quos ego

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word quos ego. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word quos ego, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say quos ego in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word quos ego you have here. The definition of the word quos ego will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofquos ego, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

French

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin quōs ego (literally you whom I ...), the beginning of a verse in Virgil's Aeneid (I, 135), where Neptune, the Roman god of the Sea, berates the winds, whom Juno released to start a storm and harass the Trojan hero and protagonist Aeneas, for causing a storm without his approval.

Neptune starts uttering a threat to the disobedient and rebellious winds (ventī quōs ego, literally “you winds whom I...”), but breaks himself off midstream:

Iam caelum terramque meō sine nūmine, ventī,
miscēre et tantās audētis tollere mōlēs?
quōs ego— sed mōtōs praestat compōnere flūctūs.

Now, winds, you dare to embroil the sky and the earth without my approval,
and raise up such a mass?
You whom I— But it is better to settle the agitated waves.

Virgil's phrase is an example of the figure of speech called aposiopesis.

Pronunciation

Noun

quos ego m (plural quos ego)

  1. (literary) words uttered by a powerful person to assert their authority; plea or threat
    • 1886, Julle Vallès, L'Insurgé:
      Seulement, cette philosophie ne fait pas le compte des autoritaires, qui ne veulent pas avoir l’air de céder à la populace et qui ont envie de jouer au Jupiter tonnant, lançant des Quos ego devant lesquels se retireraient, la crête basse, les flots qui moutonnent.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1875, Pierre Véron, Le Panthéon de poche:
      CHANGARNIER – A commencé sa carrière par une retraite intrépide. Que ne l’a-t-il terminée par une retraite intelligente ? Aujourd’hui, quand il prend des attitudes de héros parlementaire, et veut entre deux quintes lancer un quos ego à la liberté, il donne tristement raison à celui qui le définissait: —Une vieillerie qui se prend pour une antiquité.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

See also