120+ Beautiful Latin Words and Phrases With Meanings for Tattoos, Mottos, and More

Searching for beautiful Latin words that feel like poetry. Discover rare Latin words and phrases with deep meaning, gentle power, and the kind of soul that lingers. Tattoos, journal prompts, or just for love of language, it’s all here.

Latin may be a “dead” language, but its words live, breathe, and feel like tiny spells whispered across centuries.

If you’re here, you’re probably not cramming for a Latin exam. You’re searching for something beautiful, a word that sounds like honey, or a phrase that quietly wraps up everything you’ve ever felt.

If you’re the kind who collects words like tiny treasures, this post on bookish words is a treat you don’t want to skip.

Maybe you want a tattoo. Perhaps you’re naming a brand. Or perhaps you’re just like me, a word collector, always looking for the word or phrase to fall in love with.

You’re in the right place.

I feel that most lists of Latin words online feel like someone copy-pasted their textbook notes and called it a day. No context. No meaning. Just random words tossed into a scroll-fest.

Where’s the soul? Where’s the why?

This post is different. Every word here is chosen for how it sounds, what it means, and how it feels like a word you’d want to carry in your pocket forever.

I’ve spent years scribbling down words from languages I don’t speak just because they made my heart skip.

If you’re drawn to words that feel like art, you might also enjoy these English words with beautiful meanings and untranslatable foreign words that express what English can’t.

Latin has always been a favorite; it’s dramatic, elegant, and oddly comforting. This list is a curation of the most evocative, lyrical, and emotionally rich Latin words and phrases I’ve ever come across.

You’ll find single words, short phrases, deep meanings, and the kind of expressions that feel less like facts and more like quiet companions you carry with you.

If you’ve ever paused a movie just to Google a line, if you’ve ever saved a word because it gave you goosebumps, if you want your next tattoo to mean something, this is for you!

Or if you’re here because you simply love how words can make ordinary moments feel a little more cinematic. Welcome to the word-nerd club.

Ready to fall in love with Latin? Let’s go word by word with pronunciation, meanings, and what they feel like (a personal take).

I’ve always believed that words can change how we feel, think, and even live. Here’s why I believe words are powerful. These Latin gems are a perfect example.

Beautiful Latin Words and Phrases

Here are some of the most beautiful words & phrases in Latin that may sound ancient, but some of its words still feel surprisingly fresh, warm, and relatable like something you’d actually want to use or frame on your wall.

Latin Words and Phrases That Sound as Beautiful as They Mean

Aeternitas

Meaning: eternity
Pronunciation: eye-TER-nee-tahs
What It Feels Like: the hush of forever; something you can’t measure but somehow believe in.

Amor Fati

Meaning: Love of fate
Pronunciation: AH-mor FAH-tee
What It Feels Like: falling in love with the story you didn’t write

Anima

Meaning: soul
Pronunciation: AH-nee-mah
What It Feels Like: the part of you that never really leaves

Aurelia

Meaning: Golden, glowing like dawn
Pronunciation: aw-REH-lee-ah
What It Feels Like: that name you give to a morning so quiet and soft it feels wrapped in gold

Beatus

Meaning: Blessed, happy
Pronunciation: BAY-ah-toos
What It Feels Like: sunlight on your face when you weren’t expecting it

Caelitus

Meaning: From heaven
Pronunciation: KYE-lih-tus
What It Feels Like: when timing feels too perfect to be a coincidence

Camella

Meaning: wine-goblet
Pronunciation: kah-MEHL-lah
What It Feels Like: a quiet clink before stories spill out

Cantio

Meaning: song
Pronunciation: KAN-tee-oh
What It Feels Like: something hummed but never forgotten

Dulcedo

Meaning: Sweetness, charm
Pronunciation: dool-KAY-doh
What It Feels Like: a smile that lingers longer than the joke

Effloresco

Meaning: To bloom
Pronunciation: ef-flo-RES-koh
What It Feels Like: opening up slowly, without needing permission

Errabundus

Meaning: wandering, wayward
Pronunciation: ehr-rah-BOON-doos
What It Feels Like: the restlessness of a soul that drifts, not lost, just drawn to the road

Felicitas

Meaning: Happiness, good fortune
Pronunciation: feh-LEE-chee-tas
What It Feels Like: laughing before you even realize you’re happy

Gaudeo

Meaning: To rejoice, be glad
Pronunciation: GOW-deh-oh
What It Feels Like: joy that bubbles up and insists on being felt

