Canis Latinicus: Difference between revisions

[[File:oots-fauxlatin_7043fauxlatin 7043.gif|link=The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|rightframe]]

{{quote|'''Mike:''' Lots of multi-syllabic non-words in this story?<br />

'''Kevin:''' Yeah, see they simply took Latin... and ruined it.|''[[Rifftrax]]'' of ''[[Harry Potter (Film)|Harry Potter]] and the Sorcerer's Stone''}}

In a show rife with magic users or scientific terminology, [[Altum Videtur|Latin is the gear of choice]]. It's exotic-sounding, it has a word for almost everything, and it's fairly well-known. With Latin by your side, you can spout off any string of awesomeness you want, and easily throw in a few less-than-Latin bits -- wantbits—want to name your New World Monkey "Callithrix [[George W. Bush|dubyabush]]?" Go for it!

But what happens when you run out of Latin? Or if your spell or radioactive element has some attribute that you don't know how to name? Well, just make up some new Latin! It's easy: take an English word -- anyword—any will do -- dropdo—drop any vowels from the end, and add ''-us'', ''-icus'', or ''-ium''. If you're naming a town, use the extension ''-opolis'' (although the extension is actually Greek, not Latin. Real Latin would have you using the extension ''-ium'' or ''-ia''). Ta-daa! Instant Latin! This use of Latin, as the trope name should indicate, is called "dog Latin." (Incidentally, the trope title is in fact real Latin...for "Latin dog." No, it doesn't make much sense, but [[Self-Demonstrating Article|that's rather the point]]. Plus, it sounds less like a porn actress than ''(Lingua) Latina Canina'', which is how "[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_latin:Dog latin|Dog Latin]]" would sound in ''real'' Latin.)

Greek is often used interchangeably with Latin for such purposes (as in the ''-opolis'' example above); few writers bother to make a distinction.

Sometimes a result of [[As Long Asas It Sounds Foreign]] and [[Did Not Do the Research]] (or [[They Just Didn't Care|Did Not Care]] With Research) A subtrope of [[Gratuitous Foreign Language]]. Compare with [[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe]]. Don't confuse it with [[Pig Latin|Igpay Atinlay]]. See also [[El Spanish -O]].

=== {{examples|Examplae ===}}

* Many of the episode titles in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima (Manga)|Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' are in Latin-ish. However, The original manga [[Shown Their Work|takes care to get all of its Latin, ancient Greek, and other languages correct, and has translations and commentary in the English-language Del Rey and Kodansha USA releases]].

* When she was composing a few of the songs for ''[[Aria (Manga)|Aria]]'', singer/actress Eri Kawai said in an interview that she wrote some of the lyrics using Italian/Latin-sounding gibberish. In particular, "''Barcarolle''", "''Loomis Etlune''", and "''Coccoro''".

* [[Played for Laughs]] in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', when England uses this trope, a red pentagram painted on the floor of his basement, candles and black robes to cast a spell.

* The ''[[Hellsing (Animeanime)|Hellsing]]'' OVAs give us [[Ominous Latin Chanting|"Gradus Vita"]]. [[Schmuck Bait|Try to find a translation of it.]]

** The classic "The Golden Helmet" introduces an alleged lawyer who supports all his claims with Latin-sounding phrases. For instance, when challenged to prove that his client is who he says he is, he replies nonchalantly, "''Flikkus flakkus fumlidium''," which he claims to mean "Can you prove he isn't?" And it's catching: later in the story one of Donald's nephews asks the others if they've had enough of this Dog Latin nonsense, to which his brother replies, "''Yeppus yappus yubettus.''"

* In the ''[[Mad Magazine|Mad]]'' parody of ''[[Mark Trail (Comic Strip)|Mark Trail]]'', Mark Trade is assigned to hunt down a "''Canis Bernardus Saintus''." Looking it up, he finds that it means a St. Bernard dog, and can't believe he'd be asked to kill his [[Canine Companion]] Sandy, who is one. He has Sandy stuffed anyway, since there's a $5000 reward.

* Once in ''[[Doonesbury (Comic Strip)|Doonesbury]]'', while Duke was ruling [[Qurac|Al-Amok]], he let it go to his head and demanded that Honey speak to him "in Latinum!" [[Deadpan Snarker|To which she replied, "Yessius, sirrus!"]]

