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| Or "at will", "at one's pleasure". This phrase, and its Italian (beneplacito) and Spanish (beneplácito) derivatives, are synonymous with the more common ad libitum (at pleasure). |
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| Or "from heaven all the way to the center of the earth". In law, can refer to the obsolete cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos maxim of property ownership ("for whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to the sky and down to the depths"). |
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| From top to bottom; all the way through. Equally a pedibus usque ad caput. |
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| Equivalent to "on the contrary" or "au contraire". An argumentum a contrario is an "argument from the contrary", an argument or proof by contrast or direct opposite. |
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| A long time ago. From Gaius Lucilius (Satires, 6, 284) |
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| Loosely, "even more so" or "with even stronger reason". Often used to lead from a less certain proposition to a more evident corollary. |
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| From Psalm 72:8, "Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae" (KJV: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth"). National motto of Canada. |
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| Completely. Similar to the English expressions "from tip to toe" or "from top to toe". Equally a capite ad calcem. See also ab ovo usque ad mala. |
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| "From possibility to actuality" or "from being possible to being actual" |
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| Based on observation (i.e., empirical knowledge), the reverse of a priori. Used in mathematics and logic to denote something that is known after a proof has been carried out. In philosophy, used to denote something that can be known from empirical experience. |
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| Presupposed, the reverse of a posteriori. Used in mathematics and logic to denote something that is known or postulated before a proof has been carried out. In philosophy, used to denote something that can be known without empirical experience. In everyday speech, it denotes something occurring or being known before the event. |
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| Said of an argument that seeks to prove a statement's validity by pointing out the absurdity of an opponent's position (cf. appeal to ridicule) or that an assertion is false because of its absurdity. Not to be confused with a reductio ad absurdum, which is usually a valid logical argument. |
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| ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia |
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| Inferences regarding something's use from its misuse are invalid. Rights abused are still rights (cf. abusus non tollit usum). |
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| Literally, "from the everlasting" or "from eternity". Thus, "from time immemorial", "since the beginning of time" or "from an infinitely remote time in the past". In theology, often indicates something, such as the universe, that was created outside of time. |
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| Or, having to do with correspondence. |
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| A legal term meaning "from without". From external sources, rather than from the self or the mind (ab intra). |
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| Often rendered abhinc (which in Latin means simply "since" or "ago"). |
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| More literally, "from the deepest chest". Attributed to Julius Caesar. Can mean "with deepest affection" or "sincerely". |
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| New Latin for "based on unsuitability", "from inconvenience" or "from hardship". An argumentum ab inconvenienti is one based on the difficulties involved in pursuing a line of reasoning, and is thus a form of appeal to consequences; it refers to a rule in law that an argument from inconvenience has great weight. |
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| Thus, "from the beginning" or "from infancy". Incunabula is commonly used in English to refer to the earliest stage or origin of something, and especially to copies of books that predate the spread of the printing press around AD 1500. |
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| "At the outset", referring to an inquiry or investigation. In literature, refers to a story told from the beginning rather than in medias res (from the middle). In law, refers to something being the case from the start or from the instant of the act, rather than from when the court declared it so. A judicial declaration of the invalidity of a marriage ab initio is a nullity. In science, refers to the first principles. In other contexts, often refers to beginner or training courses. Ab initio mundi means "from the beginning of the world". |
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| From someone who dies with no legal will (cf. ex testamento). |
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| From the inside. The opposite of ab extra. |
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| By a person who is angry. Used in law to describe a decision or action that is detrimental to those it affects and was made based on hatred or anger, rather than on reason. The form irato is masculine; however, this does not mean it applies only to men, rather 'person' is meant, as the phrase probably elides "homo," not "vir." |
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