sola bona quae honesta

English translation: Honesty above all

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Latin term or phrase:	sola bona quae honesta
English translation:	Honesty above all
Entered by:	Egmont

18:29 Mar 18, 2002

Latin to English translations [Non-PRO]
/ Family Ancestry

Latin term or phrase: sola bona quae honesta

My husband's family has an old coat of arms with this latin phrase on it. I have been having trouble mostly with 'sola' and cannot piece together the entire phrase from just dictionary translations. The closest I have come is 'possessions'-'the things we must have'-and 'honorable'. Any help in finding out what the phrase means would be wonderful. Thank you kindly in advance.

Tori M.S. Michael

Honesty above all

Explanation:
Also see here:

The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname - ARCHER
... The Crest was: A dragon's head emerging from a crown. The ancient family Motto for
this distinguished name is: "Sola bona quae honesta". " HONESTY ABOVE ALL". ...

www.archercousins.com/archer/history.htm

Selected response from:

Olga Simon
Hungary
Local time: 13:08

Grading comment

Thank you so much! That is correct, the coat of arms IS Archer! Now I can let the family know what it means, and let our beautiful son know what the Archer stands for-his middle name. Thanks again!
Tori M.S. Michael
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +2

The only good things are the honorable ones

Flavio Ferri-Benedetti

5 +1

Honesty above all

Olga Simon

Answers

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

The only good things are the honorable ones

Explanation:
Dear Tori,

this is very simple. Tipically as in Latin, there is no verb, which seems to be a "sum" construction.

Sola: just, only (neuter plural!)
Bona: good things (neuter plural!)
Quae: which are (neuter plural!)
Honesta: honorable things (neuter plural!)

Hope it helps :)
Flavio

Disctinction in Latin

Flavio Ferri-Benedetti
Switzerland
Local time: 13:08
Native speaker of:

Italian,

Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 155

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Honesty above all

Olga Simon
Hungary
Local time: 13:08
Native speaker of:

Russian

Grading comment

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

sola bona quae honesta

English translation: Honesty above all

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

sola bona quae honesta

English translation: Honesty above all

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language