* ''[[Potter Puppet Pals (Fanfic)|Potter Puppet Pals]]'' featured both ''Ronnicus explodicus'' and ''Pantiloonius poopicus''. Also ''Pituitarius shrinkidinkius''. And the words "lorem ipsum" appear in the Elder Swear.

* ''[[Monty PythonsPython's Life of Brian]]'' gives us another round of [[Punny Name|punny names]], such as [[Gag Penis|Biggus Dickus]] and his wife Incontinentia Buttocks. The trope as a whole, though, is parodied in the scene where a Roman centurion makes Brian painstakingly correct the grammar of his "Romans Go Home" graffiti. It is a perennial favorite among cool high-school Latin teachers (though he uses the term "locative" incorrectly).

* [[The Addams Family (TV)|motto from [[The Addams Family]] motto from(1991 film)|the 1991 film]], ''Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc'', allegedly meaning "we gladly feast on those who would subdue us". The correct Latin version of that motto would be something like ''Eīs quibus nōs doment, libenter epulēmur.''

* The mission scene in ''[[Beavis and Butt-HeadButthead]] [[The Movie|Do America]]'' has background music whose text, the score's composer admits in a DVD feature (and demonstrates in the manuscript score), runs: "''Scrotum agitato, Ignoramus, Genitilis longuis, Hemorrhidus burnum'' all day long."

* The [[Stoner Flick]] ''[[J-Men Forever!]]'' has the motto of the <s>G-Men</s> J-Men as "''U Cannabis Smokem''."

* The original version of Disney film ''The Shaggy Dog'' and its sequel ''The Shaggy DA'' had the incantation "in canis corpore transmuto" — &nbsp;which in real Latin would mean "I change into the body of a dog".

* The beginning of the escape sequence from ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'' has one of his [[Mooks]] pretending to be a priest giving him [[Last Rites (trope)|the last rites]]:

{{quote| '''Charley:''' ''Dominus vobiscum nabisco. Espiritu sanctum. De gustibus. Me gustibus. You gustibus. We missed the bus. They missed the bus. When's the next bus? Summa cum laude. Magna cum laude. The radio's too laude. Adeste fidelis. Centra fidelis. High fidelis. Post meridian. Ante meridian. Uncle meridian. All of the little meridians. Magna carta. Master charga. Dum procellas. Lotsa Vitalis.'' }}

* Most of the spells in ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'' were (loosely) based on Latin ("Expelliarmus", "Wingardium Leviosa", etc.) Most of them sounded decent, but occasionally one more obvious would enter the mix, such as "Petrificus Totalus" -- the—the Full Body Bind, or "Riddikulus", the spell to turn a Boggart into something hilarious. This becomes especially amusing in the audiobooks read by [[Stephen Fry]], who actually knows Latin. [[Genius Bonus|It's funny to hear him giving real pronunciation to fake words.]]

* The eponymous wizard in ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'' straight up admits he's using quasi-Latin or pseudo-Latin, in so many words, with spells like "Fuego!" for fire (when he needed [[More Dakka]] with it, we even got "Fuegoso! Pyrofuego!"), "Forzare!" for force and "Ventas servitas" for wind. They're his three favourite standby spells. The Faux-Latin words apparently are helpful foci for concentrating the energy that allows magic to happen. (Other wizards have been described as using Japanese, Sumerian, Greek, and Egyptian-based spell invocations in the books, but the exact words are not given.) In this particular case, it's important that he ''not'' use proper Latin words, because the words of a spell become inextricably bound with the use of magic in a wizard's mind -- andmind—and while he wouldn't run the risk of accidentally casting spells when simply speaking Latin<ref>which is the lingua franca of the wizarding community</ref>), Harry says that words in foreign, unfamiliar languages provide a sort of insulation from the raw power of a spell for a wizard's mind. One time in ''Fool Moon'' he cast a spell when he couldn't speak: The spell worked fine, but he was badly disoriented for some time after. Dresden's spell to light a roomful of candles was "Flickum bicus," a dog Latinization of the old "Flick a Bic" lighter jingle.

