You don’t have to like anything. Who said you did?

The issue wasn’t that you didn’t *like *the “nemo nisi mors” inscription…I think that the previous poster was only pointing out that, in his opinion, it was rude of you to tell a person who’s just shared with CAF what they had inscribed on their wedding ring that their inscription is “lame”. Saying something like that takes it out of the generalized opinion category and makes it kind of a personal, and potentially hurtful, swipe. However, in any case…I wasn’t offended by that.

Now, back to the inscriptions themselves…

Again, this thread is about traditional Latin phrases for inscription on Catholic wedding bands. It’s not about one random poster picking apart the syntax of every verb and noun in every phrase, as though they were diagramming sentences, and giving us all a lesson on the correct textbook Latin for each individual word. That would be another thread.

I know that “nemo” means nobody or no one. I said as much in a previous post. But the traditional phrase “nemo nisi mors” has a slightly different meaning than the individual word “nemo”. That right there is the entire point. “Ubi Caritas” shouldn’t make sense either, because technically, what does it mean? “Where charity”…what the heck does that mean?? But we do know what it means because it’s a traditional Latin saying and the rest of the phrase is implied. Does any of this make sense yet?

I hope so. In any case, I’ve made my point AND I’ve exceeded my maximum number of posts in one thread so this will be my last post here. (You’re welcome. ) Congratulations and good luck to the OP.

 

[GorgerCracker]

I know that “nemo” means nobody or no one. I said as much in a previous post. But the traditional phrase “nemo nisi mors” has a slightly different meaning than the individual word “nemo”. That right there is the entire point. “Ubi Caritas” shouldn’t make sense either, because technically, what does it mean? “Where charity”…what the heck does that mean?? But we do know what it means because it’s a traditional Latin saying and the rest of the phrase is implied. Does any of this make sense yet?

I hope so. In any case, I’ve made my point AND I’ve exceeded my maximum number of posts in one thread so this will be my last post here. (You’re welcome. ) Congratulations and good luck to the OP.

You’re mistaken. It still means no one, even in this phrase. You have not come up with a scrap of evidence in favor of your alleged “traditional” meaning because their isn’t any evidence for it. Many of the sites that feature this “nemo nisi mors” translate it correctly. Some do not, but the fact that some people make mistakes in Latin does not change the meaning of Latin words. Seriously.

And I am entitled to have an opinion about nemo nisi mors, and to express it. Just because a few people have liked this phrase enough to put it on their wedding rings does not mean they have the right to expect everyone to express admiration for it.

You make perfect sense, but you are still wrong. Possibly because you rely too heavily on Google as a source of information.

I am, however, sorry that you are disappointed by the real meaning of nemo nisi mors. But wanting the phrase to mean what you would like it to mean does not change it’s meaning either. Languages are funny like that. Their words have meanings, and, especially once they are dead, their words tend to keep their meanings.

 

[Bobby_Jim]

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but…

What is the importance of having an inscription in a language one does not read, speak, or understand? It reminds me of people who have no ability to read or speak Chinese, getting a Chinese character tattooed on their arm, and taking the artist’s word for it that it means “peace” or “tranquility” or whatever.

Personally, I have the words “Love and Fidelity” and the date inscribed on the inside of my wedding ring. Cosidering that I spoke the wedding vows and the exchange of rings (take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity…) in English, it seems to make sense. As a native English speaker, English is the language of my heart, so to speak. I don’t need anyone else to translate what “Love and Fidelity” means. And practically speaking - if there had been a typo - say the inscriber had written “Live and Fidelity” I would have known immediately that it was wrong and could have had it redone.

Ok, sorry about that… I try not to be rude and self-important, most of the time.

 

[former_Catholic]

Personally, I have the words “Love and Fidelity” and the date inscribed on the inside of my wedding ring.

Love and Fidelity is beautiful…
and such a nice length…
it probably just makes it nicely around the finger and legibly…
and best of all, no togas required! love it!

 

[BrokenFortress]

I want Latin because it reminds me of the Church. And if it weren’t for my fiance I wouldn’t be Catholic right now. Who knows, perhaps I would have become Catholic eventually, but I doubt it. And I love singing Latin songs during Mass.

It means different things to different people.

 

[GorgerCracker]

I want Latin because it reminds me of the Church. And if it weren’t for my fiance I wouldn’t be Catholic right now. Who knows, perhaps I would have become Catholic eventually, but I doubt it. And I love singing Latin songs during Mass.

It means different things to different people.

Plus Latin is sexy and it sounds cool.

 

[ac_claire]

I want Latin because it reminds me of the Church. And if it weren’t for my fiance I wouldn’t be Catholic right now. Who knows, perhaps I would have become Catholic eventually, but I doubt it. And I love singing Latin songs during Mass.

It means different things to different people.

I hope this thread doesn’t make you hesitate about using the Latin. It’s the Church’s “mother tongue” and you’re Catholic, so it makes sense.

And getting a Latin engraving on your ring is a very respected and beautiful tradition and not at all a contentious/controversial topic in real life…(contrary to what you might think if you only had this thread as a guide. )

I hope you decide on something that you both will love forever.

 

[BrokenFortress]

No, I’m not second guessing it

 

[joandarc2008]

And let this be lesson to you - we can fight about anything here!!! LOL

 

[Naha43]

Dimidium animae meae - Half my soul.

 

[GorgerCracker]

There’s nothing wrong with getting Latin so long as you research it thoroughly. That way you know for sure that what you’re are getting actually says what you want it to say…

 

[ac_claire]

There’s nothing wrong with getting a Latin inscription on your ring, period. Obviously couples are going to research it before doing it.

 

[former_Catholic]

And as the sun slowly sinks on this thread we are reminded of that immortal inscription
One Ring To Rule Them All (?) no, not that immortal inscription…
but simply
PAX VOBISCUM