what does this mean in latin
2007-02-09 02:43:07 · 2 answers · asked by colonel 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Tau is not Latin - it is Greek, the letter "Tau" corresponding to the Latin letter te (T). The so called Latin cross is the T-shaped cross that you can see at http://symbols.com/encyclopedia/04/0447.html . "Cross" in Latin is "crux".
To add to the confusion, TAU is also an abbreviation for Tel Aviv University!
ET is Latin, meaning "and".
Fiat is also Latin, meaning "let there be", "may it happen" like in "fiat lux" - let there be light. So "tau et fiat" makes no sense. "T and may it be". It looks like a rebus to me. I¨'m actually thinking of cars...Taunus and Fiat! - Or could it be a typo, or a corrupt text? If you could tell us more about the context - where you found this text, and what comes before and after the words - it would be helpful.
2007-02-09 05:17:47 · answer #1 · answered by AskAsk 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tau is latin for " cross ", ET is " and ", fiat is " order, or decree ".
I really don't know how you would put that together for a sentence. Tau is also the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet.
2007-02-09 03:26:20 · answer #2 · answered by The Count 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