* Finding a mysterious fossil of a never-before-seen organism, one of the protagonists of [[Eric Flint]] and [[Ryk E. Spoor]]'s ''[[Boundary (Literature)|Boundary]]'' names it ''Bemmius secordi''. The ''secordi'' is for the Secord family, on whose land it was found. Only a few people catch on that the ''Bemmius'' is her covert reference to "Bug Eyed Monster", as she's convinced it's the fossil of an alien but dares not to say so openly.

* The ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' novels are primarily set in or around [[City of Adventure|Ankh-Morpork]], where Latatian, or "very bad doggy Latin", was the former language. As a result, the books have so many examples it almost qualifies for its own sub-page. A favorite joke of Pratchett's is to present English expressions in Latin, where they make no sense literally.

** This became a plot point in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Feet of Clay (novel)|Feet of Clay]],'' where the old-fashioned villain announced all of his plans through heraldry mottos that contained very bad Latin puns. If anyone on the Watch had been of a more punny disposition, they might have figured it out fifty pages in.

** ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Making Money|Making Money]]'' says that he rules the city by the law of ''Quia ego sic dico'', or "Because I say so." (Vetinari firmly believes in the "One Man, One Vote" system. He is The Man, so he has The Vote.)

** Occult uses of [[Canis Latinicus]] include the [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]] ''Liber Paginarum Fulvarum'', which translates as "The Book of Yellow Pages".

** The Fool's Guild has ''Dico, Dico, Dico'', or "I say, I say, I say" -- a—a classic stage performer's line.

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Jingo|Jingo]]'', a character received an honorary degree from [[Wizarding School|Unseen University]] entitled ''Doctorum Adamus cum Flabello Dulci''. {{spoiler|"Doctor of Sweet Fanny Adams", British slang for "nothing at all".}} Possibly a reference to [[Private Eye]]'s honorary degrees (see below).

** The motto of the extended [[Grim Reaper|Death]] family is ''Non Timetis Messor''. The literal translation is ''Have No Timidity Towards He Who Gathers The Harvest'', or in plain English, ''[[Blue OysterÖyster Cult (Music)|Don't Fear The Reaper]]''.

** Quoting this stuff is, of course, a favorite pastime of the Lawyers Guild and by extension, its head [[Amoral Attorney|Mr Slant]]. Amusingly a lot of what he says sounds like complete nonsense, like citing someone should be released from prison on the grounds of something that translates as "pockets full of fish", but it always has actual precedent in Ankh-Morpork law. (In that case, someone was thrown into a lake, but since their pockets filled with fish, the judge determined that the whole experience had been a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|net benefit]] and the thrower could not be prosecuted.) This is a thematic reference to real-world legal examples known by funny names, such as the "fertile octogenarian", the "unborn widow", and the "[[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|magical gravel pit]]". A technicality of inheritance law, known as the "rule against perpetuities", has spawned a number of such seeming absurdities.

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Night Watch (Discworld)|Night Watch]]'', Slant also has the line: "Ave! duci novo, similis duci seneci" ("Meet the new boss, same as the elder boss"). Which he then jokingly repeats as: "Ave! Bossa nova, similis bossa seneca". Yeah, that's right: [[[[Up to Eleven]] |Dog ''Latatian'']].

** One of the books is titled ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]]'' ("get the jugular" or "go for the throat") after the motto of a family of Vampires.

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Wee Free Men|The Wee Free Men]]'', {{spoiler|the talking toad}} translates the Feegles' [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]s into Latatian legalese to defend them from spectral lawyers conjured by the Queen of the Elves (entering a plea of ''vis-ne faciem capite repletam'', "would you like a face full of head?" and citing ''potest-ne mater tua suere, amice'', "can your mother sew, pal?")

** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Interesting Times|Interesting Times]]'', we get [[Fun Withwith Foreign Languages|a dodgy etymology]] of "teleport": "It comes from ''tele'', meaning 'I see,' and 'porte,' meaning 'to go,' the whole meaning 'I see it's gone.'"

* The poem "[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Motor_Bus:The Motor Bus|The Motor Bus]]" by A.D. Godley declines "motor bus" in every possible way as if it actually were a Latin noun phrase. Which, technically, it ''is'', except bus is a contraction of "omnibus", which is dative plural already -- thealready—the nominative singular would be "omnis". Chalk it up to poetic license.

