ipsissima verba
Americanadverb
noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of ipsissima verba
First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin ipsissima, neuter plural of ipsissimus “the very same” (superlative of ipse “oneself, the very one”) + verba, plural of verbum “word”; cf. ipso facto ( def. ), verbal ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We have the ipsissima verba, the exact words of Jesus.
From Time Magazine Archive
I wish I had the ipsissima verba of it, for it seemed to be characterised by an admirable simplicity and directness.
From Recollections With Photogravure Portrait of the Author and a number of Original Letters, of which one by George Meredith and another by Robert Louis Stevenson are reproduced in facsimile by Murray, David Christie
In reporting conversations, for instance, I do not profess to reproduce the ipsissima verba of the speakers, but merely to give the effect and purport of their discourses.
From The Gerrard Street Mystery and Other Weird Tales by Dent, John Charles
Many an argument at the bar, however, is ruined by an excessive anxiety to repeat the ipsissima verba of some ancient opinion, when the soul of it is the only thing of value.
From The American Judiciary by Baldwin, Simeon E., LLD
It is difficult to convey the peculiar intonation of the Worcestershire villager's voice, and the ipsissima verba I have given in my anecdotes lose a good deal in reading by anyone unacquainted with their method.
From Grain and Chaff from an English Manor by Savory, Arthur H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
