From Experience... in Latin.

November 19, 2013 1:09 PM

If I want to say "From experience" in Latin, what's the best way to say it? Right now I'm thinking "Ab expertus."

For context, I'd like to use it in a company name.

posted by heliostatic to Writing & Language (8 answers total)

Best answer: Well it would definitely be ab something. I think it'd be Ab experientia, though. You could also use Ab usus but you probably don't want your company name to sound like abuse.
posted by troika at 1:14 PM on November 19, 2013

Best answer: The Latin term a posteriori (the opposite of a priori) is used philosophically to indicate things known from experience. If you want to go for a translation, ab experientia would work.
posted by graymouser at 1:32 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Experto crede can be translated as "trust the expert" or "have faith in experience."
posted by brentajones at 1:39 PM on November 19, 2013

Experentia docet- experience teaches is probably too well known for use in a company name. Something using magister/ magistra possibly? I'm thinking here of the second half of "magister rerum usus; magistra rerum experientia." Use is the master of things, experience is the teacher of things.
posted by susiswimmer at 3:28 PM on November 19, 2013

I think you're after the ablative absolute in this instance -- for which you do not need "ab" or anything else.
posted by gsh at 4:10 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: OK, I'm glad there's someone else who thinks it should just be experientiā. I think my second choice would be per experientiam.
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 6:06 PM on November 19, 2013

Best answer: An ablative absolute has a subject and a predicate, so this wouldn't be that; but yes, probably a simple ablative experientiā would be the natural Latin way of saying this. "Ab expertus" is ungrammatical, so don't use that.
posted by zeri at 8:03 PM on November 19, 2013

Response by poster: Thank you all for the excellent answers. My faith in the green is always warranted.
posted by heliostatic at 7:38 PM on November 20, 2013