* Being set in the ''[[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' universe, the ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' novels are similarly lousy with the stuff:

** ''Duty Calls'' takes place on Periremunda ("lost world") and includes a plateau named Aceralbaterra, which translates as Maple White Land, [[Genius Bonus|the name of the plateau in]] [[Arthur Conan Doyle (Creator)|Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''[[The Lost World (Literaturenovel)|The Lost World]]''. Bonus points because after being discovered by Acer Alba, Periremunda was rediscovered by "Magos Provocare," a name that could be rendered as "Professor Challenger."

* "Archaic" in [[The QueensQueen's Thief|Megan Whalen Turner's]] novels appears to be a mix of this and [[Gratuitous Greek|kyneio:s hellenizesthai]].

* Used deliberately in ''[[The Handmaids Tale (Literature)|The HandmaidsHandmaid's Tale]]'', when Offred discovered a scratched phrase in Latin -- "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum" -- in—in her room left by the previous Handmaid, a super big thing because women in Gilead aren't allowed to read or write. When she asks Fred what it means, he identifies it as an old Dog Latin joke -- translatedjoke—translated roughly as "[[Determinator|Don't let the bastards grind you down]]" -- and—and makes reference to a couple of other similar jokes. Of course, the meaning is far from a joke to Offred.

* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and ''[[Stargate Atlantis (TV)|Stargate Atlantis]]'', the Ancient language is quasi-Latin -- forLatin—for instance, the Ancient term for "Stargates" is "Astria Porta". The in-universe explanation is that it is actually Latin's mother tongue, even though the Ancients on Earth supposedly died out by 3,000 BC -- [[Did Not Do the Research|long before Latin began to form]]. [[A Wizard Did It|Although, one learns quickly to avoid thinking too hard about anything scientific when watching these shows.]]

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'' [[Subverted]] this by using (mostly) accurate Latin as the language of magic.

* ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' started out as an [[Aversion]], since the spells in the Book of Shadows were all in English and the sisters created their own spells in English as well. It was rife with it in later seasons, though. The episode "A Witch in Time" features a warlock whose spells are invented Latin words. ("Consilio"? (for "Conceal") "Incendiares globus"? "TELEPORTATO"?)

* ''[[The Colbert Report (TV)|The Colbert Report]]'''s motto for Stephen going to Iraq? What else: ''Veritasiness''.

* ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]''

{{quote| '''Shakespeare:''' "Banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee..." ''(he again looks to the Doctor)''<br />

'''The Doctor:''' Uh... ''(he looks to Martha)''<br />

'''Martha Jones:''' [[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Expelliarmus!]]<br />

'''The Doctor:''' Expelliarmus!<br />

'''Shakespeare:''' "Expelliarmus!"<br />

'''The Doctor:''' [[Shout -Out|Good old J.K.!]] }}

* Averted on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', since it's Old English instead of Latin used for the magic.

* The French [[Heavy Mithril|MithrilPop]] band ERA uses a fictional [[As Long Asas It Sounds Foreign|Latin / Romanesque-sounding]] language in practically all their songs.

* One [[Blue OysterÖyster Cult (Music)|Blue Oyster Cult]] album is titled "Cultosaurus Erectus".

* According to [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiemus |The Other Wiki]], composer Karl Jenkins had no idea that his Adiemus albums were (almost) named "we shall approach" in Latin. There are no actual lyrics on the albums, but vocalizations meant to function as part of the instrumental background.

* [[Older Than Steam]]: The first recorded use of "fuck" in the English language is a poem, "Flen flyys" ("Fleas and flies"). It's Bowdlerized by making the last two lines Canis Latinicus: "Non sunt in celi/quia '''fuccant''' uuiuys of heli" ("They are not in heaven / Who fuck the wives of Ely.") Believe it or not, some of the lesser known poems in the ''[[Carmina Burana (Music)|Carmina Burana]]'' use this form of Bowdlerization as well. (They didn't make it into the Orff version.)

* The Imperium of Man in the ''[[Warhammer 40000 (Tabletop Game)|Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' universe uses Dog Latin as a translation[[Translation conventionConvention]]<ref>[[Word of God]] has stated that it's not actually Dog Latin, but used to simulate what High Gothic would sound like to a Low Gothic speaker</ref> for High Gothic, an archaic language mainly used in formal settings.

