ne plus ultra

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nē plūs ultrā.

Pronunciation

• enPR: /nē' plŭs ŭl'trə/

Noun

ne plus ultra (plural ne plus ultras)

1. The highest, ultimate point of achievement which can be reached; perfection.
   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 74:

     Suppers were the ne plus ultra of human invention; it could go no further, and was obliged to degenerate; dinner is too much matter of business, it is a necessity: now, a necessity is too like a duty ever to be pleasant.

   • November 30, 2014, Julia Kavanagh, Rome: The ‘ne plus ultra’ of Art[1]

     It doesn’t get any better than this because Rome, like Florence, is the ne plus ultra of art.

2. The perfect or most extreme example of its kind; the ultimate.
3. (rare) A prohibition against proceeding further; an insuperable obstacle or limiting condition.

Translations

Translations

• French: nec plus ultra (fr) m

Latin

Etymology

Ellipsis of a subjunctive verb like prōgrediāris (“may you advance”); or reinterpreted as a negative result clause with ellipsis of fierī possit (“so that ... is impossible”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /neː pluːs ˈul.traː/, [neː pɫ̪uːs̠ ˈʊɫ̪t̪räː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ne plus ˈul.tra/, [nɛː plus ˈul̪t̪rä]

Phrase

nē plūs ultra

1. Alternative form of nōn plūs ultrā (“A warning to not go beyond a certain point.”)