Glorificus

Meaning: Glorious
Pronunciation: gloh-REE-fee-koos
What It Feels Like: a moment so radiant it feels cinematic

Hospes

Meaning: Guest, host
Pronunciation: HOS-pes
What It Feels Like: being welcomed like you were always meant to arrive

Humanitas

Meaning: Humanity, refinement
Pronunciation: hoo-mah-NEE-tas
What It Feels Like: the part of you that still chooses kindness when no one’s watching

Susurrus

Meaning: Whisper or murmur
Pronunciation: soo-SUR-us
What It Feels Like: the sound of leaves gossiping in the wind—delicate, secretive, lovely

Immarcescibilis

Meaning: Unfading, everlasting
Pronunciation: im-mar-che-SIH-bih-lis
What It Feels Like: a word you’d whisper to a love you want to last forever

Ingenium

Meaning: Natural talent
Pronunciation: in-JEH-nee-oom
What It Feels Like: that one thing you’re good at without trying to be

Jubilo

Meaning: To shout for joy
Pronunciation: YOO-bee-lo
What It Feels Like: joy too big for your chest, spilling out loud

Lacrimae

Meaning: Tears
Pronunciation: LA-kree-my
What It Feels Like: the raw, honest overflow of being human

Liberatio

Meaning: Liberation, release
Pronunciation: lee-beh-RAH-tee-oh
What It Feels Like: the exact second you exhale after holding your breath too long

Lilt

Meaning: a rhythmic swing or cadence, especially in voice or music
Pronunciation: lilt
What It Feels Like: a skip in your step or a sentence that dances off someone’s tongue

Lumen

Meaning: Light
Pronunciation: LOO-men
What It Feels Like: that moment a single ray breaks through the blinds and you remember how good things can be

Luminarium

Meaning: A source or collection of light
Pronunciation: loo-mee-NAH-ree-oom
What It Feels Like: light filling a quiet room through an open window

Mellifluus

Meaning: Flowing with honey; sweet-sounding
Pronunciation: mel-LEE-floo-oos
What It Feels Like: silk and syrup in word form

Mellinia

Meaning: sweetness
Pronunciation: mel-LEEN-ee-ah
What It Feels Like: sugar melting on memory

Mirabilia

Meaning: Marvels, wonders
Pronunciation: mee-rah-BEE-lee-ah
What It Feels Like: moments that make your eyes widen before your thoughts catch up

Nocturnus

Meaning: Of the night, nocturnal
Pronunciation: nok-TOOR-noos
What It Feels Like: the kind of quiet that only belongs to midnight

Osculum

Meaning: Kiss
Pronunciation: OS-koo-loom
What It Feels Like: something tender left unsaid but fully felt

Peregrinus

Meaning: Wanderer, traveler
Pronunciation: peh-reh-GREE-noos
What It Feels Like: someone who belongs everywhere and nowhere

Pulchritūdō

Meaning: Beauty
Pronunciation: pul-kri-TOO-doh
What It Feels Like: the kind of beauty that’s felt, not seen—raw, surprising, real

Redamatio

Meaning: Love returned
Pronunciation: reh-dah-MAH-tee-oh
What It Feels Like: being chosen back without having to ask

Salubritas

Meaning: Health, wholesomeness
Pronunciation: sah-loo-BREE-tas
What It Feels Like: that kind of wellness that feels clean, simple, and earned

Solivagus

Meaning: Wandering alone
Pronunciation: soh-LEE-vah-goos
What It Feels Like: choosing your own path even when no one walks with you

Tintinnabulum

Meaning: bell
Pronunciation: teen-teen-NAH-boo-loom
What It Feels Like: the soft echo of a tiny bell — something old, delicate, and full of charm

Tranquillitas

Meaning: Calm, tranquility
Pronunciation: trahn-kwee-LEE-tas
What It Feels Like: still water, steady breath, nothing chasing you

Veneratio

Meaning: Reverence, awe
Pronunciation: veh-neh-RAH-tee-oh
What It Feels Like: standing in silence in front of something greater than you

Volucris

Meaning: Bird; something that flies
Pronunciation: VOH-loo-kris
What It Feels Like: light, free, just out of reach

Voluptas

Meaning: Pleasure, delight
Pronunciation: voh-LOOP-tas
What It Feels Like: joy you don’t feel guilty for, finally

Vivere

Meaning: To live
Pronunciation: VEE-veh-ray
What It Feels Like: breathing deeper, noticing more, saying yes

Many English words we use today are secretly rooted in Latin. Here’s a closer look at Latin words hidden in English. It’s wild how many everyday words have ancient roots.

