vae victis

[ wahy -wik-tees; English vee -vik-tis ]

/ ˈwaɪ ˈwɪk tis; English ˈvi ˈvɪk tɪs /

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woe to the vanquished.

QUIZZES

Shall we compare this quiz to a summer's day? Probably not, but it is a fun quest to see how informed you are on a wide range of poetry terms.

Question 1 of 7

This term means the "arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses." What is it?

Cvis qudam innoxius, cu fundus in agr Albn erat, cum legns prscrptrum nmina s quoque vidret scrptum, Vae inquit miser mihi4!
Selections from Viri Romae|Charles Franois L'Homond
You are sure to lose it; you haven't a dog's chance, and the English despise the beaten—væ victis!
Oscar Wilde, Volume 1 (of 2)|Frank Harris
Hor., ‘Victis partibus, venia inpetrata, scriptum quaestorium comparavit.’
The Student's Companion to Latin Authors|George Middleton
A disaster always evokes a cry for victims, and the British populace were loud in the usual v victis clamour.
History of the Zulu War|A. Wilmot

The most generally accepted opinion is, that it is derived from a Latin expression--vemi (vae mihi), "woe is me!"
Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period|Paul Lacroix