Fluctuat nec mergitur

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Fluctuat nec mergitur (Classical Latin: flvctvat·nec·mergitvr) is a Latin phrase meaning "Tossed but not sunk". The motto has been used since at least 1358 by the city of Paris.

  • fluctuat: the verb fluctuāre in the third-person singular of the indicative present tense in the active voice. Fluctuāre means "to be wave-like", "move up and down"; of persons and passions, "to be tossed about", "to waver". In English the verb fluctuāre became fluctuate. The subject is not explicitly expressed, and can be inferred to be "he", "she" or "it". "She" is used in the English translation because ships and cities are traditionally regarded as feminine.
  • nec: contraction of neque, which is equivalent to et nōn, meaning "and not", "and does not", "and is not", "nor".
  • mergitur: the verb mergere in the third-person singular of the indicative present tense in the passive voice. Mergere means "to dip", "plunge into liquid", "immerse", "sink", "overwhelm". In English the verb mergere gave rise to merge as well as to submerge (literally "merge under", "sub-merge").

Motto of Paris

Fluctuat nec mergitur is the motto of Paris, France, translated "Il est battu par les flots, mais ne sombre pas": "She is tossed by the waves but does not sink". This motto is present in the city coat of arms depicting a ship floating on a rough sea. Both motto and city arms have their origins in the river Seine boatsman's corporation; this powerful hanse ruled the city's trade and commerce as early as the Roman era.[1][2]

Although this corporation through the centuries became an entity resembling more a municipal government than a trade organization, they maintained their original arms and motto, and it is for this that the Mairie de Paris bears them still today. It was made official on November 24, 1853 by the Baron Haussmann.[1]

The motto appears on the coat of arms of the City of Paris, as well as on the official livery of the Paris Fire Brigade. Following the November 2015 Paris attacks, the Latin-language motto had a surge in popularity and was used in social media as a symbol of Paris resistance in the face of terrorism.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons