A.Word.A.Day

ne plus ultra

PRONUNCIATION:

(NE ploos OOL-trah, NEE/NAY pluhs uhl-truh)

MEANING:

noun: The ultimate or the perfect example of something.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin, literally, not further beyond. Earliest documented use: 1637.

NOTES:

It's said that the Pillars of Hercules at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar had this Latin phrase inscribed. It served as a warning to sailors not to go beyond the limit of the known world. The national motto of Spain, on the other hand, is "Plus ultra".

USAGE:

"The greatest car in the world, the automotive ne plus ultra."

Jonathan Carroll; The Ghost in Love; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: