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 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.

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

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