Latin's a dead language/As dead as it could be. /It killed off all the Romans,/ and now it's killing me.

Those of you who took Latin in high school or college have no doubt heard the poem above. Many were the days I sat in the beatific Mrs. Alma Doyle's classroom at DVCS and conjugated Latin verbs.

It was in Latin class that I learned about first, second, and third persons. We conjugated love thusly: Amo (I love), amas (you love), amat (he, she, it loves). Amamus (we love), amatis (you love), amant (they love).

Thank you, dear Mrs. Doyle, and thank you, Latin, for helping me get a glimpse inside this useful language which is found everywhere

Recently, however, I was reading an article on the difficulties of proofreading, and I saw a Latin phrase with which I was unfamiliar. The author mentioned alapsus calami. This, of course, sent me on an internet investigation which led me down the Latin rabbit hole, which led me to realize anew that Latin is everywhere.

And if you were lucky enough to have a Mrs. Doyle in your high school years, you certainly had a leg up on understanding all the Latin around us.

So back to my search for the elusive lapsus calami. I was aware of a lapsus linguae, a slip of the tongue, and was to learn that a lapsus calami is a slip of the pen, i.e. an error in writing.

Well, once started on my Latinesque journey, I realized that we bump into wonderful Latin phrases every day. Below, a small compendium. I urge you to find some more!

While we're on Lapsus, we also have a lapsus manus (a slip of the hand), lapsus memoriae (lapse of memory) and lapsus nivium (an avalanche!).

Then we have some caves to explore. Cave Canem means Beware the Dog, so if you see this sign in front of a gate, take heed. Caveat Emptor means let the buyer beware. Always good advice. And then, one might take heed of any caveats, or warnings.

On to the pers. There is a per diem (by the day) employee, who might receive a set salary per annum (by the year). The per capita (by the head) income of such employees might be unfair, per se (by itself).

Then we have the post. Post means after, which explains words we often hear. Postpartum (after one has had a baby), post bellum (after war). Ante means before, as in antebellum, which means before the war, usually referring to before the US Civil War. Think Scarlett O'Hara going to Twelve Oaks for a party. She was an antebellum belle.

And pax means peace. Those who remember Catholic masses in Latin will know pax vobiscum (peace be with you). As well as sursum corda (raise up your hearts). And mea culpa (my fault). Though not Catholic, I do remember attending beautiful Latin masses in the sanctuary at St. Joseph's Seraphic Seminary.

A persona non grata is a person not welcome or acceptable, while persona grata is the opposite. A rara avis, or rare bird, is a person quite unique.

And have you ever noticed that those ad hoc (for this purpose) committee meetings seem to go on ad infinitum (forever)? It's enough to make one reach foraqua vitae (the water of life, aka alcohol).

Latin is the ne plus ultra (best) of languages, the sine qua non of medical and legal terms. So I don't say Requiescat in Pace (Rest in Peace, RIP), but Ave, ad Latinum (Hail to Latin)!