** Some examples include the Adeptus Astartes ([[Space Marine|Space Marines]])Administratum, the Ecclesiarchy (priests), andthe Senatorum Imperialis, Departmento Munitorum (Military command & logistics) and Adeptus Mechanicus. Place names show this too, along with what seems to be a healthy dose of gallows humour among the harried explorers and colonists who found themselves stuck on the nastier ones in ancient times. Examples include the ice worlds Simia Orichalchae and Nusquam Fundumentibus (respectively, Dog Latin for "Brass Monkey" and "Arse End of Nowhere").

** Not all of the examples go down quite so easy, though --— takethere theare Administratum,Astra ExterminatusMilitarum (aka Imperial Guard), the SenatorumAdeptus ImperialisAstartes ([[Space Marine]]s). Then there are the various Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition, holysuch orders:as Ordo Mechanicus, Hereticus, and Ordo Xenos (dealinghunting withheresy and aliens respectively), Ordo Excorium - (oversees [[ExactlyIt's Whatthe ItOnly SaysWay Onto theBe TinSure|machinesExterminatus]]), hereticsOrdo Redactus (censorship), and aliens]],so respectively).on Double-dipped withand thethen there's Ordo Malleus, ostensibly named after "hammer"; the non-indicative name allowed to hide its true purpose, but it's also a reference to the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum (Literature)|Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (the Hammer of the Witches;), theeven bookthough used"Witchhunters" toare ''prove''Ordo thatHereticus. witchesOrders existedof andAdepta howSororitas to(nun dealsisterhoods) withthemselves them),are named colloquially (and callingeven yourselvestastefully), thebut ''Ordermain types of the Witches'' doesn'tthose reallyOrders giveare theMilitant, rightHospitaller impression. Thus(medics), theDialogous Order(linguists ofand thetranslators) Hammerand ''ofFamulous the(diplomats Witches''..and advisors).

* ''[[Vampire: The Requiem (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Requiem]]''

** ''Requiem in Rome'' puts a small [[Retcon]] on the former -- informer—in the Roman Empire, the Lancea Sanctum were ''Lancea et Sanctum'', but time and non-Latin-speaking vampires eventually warped the words. [[Did Not Do the Research|Except "Lancea et Sanctum" is even stranger]], as the they're supposed to be the the order of Longinus' ''sacred spear'' -- that—that is, his ''lancea sancta''. ''Lancea et Sanctum'' literally means "the lance/spear and the holy thing".

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]]''

* Third edition ''[[Rune Quest (Tabletop Game)|Rune QuestRuneQuest]]'' has this for nearly every monster. A notable example is Anatanthropus Donaldii, or "duck man from/of [[Donald Duck|Donald]]", for the Gloranthan race known as ducks.

* The unofficial "motto" of arcane casters on the Khyber server in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons Online (Video Game)|Dungeons and Dragons Online]]'' is "''Vene Vidi Igni''" -- which—which they translate as "I came, I saw, I set it on fire."

* ''[[Escape From Monkey Island (Video Game)|Escape Fromfrom Monkey Island]]'' has a bit of gratuitous Latin (the inscription on one pirate statue reads something like "Where is the booty?") This frustrates the main character, who eventually mutters something about wishing he had bought the ''Latin for Scummies'' book.

* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing (Video Game)|Kingdom of Loathing]]'' has some fun with this. During The Quest for the Holy [[MacGuffin]], you get a number of clues for various obstacles, some of which follow this trope. Such as:

{{quote| NOS NON NECESSITAS NULLAS AQUIA PERMISSIUM MATRISFORNICATIO EXURO<br />

** Bizarrely, ''[[The Sims Medieval (Video Game)|The Sims Medieval]]'', which you'd ''expect'' to use Dog Latin, hardly uses any.

* In the ''[[Halo (Video Gameseries)|Halo]]'' universe, all the Covenant species, in addition to having a nickname (e.g., "Elites") and a formal name ("Sangheili"), also have a faux-Latin scientific name ("Macto cognatus"). You can read all the names and the meanings behind them in [http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive29.pl?read=865756 this forum post].

