vade mecum

WOTD - 16 January 2006    

English

Etymology

From the Latin vāde (“go!, walk!”), the second-person singular present active imperative of vādō (“I go, I walk”) + mēcum (“with me”), literally meaning "go with me!".

Noun

vade mecum (plural vade mecums)

1. A referential book such as a handbook or manual.
2. A useful object, constantly carried on one’s person.

Translations

referential book

Finnish: käsikirja (fi) Icelandic: handbók (is) f., vasakver (is) n., uppsláttarkver (is) n.

Spanish: vademécum (es) m., manual (es) m.

useful object

Icelandic: handargagn (is) n., handhægur hlutur (is) m.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: vade-mecum m. German: Vademecum n. Portuguese: vademécum m.