Idioms are phrases usually presenting a non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases become figurative idioms while transferring the literal meaning of the phrase. As they are considered a formulaic language, idioms’ figurative meaning is different from their literal meaning.

Some idiomatic expressions were meant literally in their original use. Sometimes, the attribution of the literal meaning changed, and the phrase itself moved away from its original root. This way, many idioms got closer to folk etymology. Due to this phenomenon, we can learn about new cultures by learning their idiomatic expressions.

Although there are literal-meaning idioms, many of them are deliberately figurative. For instance, the Italian idiom ‘bocca lupo’ is an expression people use to wish a person good luck. Why a wolf? As we know, a similar idiom exists in French, which belongs to the same language family as Italian.

Idioms frequently occur in all languages. In English alone, there are millions of idiomatic expressions. Now we will not talk about English idioms and expressions. We will check some Latin phrases and their meanings in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. After reading this text, you can try to find the same expressions in English or look for them in your mother tongue. So, let’s take a look at a few examples.

Some examples

• Barba non facit philosophum.
  Bosnian/Croatian: Brada ne čini filozofa.
  Serbian: Brada ne čini filozofa.
• Canterio vectum post mulum conscendere.
  Bosnian/Croatian: (Sjahati) s konja na magarca.
  Serbian: (Sjahati) s konja na magarca.
• Cava ab homine unius libri.
  Bosnian/Croatian: Čuvaj se čovjeka koji je pročitao samo jednu knjigu.
  Serbian: Čuvaj se čoveka koji je pročitao samo jednu knjigu.
• Duabus sellis sedere.
  Bosnian/Croatian: Sjediti na dvije stolice.
  Serbian: Sedeti na dve stolice.
• Ex socio cognoscitur vir.
  Bosnian/Croatian: S kim si onakav si.
  Serbian: S kim si onakav si.

Let’s try to find these phrases in your first language. If you are my learner, you can send it via Slack and you can provide a short explanation in the language you learn with me. If you are just a passenger here, feel free to drop a message.

NOTICE: This text is not peer-reviewed. It aims to inspire and motivate language learners of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian to think about possible cultural patterns when learning this/these language(s).