* The names of the skills in ''[[Donkey Kong 64 (Video Game)|Donkey Kong 64]]'' have dog-Latin translations.

* ''[[Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'' mixes actual Latin with [[As Long Asas It Sounds Foreign|Latin-sounding gibberish]] and [[My Nayme Is|oddly]] [[Xtreme Kool Letterz|spelled]] words that might be Latin to provide us with "Nox Nyctores" (a type of weapons system) and "Arcus Diabolus Bolverk" (a variant of same). By contrast, "Novus Orbis Librarium" earns bonus points for being [[Shown Their Work|passable Latin]] for [[One World Order|"New World Library"]].

* ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]: Via Domus'' is an egregious example. In the game, Locke translates the [[Title Drop]] as "The Way Home," which is apparently what the game creators meant, except that it would be Via Domum. This is actually pretty funny when you realize that it's the same mistake as in ''Life of Brian'' above. Most people just call it ''Lost: The Game'' though, because that's funny too.

* ''[[Lost Souls MUD]]'' has lots of this flying around, especially in the names of the mage guilds -- Ordoguilds—Ordo Ignis Aeternis, Ordo Zephyrius Mutatoris, and the like.

* Of all the ''[[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]]'', only Oddish has a confirmed scientific name: "Oddium Wanderus".

* In ''[[Final Fantasy VIII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VIII]]'', the opening song is called "Liberi Fatali", intended to mean "children of fate" or "fated children". "Liberi" is a nominative plural noun meaning "children", which they got right. "Fatali" is a singular dative/ablative adjective whose root is "fatalis," or "fated," and while the word is right, the case and number are wrong, the proper phrase should be "Liberi Fatales" or "Liberi Fati." [[Word of God]] says that this was an oversight.

* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20141112001010/http://mdfs.net/Software/JSW/JGH/Screens/BigMap.htm Jet Set Willy]'' includes a room called [[In the Name of Thethe Moon|"Nomen Luni"]]. The correct Latin would be "Nomen ''Lunae''", since Luna is a feminine noun.

* The [[All in The Manual|manual]] for ''[[Command and& Conquer|Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun - Firestorm]]'' includes "scientific" notes of Dr. Boudreau. These notes have information on the new [[Green Rocks|tiberium]]-based lifeforms that have "evolved" in contaminated areas. One of these is commonly known as the tiberium fiend. The eggheads felt the need to label it Canis Tiberius, even though Boudreau herself points out that the fiend has nothing in common with canines, except looking vaguely similar. Dogs aren't generally known for shooting [[Green Rock]] spikes at you from their backs. They also aren't horse-sized.

* The Piranicus Giganticus (a giant Piranha Plant) from the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series games.

* ''[[Beyond Good and& Evil (Videovideo Gamegame)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' is full of these. All the [[Petting Zoo People]] have taxonomical names that ''end'' in ''Sapiens'' but are of different ''genus''; For example, Jade's "uncle", Pey'j, is a "Sus Sapiens" or "Wise Pig". Given that ''every single one'' of the Petting Zoo People are humanoid(two-handed bipeds), a more appropriate terminology would be in the vicinity of "Homo Sapiens Sus", or "Wise Pig ''Man''".

* ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|The Order of the Stick]]''

** Parodied with [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0253.html strip #253], where Larry Gardener (himself a parody of [[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]) casts ''Stoppus Badguyus''.

* From ''[[Loserz]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20110223183142/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/75 this strip, second panel]. Technically, that should be "{{spoiler|Slutta Maxima}}".'

* In ''[[The KA MicsKAMics]]'' we have the dinosaur [https://web.archive.org/web/20120607081911/http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/4770686/ Teinoknemesaurus kamus], the magic spells [https://web.archive.org/web/20120607082128/http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/4800312/ Petrifacto], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20120806003208/http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/4824803/ Unpetrifacto]

* ''[[Wizard School (Webcomic)|Wizard School]]'' parodies with, among other spells, [https://web.archive.org/web/20121105001210/http://www.meetmyminion.com/?p=1303 "Bastardized Latinium]."

* Abused in ''[[Open Blue (Roleplay)|Open Blue]]'' with everything related to the [[Precursors|Iormunean]] [[Ancient Rome|Imperium]]. Further abused by the self-proclaimed heir to the Imperium, the [[The Federation|Axifloan Coalition]].

