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.
    • 1908, Percy Keese Fitzhugh, King Time: Or The Mystical Land of the Hours, a Fantasy, New York and Boston: H.M. Caldwell Company, page 181:
      Suddenly the assemblage began to sing. "Let the flag of the kingdom, so graceful and fair, / Be raised while its citizens sing, / 'Hurrah! Tempus Fugit!' the national air, / And kneel to our glorious king!
  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

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
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