IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchCarpe diem
Meaning: Make the most of the present rather than counting on the future.
Literally: Seize the day
Example: “Il a vendu son appartement pour faire le tour du monde : carpe diem, dit-il.” — He sold his apartment to travel around the world: seize the day, he says.
English equivalent: Seize the day
Equivalents in other languages
English: seize the day
Origin: From Horace's Odes, book I, poem 11, where the full line adds quam minimum credula postero — putting as little trust as possible in tomorrow. The abbreviation has made it sound more hedonistic than the original, which is chiefly about uncertainty.
More French idioms
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- Être sujet à caution To be unreliable; not to be taken at face value.
- Caviarder un texte To censor a piece of writing by blacking out passages.
- Se serrer la ceinture To economize and go without.
- La femme de César ne doit pas être soupçonnée Those in public office must be above even the appearance of wrongdoing.
- Se réduire comme une peau de chagrin To dwindle away steadily until nothing is left.
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