* The American translation of ''[[Winx Club (Animation)|Winx Club]]'', [[Follow the Leader|probably trying to inspire comparisons to]] ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'', uses a Latin-based spell system (notably absent in both the Italian original and the British translation), giving us many such gems, including a one-time spell whose sole purpose was to turn a motorcycle into a pig. The incantation? "''Oinkus Interceptus''".

* The educational but mind-blowing cartoon ''[[Cyberchase (Animation)|Cyberchase]]'' includes a recurring location called Radopolis ([[Totally Radical|rad]]), ruled over by King Dudicus (dude). In case you couldn't guess, they were a [[Totally Radical]] [[Planet of Hats]].

* Many of ''[[Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner (Animation)|Wile E Coyote and The Road Runner]]'' cartoons in [[Looney Tunes]] introduce the pair with fake scientific names usually derived in this manner. Examples include ''Speedometrus Rapidus'' for the Roadrunner, and ''Famishus Famishus'' for the Coyote.

** Subverted in 2003's "Whizzard of Ow" in which the actual binomial names were used: ''Canis Latrans'' for the Coyote (Noisy dog -- ironicdog—ironic when you realize Wile E. almost never speaks), ''Geococcyx Californianus'' for the Road-runner (Californian Cuckoo that runs on land).

* ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]''

* Kid Icarus of ''[[Captain N: theThe Game Master]]'' establishes his overwhelming Roman-ness (Greek-ness?) by [[Verbal Tic|ending random words]] with "-icus".

* ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]''

* One episode of ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]'' begins by identifying Control Freak (Couchus Potaticus) and Beast Boy ([[Animorphism|Animalus Switcheroonium]]). [[Whole-Plot Reference|And then it just keeps on going]] [[Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner (Animation)|like that]].

* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''

** In one episode, Twilight Sparkle attempts to study Pinkie Pie's strange abilities, and dubs her subject "Pinkius pieicus" (based on the humor of the episode, most certainly another ''[[Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner (Animation)|Wile E Coyote and The Road Runner]]'' [[Homage]]).

* The VST synthesizer [http://www.soniccharge.com/synplant Synplant] is supposed to represent an "organic" mode of creating sounds -- hencesounds—hence, randomly-generated patches are created with a randomly-generated name made out of random Latin words, to sound like plants. The one on the website is "Quorum Inedicabilis", both of which are real words, but have little to do with the sound of a synthesizer.

** ''[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigiphilus_garylarsoni:Strigiphilus garylarsoni|Strigiphilus garylarsoni]]'', a biting louse named for the cartoonist of ''[[The Far Side]]'', is only one example.

** Larson also got another honor, but not in a species' name. See the [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/:Thagomizer |Thagomizer]] on [[That Other Wiki]].

** Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits has the [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20190713051631/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/01/25/wknop25%2Fnews%2F2001%2F01%2F25%2Fwknop25.xml Masiakasaurus knopfleri] named after him (prompting many jokes about being an aging rock dinosaur)

** John Cleese has [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Bemaraha_Woolly_Lemur:Bemaraha Woolly Lemur|a lemur]] named after him. As far as cuteness goes, he wins.

** Musician Sting has an Amazonian tree frog named after him--Dendropsophushim—Dendropsophus stingi.

** A species of mushroom has been named ''[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13874049 Spongiforma squarepantsii]'' in homage to ''[[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]''.

** There is a genus of dinosaur known as [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/:Gojirasaurus |Gojirasaurus]]. Yes, named after '''that''' [[Godzilla|Gojira]].

** Same goes for ''[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracorex_Hogwartsia:Dracorex Hogwartsia|Dracorex hogwartsia]]'' (which has been suggested in recent years to be just a juvenile ''Pachycephalosaurus''), whose name roughly means "Dragon King of [[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Hogwarts]]."

* Elements get "ium." A number of naturally-occuring elements, plus all of the transuranic elements--elementselements—elements with atomic numbers higher than uranium's 92, which are mostly synthesized in laboratories--fitlaboratories—fit this: einsteinium, californium, berkelium... the list goes on. Most famously, two different groups of scientists synthesized elements 93 and 94 independently, and both independently came up with the names "neptunium" and "plutonium" (to follow element 92, uranium, as Pluto was the ninth planet at the time).