Romantic Latin Words & Phrases That Hit Straight in the Heart

Aere Perrenius

Meaning: More lasting than bronze
Pronunciation: EYE-reh peh-REN-ee-oos
What It Feels Like: a love carved deeper than time knows how to erase

Amor

Meaning: Love
Pronunciation: AH-mor
What It Feels Like: pure, soft, and universal — no frills, just feeling.

Amor Vincit Omnia

Meaning: Love conquers all
Pronunciation: AH-mor WIN-kit OM-nee-ah
What It Feels Like: a love letter scrawled in messy handwriting on the back of a ticket stub

In Perpetuum et Unum Diem

Meaning: Forever and a day
Pronunciation: in pair-PEH-too-um et OO-num dee-em
What It Feels Like: a vow, a whisper, a pinky promise you actually mean

Fidēlis

Meaning: Faithful, loyal
Pronunciation: fee-DAY-lees
What It Feels Like: the comfort of knowing someone always chooses you, even in storms

Diligo

Meaning: To love deeply, to cherish
Pronunciation: dee-LEE-go
What It Feels Like: the quiet, warm, steady, and patient kind of love, not loud, just lasting love, unshakably certain

Cor meum tibi do

Meaning: I give you my heart
Pronunciation: kor MAY-oom TEE-bee doh
What It Feels Like: something you say without expecting it to be returned

Manus in Mano

Meaning: Hand in hand
Pronunciation: MAH-noos in MAH-no
What It Feels Like: two lifelines crossing in quiet agreement

Redamatio

Meaning: Love returned
Pronunciation: reh-dah-MAH-tee-oh
What It Feels Like: being chosen back before you even had to ask

If you’re in the mood to explore more ancient roots, this post on Greek words in English is full of lyrical gems and meanings that stick with you.

Latin Words Inspired by Nature, Life, and the Cosmos

Aether

Meaning: Upper sky, pure air
Pronunciation: EE-thair
What It Feels Like: something vast, weightless, and just out of reach; the kind of stillness that belongs to stars and prayers

Aethra

Meaning: the bright, clear, serene sky
Pronunciation: EH-thrah
What It Feels Like: a sky so clear it almost hums

Alauda

Meaning: lark
Pronunciation: ah-LOW-dah
What It Feels Like: morning music with feathers

Aqua

Meaning: Water
Pronunciation: AH-kwah
What It Feels Like: flowing without force, soft but unstoppable

Apricus

Meaning: Full of sunlight
Pronunciation: ah-PREE-kus
What It Feels Like: toes in the sun, eyes closed, world paused

Aranea

Meaning: spider; web
Pronunciation: ah-RAH-neh-ah
What It Feels Like: delicate threads holding wild things together

Arista

Meaning: ear of grain; harvest
Pronunciation: ah-REE-stah
What It Feels Like: golden fields swaying like a soft goodbye

Aurata

Meaning: golden, gilded
Pronunciation: ow-RAH-tah
What It Feels Like: a sunbeam in word form

Aurora Borealis

Meaning: Northern dawn
Pronunciation: aw-ROH-rah boh-ray-AH-lees
What It Feels Like: the sky’s quiet performance for those willing to wait

Avicula

Meaning: little bird
Pronunciation: ah-VEE-koo-lah
What It Feels Like: a heartbeat in the palm of your hand

Bellis

Meaning: daisy
Pronunciation: BEL-lees
What It Feels Like: childhood in flower form

Bruma

Meaning: winter solstice, winter cold
Pronunciation: BROO-mah
What It Feels Like: silence wrapped in frost

Caelum

Meaning: Sky
Pronunciation: KYE-loom
What It Feels Like: wide open silence above everything else

Caltha

Meaning: marigold
Pronunciation: KAL-thah
What It Feels Like: sunshine with petals

Crepusculum

Meaning: Twilight
Pronunciation: kray-POOS-koo-loom
What It Feels Like: the in-between hour when everything softens and shadows stretch

Filix

Meaning: fern
Pronunciation: FEE-leeks
What It Feels Like: forest whispers curled up in green

Flos

Meaning: Flower
Pronunciation: flos
What It Feels Like: soft defiance blooming quietly where no one asked it to

