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.
2. Expressing concern that one's limited time is being consumed by something which may have little intrinsic substance or importance at that moment.

Translations

time flies — see time flies

Further reading

• tempus fugit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

---

Latin

Pronunciation

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

Phrase

tempus fugit

1. Time flies