** 19th-century British chemist Humphry Davy settled first on "alumium," then on "aluminum," for the element he was trying to isolate. [[The Other Wiki]] quotes the ''Quarterly Review'' as being the first to insist on calling in aluminium, "in preference to aluminum, [[Rule of Cool|which has a less classical sound]]." But "aluminum" had already taken off in some circles, and today it keeps us [[Separated Byby a Common Language]]. The spelling "aluminium" was made standard by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (which is the international body about, well, chemistry) in exchange for accepting the American spelling "sulfur" as opposed to the British "sulphur."

** The same goes for "automobile"--the—the name ought to have been either "ipsomobile", or "autokineton". In Modern Greek, it is indeed a αυτοκίνητο.

** René Descartes Latinized his name as Renatus Cartesius. Hence the term "[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/:Cartesian |Cartesian]]" for anything to do with him.

** Carl von Linne Latinized his name as Carolus Linnaeus. He started the binomial nomenclature system in Latin, since Latin was a dead language that did not evolve.

* [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_Ipsum:Lorem Ipsum|Lorem Ipsum]] was originally actual Latin, but the present form has bits removed, in order to create a homogeneous-looking text with as little actual content as possible. This is so typesetters can concentrate on the layout of the text without being distracted by the meaning.

* ''Nil Illegitimi Carborundum'', and many of its other [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegitimi_non_carborundum:Illegitimi non carborundum|variants]], crop up in fiction from time to time; but the phrase dates back to the real [[World War II]]. This is somewhat annoying, since the actual Latin for a similar expression would be ''Noli nothi permittere te terere'', which is actually kind of catchy (particularly if you try saying it with a vaguely Italian accent).

*** Actually means Country Dick. Or Dick and Adjoining Farm.

* A common phrase that Latin scholars will hear from many non-Latin scholars is "Semper ubi sub ubi", which is jibberish when translated directly. The English translation is "Always where under where", but obviously sounds like "Always wear underwear." However, to many a Latin lover, this gets ''really'' old after awhile.

** The last one is technically correct,<ref>Except for the dropped copula, but that's acceptable in Vulgar Latin</ref>, but "penis" is a surprisingly non-obscene word in Latin, not to mention that it can mean a lot of ''other'' things as well, so the phrase falls somewhat short of its intended meaning. For it to be true to its intent it should be "verpa canina", which indeed means "dog's dick".

* Japanese artist Yuki Kajiura uses faux Latin (amongst other languages) in many of her songs, filtered through her Japanese accent and the general rule of making it sound lyrically appropriate above all else, to the point that a fan nickname has been made for it--theit—the "Kajiuran" language. It's complete gibberish and not an actual [[Con Lang]] per se, but sounds cool and gives her songs a distinct sound.

* In the history of the Modern Greek language, there was a period called Katharevousa, which sought to purify the language of non-Greek influences and to adequately hellenize foreign place names. However, this was done in a rather haphazard manner, sometimes in ignorance of the actual Greek names that places already had. One of simplest ways to adapt place names was to calque Latin script spellings to Greek letters (actual letter pronunciation differences be damned), and add the feminine suffix -η (-i), or to change a feminine-looking -a to -η. Barcelona, Spain was rehellenized as Βαρκελώνη (Varkeloni), in ignorance that the classical language already had a name for this -- Βαρκινώνthis—Βαρκινών (Barkinōn). It could get rather silly with place names of much more recent origin; Boston became Βοστώνη (Vostoni), Frankfurt became Φραγκφούρτη (Fragkfourti), etc. Katharevousa Greek ceased being an official language anywhere by 1982, and now the more usual practice is to adapt foreign names phonetically in pronunciation and spelling, such as Tόκυο for Tokyo. Meanwhile, many naturally-evolved Greek words for (now-)foreign place names are kept, such as Ἀγκυρα (Agkyra) for Ankara, Turkey, which was Ankūra in classical times.

[[Category:Trope Names Fromfrom Other LanguagesLatin]]

[[Category:CanisSelf-Demonstrating LatinicusArticle]]