Fulmen

Meaning: Lightning
Pronunciation: FOOL-men
What It Feels Like: a sudden flash of truth that stuns everything around it

Fulminare

Meaning: To flash with lightning
Pronunciation: fuhl-mee-NAH-ray
What It Feels Like: the sudden, electric kind of inspiration that makes you sit up and write

Glacies

Meaning: Ice
Pronunciation: GLAH-kee-ays
What It Feels Like: beauty so cold it stings a little

Gossamer

Meaning: something very light, thin, and delicate
Pronunciation: GAW-suh-mur
What It Feels Like: a spider’s silk or a faint breeze on your neck, barely there, but unforgettable

Ignis

Meaning: Fire
Pronunciation: IG-nis
What It Feels Like: warmth, danger, and desire flickering in the same breath

Imber

Meaning: Rain shower
Pronunciation: IM-bair
What It Feels Like: sudden softness falling on everything you thought was hard

Libellula

Meaning: dragonfly
Pronunciation: lee-BEL-loo-lah
What It Feels Like: light skipping over still water

Luna

Meaning: Moon
Pronunciation: LOO-nah
What It Feels Like: the quiet kind of light that keeps you company at night

Lux

Meaning: light
Pronunciation: looks
What It Feels Like: the start of everything

Lux Brumalis

Meaning: Winter light
Pronunciation: looks broo-MAH-lis
What It Feels Like: the softest beam of light on the coldest day

Merula

Meaning: blackbird
Pronunciation: MEH-roo-lah
What It Feels Like: night music with wings

Natura

Meaning: Nature
Pronunciation: nah-TOO-rah
What It Feels Like: everything alive and ancient breathing at once

Nebula

Meaning: cloud, fog
Pronunciation: NEH-boo-lah
What It Feels Like: a slow dissolve into softness

Nix

Meaning: Snow
Pronunciation: niks
What It Feels Like: the hush that covers everything and forgives it

Nox

Meaning: night
Pronunciation: nox
What It Feels Like: the hush before dreams tiptoe in

Rorifer

Meaning: dew-bearing
Pronunciation: ROH-ree-fer
What It Feels Like: morning grass that sparkles like it knows a secret — fresh, quiet, and glistening

Rubecula

Meaning: robin
Pronunciation: roo-BEH-koo-lah
What It Feels Like: a hopeful chirp on a cold morning

Silva

Meaning: Forest
Pronunciation: SEEL-vah
What It Feels Like: trees standing like old guardians, whispering in green

Sol

Meaning: Sun
Pronunciation: sohl
What It Feels Like: heat, hope, and golden mornings wrapped into one

Solis Occasum

Meaning: The setting of the sun
Pronunciation: SOH-lees oh-KAH-sum
What It Feels Like: that exact moment the sky exhales in color

Spuma

Meaning: foam
Pronunciation: SPOO-mah
What It Feels Like: sea laughter caught mid-burst

Stella

Meaning: Star
Pronunciation: STEL-lah
What It Feels Like: a tiny light that makes the dark easier to bear

Tenebrosus

Meaning: dark, gloomy
Pronunciation: teh-neh-BROH-soos
What It Feels Like: not just dark, but dramatically dark like a poet’s favorite mood

Ventus

Meaning: Wind
Pronunciation: VEN-toos
What It Feels Like: movement without weight, like something calling your name

Ver

Meaning: Spring
Pronunciation: vehr
What It Feels Like: the very first green after a season that forgot color

Umbra

Meaning: Shade, shadow
Pronunciation: OOM-brah
What It Feels Like: the cool, quiet space trees make when they’re feeling generous

Unda

Meaning: wave
Pronunciation: OON-dah
What It Feels Like: motion in stillness, salt in your breath

Latin Phrases That Feel Like Personal Mottos

Dum Spiro, Spero

Meaning: While I breathe, I hope
Pronunciation: doom SPEE-ro, SPEH-ro
What It Feels Like: that stubborn, quiet voice that says: not yet, I’m not done

Discendo Discimus

Meaning: By teaching, we learn
Pronunciation: dis-KEN-doh DIS-kee-moos
What It Feels Like: a reminder that wisdom echoes both ways

Alis Propriis Volat

Meaning: She flies with her own wings
Pronunciation: AH-lees PRO-pree-is VO-lat
What It Feels Like: growing into your own skin without asking permission

Acta, Non Verba

Meaning: Actions, not words
Pronunciation: AK-tah non VAIR-bah
What It Feels Like: a gentle punch to the gut every time you procrastinate

