What does the Canadian motto "A Mari Usque ad Mare" mean?
May 24 - Victoria Day in Canada
A Mari Usque Ad Mare is the Canadian national motto. The phrase comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 72:8 in the Bible:
"Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae"
(King James Bible: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth").
A Mari Usque ad Mare, means “From sea to sea."
More Info:
wikipedia.moesalih.com
What are your thoughts on this subject?
55 Comments
Fred Keogh
A little bit of Latin helps.
Sean Philips
Jeanzi Nancy Szur, it’s Latin not French 🙄🙄🙄
Sergey Boev
That was easy. Mare is Latin for sea, the Romans called Mediterranean Sea “Mare nostrum”
bonniecardona
Yay for my homeland!!
Wyla Reedy
I wish I had taken Latin in Middle school. I took Shop to learn to build.
Rob Farr
Thanks … good trivia question and explanation.
Linda Sullivan
Actually, from sea to sea to shining sea! We have 3 seas!
Marianne Frederick Halterman
As in, from sea to shining sea!
Gordon MacKrith
It's a Latin motto that describes our Canadian limits very well.
Michele Barnett
Thank you, High School Latin classes!
Howard Groopman
Didn't hurt to know that the word for sea is mer in French and mar in Spanish.
Emm Yo
It certainly does. Latine te amo. 😊Fred Keogh,
michael d engels
It now should be from sea to sea to sea... as the Arctic Sea becomes ever more important...
hector tubens
Mar in Spanish means sea.
Ilias Tsiabardas
Got it ,because I live Here in Montreal Quebec Canada ,And Canada is bilingual
Cari G.
Good trivia. Of course, I am biased.
silrem
Needs more illumination of the Psalm. Mare is sea in French from Latin. Mari is husband in French but is also a grammatical form of Mare in Latin. Phrase was Latin and had 2 Cs, thus, from sea and to sea. In high school I took German, French, Latin and English, which helps on this site.
Joseph A. Robitaille
Sea to Sea is Mari and Mare.