ne plus ultra
Appearance
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Latin nē plūs ultrā.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]ne plus ultra (plural ne plus ultras)
- The highest, ultimate point of achievement which can be reached; perfection.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 74:
- Suppers were the ne plus ultra of human invention; it could go no further, and was obliged to degenerate; dinner is too much matter of business, it is a necessity: now, a necessity is too like a duty ever to be pleasant.
- November 30, 2014, Julia Kavanagh, Rome: The ‘ne plus ultra’ of Art[1]
- It doesn’t get any better than this because Rome, like Florence, is the ne plus ultra of art.
- The perfect or most extreme example of its kind; the ultimate.
- (rare) A prohibition against proceeding further; an insuperable obstacle or limiting condition.
Translations
[edit]Translations
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Latin
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Ellipsis of a subjunctive verb like prōgrediāris (“may you advance”); or reinterpreted as a negative result clause with ellipsis of fierī possit (“so that ... is impossible”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /neː pluːs ˈul.traː/, [neː pɫ̪uːs̠ ˈʊɫ̪t̪räː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ne plus ˈul.tra/, [nɛː plus ˈul̪t̪rä]
Phrase
[edit]- Alternative form of nōn plūs ultrā (“A warning to not go beyond a certain point.”)