carpe diem

English

WOTD – 9 January 2013

Etymology

From Latin carpe diem (“seize the day”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkɑː.peɪ ˈdiː.əm/
• IPA^(key): /ˌkɑɹ.peɪ ˈdi.əm/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (AU):

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Proverb

carpe diem

1. Seize the day; make the most of today; enjoy the present.
   • 1905, G. K. Chesterton, Heretics‎^[1], New York: John Lane, →OL:

     It is the carpe diem religion; but the carpe diem religion is not the religion of happy people, but of very unhappy people.

   • 2007 July 30, Lee Harris, “Can Carpe Diem Societies Survive?”, in The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam's Threat to the West, New York: Basic Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 241:

     Indeed, in an extreme carpe diem society, children are raised without being given any sense that they have a transgenerational duty to the as yet unborn— the duty to leave them a better world.

   • 2011 January 29, “Rollercoaster: The Musical!” (“Carpe Diem” (song)), in Phineas and Ferb, season 2, episode 38:

     Just grab those opportunities when you see 'em / Cause every day's a brand new day, you gotta carpe diem

Synonyms

• gather rosebuds
• take the cash and let the credit go

Related terms

• carpe diem cras

Translations

seize the day

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 及時行樂／及时行乐 (zh) (jíshíxínglè), 及时行乐 (zh) (jíshíxínglè), 把握今朝 (bǎ wò jīnzhāo), (literary) 花開堪折直須折／花开堪折直须折 (huā kāi kān zhé zhí xū zhé), 花开堪折直须折 (huā kāi kān zhé zhí xū zhé)

• Danish: fang dagen
• Dutch: pluk de dag
• Finnish: tartu hetkeen
• French: cueille le jour, carpe diem (fr)
• German: Nutze den Tag
• Hebrew: קרפה דיים
• Indonesian: raih hari ini
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: cogli l'attimo, vivere alla giornata
• Norwegian: grip dagen
• Polish: chwytaj dzień
• Portuguese: carpe diem
• Russian: лови́ моме́нт (loví momént)
• Slovene: užij dan
• Spanish: disfruta el momento, carpe diem
• Swedish: fånga dagen (sv)
• Turkish: günü yakala, anı yaşa, günü yaşa, gündegün

See also

• take the bull by the horns
• the world is one's oyster
• YOLO
• Category:Carpe diem on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

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Latin

Etymology

From Horace, Odes I.xi.8: Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero, meaning “seize the day while trusting little on what tomorrow might bring”.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkar.pe ˈdi.em/, [ˈkärpɛ ˈd̪iɛ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkar.pe ˈdi.em/, [ˈkärpe ˈd̪iːem]

Phrase

carpe diem

1. carpe diem, seize the day

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Portuguese

Proverb

carpe diem

1. seize the day (enjoy the present)