iacta alea est

Latin

Alternative forms

ālea iacta est
jacta ālea est

Etymology

Grammatically incorrect translation, by Suetonius, of an Ancient Greek phrase by Menander, ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos, “let the die be cast”), quoted in its original language by Julius Caesar. A more accurate translation would be iacta alea esto.[1] See the die is cast for more.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈi̯ak.ta ˈaː.le.a est/, [ˈi̯äkt̪ä ˈäːɫ̪eä ɛs̠t̪]

(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈjak.ta ˈa.le.a est/, [ˈjäkt̪ä ˈäːleä ɛst̪]

Phrase

iacta ālea est

(idiomatic) the die is cast (the future is determined)

References

“ālĕa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

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