Vobiscum

Vobiscum is a Latin phrase meaning "with you." It is formed from cum, meaning "with," combined with the second-person pronoun vos in a fused form that yields vobiscum. In classical and medieval Latin, vobiscum appears in various expressions, but it is best known today from Christian liturgy.

In religious usage, vobiscum is most famous in the formula Dominus vobiscum, traditionally spoken by the priest to the congregation during Mass and other services. The customary response from the people is Et cum spiritu tuo, meaning "And with your spirit." The phrase functions as a blessing or invocation, asserting the presence of the Lord with the assembly. The form and ritual have remained central in the Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church, and they have influenced Anglican and some Lutheran liturgical traditions where Latin phrases or their vernacular equivalents are used.

Outside liturgy, vobiscum is primarily encountered in Latin prose and poetry as a general means of saying "with you," though the fused form is far more common in ecclesiastical contexts. In modern usage, the familiar liturgical line Dominus vobiscum remains a recognizable example of the phrase in Christianity, while the broader expression continues to be understood in its basic sense of accompaniment or blessing.

See also: Latin pronouns, cum, ecclesiastical Latin, liturgical formulas.