quot homines tot sententiæ

English

Alternative forms
Alternative forms
  • quot homines, tot sentenciæ (obsolete)
  • quot homines tot sententiae
  • quot homines tot sententiæ
  • quot homines, tot sententiae
  • quot homines, tot sententiæ
  • tot homines quot sententiæ

Etymology

From Latin, echoing line 454 of Terence’s Phormio:[1] quot (“how many”) + hominēs (“men”, “people”; nominative plural form of homō: “man”, “person”) + tot (“so many”) + sententiae (“opinions”, “thoughts”; nominative plural form of sententia: “opinion”, “thought”).

Pronunciation
  • (Latinate) IPA(key): [ˌkʷot ˈhomineːs ˌtot senˈtentiai]
  • (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kwŏt' hŏʹmĭnāz tŏt' sĕntĕnʹtĭī, IPA(key): /ˌkwɒt ˈhɒmɪneɪz ˌtɒt sɛnˈtɛntɪaɪ/
  • (US) enPR: kwŏt' hŏʹmĭnāz tŏt' sĕntĕnʹtiī', IPA(key): /ˌkwɑt ˈhɑmɪneɪz ˌtɑt sɛnˈtɛntiˌaɪ/

Phrase

quot homines tot sententiæ

  1. There are as many opinions as there are people who hold them.
    • 1995, Brian Vickers, William Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, page 133:
      Different auditors, as he observes, have different habitudes; so that, were we to put this assertion to the proof by particular applications, we should possibly find quot homines tot sententiæ.

References
  1. Phormio, by Terence (161 BC), line 454
      quot homines tot sententiae: suo’ quoique mos
        as many men, so many minds: to every one his own way
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