Etymology

seize the day

Today it means: To enjoy the present and not worry about the future; to live for the moment. Full definition →

Latin carpe diem
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The story

  1. Latin · calque ofcarpe diem
  2. English todayseize the day

Calque of Latin carpe diem, originally meaning "enjoy the day", literally "pluck (or harvest) the day", from a poem by the ancient poet Horace. In Latin, it was common to use carpo (“to pluck something, pick off”) metaphorically to express enjoying a period of time. The use of seize is a traditional mistranslation originating from a confusion with cape, singular imperative of capio (“to seize something, grab”).

Words from the same roots

Latincarpe diem all →

carpe diem

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.