If 'persona non grata' is 'an unwelcome person', then can 'a beloved person' be something beginning with 'persona.....' as well? I'm thinking of a name for my short story, and want to have a bit of wordplay with the phrase 'persona non grata', so I'm looking for the word/phrase that has a familiar beginning yet contradicts in the end. But if that's not how it's supposed to be, I'm open to other suggestions. Would appreciate your advice. Thank you!
2007-10-29 23:17:24 · 3 answers · asked by shousei 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Simplest (and correct Latin) is 'Persona Grata' - just take out the 'non', the negative word, and it becomes positive.
As used in the phrase, 'grata' means 'welcome' - a person not welcome (literal), or an unwelcome person. Deleting the 'non' makes it a welcome person.
2007-10-30 00:53:50 · answer #1 · answered by dollhaus 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As suggested elsewhere, "persona grata" could be used.
However if you want to play with the phrase you could try "persona non ingrata" which retains the "non" but cancels its effect by ending with the opposite of "grata".
Ingrata can mean unpleasant,disagreeable whereas non ingrata suggests not unpleasant, acceptable.
2007-10-30 13:38:25 · answer #2 · answered by zlevad 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
persona amata
That was the first thing that came to my mind when I read the question, but dollhaus and zlevad have covered the options that are closest to the Latin phrase. Amata means loved.
2007-10-31 00:38:46 · answer #3 · answered by Jeannie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