Etymology

quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur

Today it means: Used to mockingly describe people who seem to use Latin phrases and quotations only to make themselves sound more important or "educated". Full definition →

Latin quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromquidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur
  2. English todayquidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur

Borrowed from Latin quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur (literally “whatever is said in Latin seems profound”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.