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Verba

Verba is a Latin word meaning words. It is the neuter plural form of verbum, the standard Latin noun for a “word.” In classical and medieval Latin, verba functions as a noun referring to spoken or written words and can appear as either the subject or object in sentences.

The phrase verba volant, scripta manent, a common Latin proverb preserved in many languages, contrasts spoken

In modern usage, verba is primarily encountered within Latin quotations, mottos, or academic writing that cites

See also: verbum, verbiage, verbal, Latin language, phonology and morphology.

words
(verba)
with
written
words
(scriptum).
In
linguistic
and
grammatical
discussions,
verba
is
used
to
discuss
language
at
the
level
of
individual
words
rather
than
broader
concepts
or
ideas
(which
Latin
uses
res
to
denote).
The
term
also
appears
in
scholarly
discussions
of
rhetoric
and
philology,
where
Latin
terms
are
cited
to
illustrate
linguistic
phenomena
or
quotations.
classical
sources.
It
is
not
typically
used
as
an
English
word
outside
of
borrowed
or
archived
Latin
phrases,
but
it
can
appear
in
discussions
of
Latin
grammar,
liturgy,
or
legal
and
theological
Latin
where
the
literal
words
of
a
text
are
being
referred
to.