Ad Astra per Aspera

Meaning: To the stars through hardship
Pronunciation: ad AH-stra pair AHS-pair-ah
What It Feels Like: grit wrapped in poetry

Astra Inclinant, Sed Non Obligant

Meaning: The stars incline us; they do not bind us
Pronunciation: AH-strah in-KLEE-nant sed non OH-blih-gahnt
What It Feels Like: knowing your path is yours to choose—even if it was written in the stars

Incepto Ne Desistam

Meaning: May I not shrink from my purpose
Pronunciation: in-KEP-toh nay deh-SEES-tam
What It Feels Like: what you write at the top of your planner when you’re about to change your life

Memento Vivere

Meaning: Remember to live
Pronunciation: meh-MEN-toh WEE-weh-ray
What It Feels Like: the permission slip your tired soul didn’t know it needed

Meliora

Meaning: Better things; things yet to come
Pronunciation: meh-lee-OR-ah
What It Feels Like: the horizon quietly calling your name

Felix Culpa

Meaning: Happy fault
Pronunciation: FAY-leeks KOOL-pah
What It Feels Like: the kind of mistake that led you exactly where you needed to go

Latin Words for Virtues & Ideas

Amicitia

Meaning: Friendship
Pronunciation: ah-mee-KEE-tee-ah
What It Feels Like: hands held tightly without needing to speak

Aequitas

Meaning: Equity, fairness
Pronunciation: eh-KWEE-tas
What It Feels Like: balance that doesn’t need to prove itself

Caritas

Meaning: Love in the form of charity, compassion
Pronunciation: KAR-ee-tas
What It Feels Like: giving without keeping score

Clementia

Meaning: Mercy
Pronunciation: kleh-MEN-tee-ah
What It Feels Like: letting someone off the hook and feeling lighter for it

Fidelis

Meaning: Loyal
Pronunciation: fee-DAY-lees
What It Feels Like: the comfort of someone who never leaves, even in silence

Fortitudo

Meaning: Courage, strength
Pronunciation: for-tee-TOO-doh
What It Feels Like: standing tall when your knees want to give

Gratia

Meaning: Grace
Pronunciation: GRAH-tee-ah
What It Feels Like: the kind of beauty that has nothing to prove

Justitia

Meaning: Justice
Pronunciation: yoos-TEE-tee-ah
What It Feels Like: fairness wearing armor and carrying a calm voice

Libertas

Meaning: Freedom, liberty
Pronunciation: lee-BER-tas
What It Feels Like: wind in your face, choices in your hands

Mens

Meaning: Mind
Pronunciation: mens
What It Feels Like: the part of you that notices, questions, and chooses

Pax

Meaning: Peace
Pronunciation: pahks
What It Feels Like: quiet, stillness, a full breath

Quies

Meaning: Rest, quiet
Pronunciation: KWEE-ess
What It Feels Like: stillness that doesn’t need silence to exist

Sapientia

Meaning: Wisdom
Pronunciation: sah-pee-EN-tee-ah
What It Feels Like: knowing when to speak, and when to stay silent

Spes

Meaning: Hope
Pronunciation: spays
What It Feels Like: a flicker in the dark that doesn’t go out

Veritas

Meaning: Truth
Pronunciation: VEH-ri-tas
What It Feels Like: solid, sharp, and unshakeable

Virtus

Meaning: Virtue
Pronunciation: WEER-toos
What It Feels Like: doing the right thing, even when it’s hard and no one claps

Vox

Meaning: Voice
Pronunciation: vohks
What It Feels Like: your truth rising just when you thought you’d lost it

Funny and Unusual Latin Words and Phrases

Brutum Fulmen

Meaning: Senseless threat
Pronunciation: BROO-tum FOOL-men
What It Feels Like: thunder without the lightning, loud, but empty

Barba Tenus Sapientes

Meaning: Wise as far as his beard
Pronunciation: BAR-bah TEH-noos sah-pee-EN-tays
What It Feels Like: the kind of wisdom that disappears the second he starts talking

Latin is ancient, but it knows how to speak to us now. Pick one word that feels like home. Whisper it when the world gets loud. Or tattoo it somewhere only you can see.

These aren’t just beautiful Latin words; they’re reminders, intentions, tiny anchors.

If you enjoy discovering a new word every day, peek into my personal Word Ritual page. You might want to start your own.