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Fate vobis (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːte ˈvɔːbis]) is a playful Italian phrase based on Latin. This dog Latin phrase can be translated as "do as you wish", "do it by yourself". Grammatically speaking, this expression is composed of fate [ˈfaːte], meaning "do" in Italian and corresponding to facite [ˈfakite] in Latin, and vōbīs [ˈu̯oːbiːs̠], Latin for "to you". Fate is the second-person imperative form of Italian fare, meaning "to do"; while vōbīs is the dative and ablative form of Latin vōs [u̯oːs̠], which is the second-person plural pronoun (plural you). It is a jokey expression, whose goal is to ask the interlocutor to do as he better thinks.[1] Its origin is unknown, but it has been used since the 19th century. It is found in The Little World of the Past by Antonio Fogazzaro, published in 1895. Its first use in macaronic Latin seems to be fate vobis et favorite miki (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfäte ˈvɔːbis et fävoˈrite ˈmiːki]), meaning "do as you like and favor me", so "do what is better for me".[2]
See also
edit- Medieval Latin
- Italian language
- Syntax
References
editBibliography
edit- Fumagalli, Giuseppe (1987). L'ape latina. Dizionarietto di 2948 sentenze, proverbi, motti, divise, frasi e locuzioni latine, ecc. Milan: Hoepli.
- Sartor Ceciliot, Mario (1995). "I latinismi liturgici nei dialetti". Studi mediolatini e volgari. 41: 113–125.
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