tempus fugit

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tempus fugit, from the third book of the Georgics by the Roman poet Virgil (70–19 BCE): sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus (“meanwhile, the irreplaceable time escapes”, literally “but it flees meanwhile: irretrievable time flees”).

Proverb

tempus fugit

1. (phrasal) Synonym of time flies.
   • 1908, Percy Keese Fitzhugh, King Time: Or The Mystical Land of the Hours, a Fantasy, New York and Boston: H.M. Caldwell Company, page 181:

     Suddenly the assemblage began to sing. "Let the flag of the kingdom, so graceful and fair, / Be raised while its citizens sing, / 'Hurrah! Tempus Fugit!' the national air, / And kneel to our glorious king!

2. Expressing concern that one's limited time is being consumed by something which may have little intrinsic substance or importance at that moment; often, synonym of life is short.

Translations

time flies — see time flies

Further reading

• tempus fugit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtem.pus ˈfu.ɡit/, [ˈt̪ɛmpʊs̠ ˈfʊɡɪt̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtem.pus ˈfu.d͡ʒit/, [ˈt̪ɛmpus ˈfuːd͡ʒit̪]

Phrase

tempus fugit

1. Time flies