carpe diem

1786, Latin, “enjoy the day,” literally “pluck the day (while it is ripe),” an aphorism from Horace (“Odes” I.xi), from PIE *kerp- “to gather, pluck, harvest” (see harvest (n.)).

Latin for “Seize the day”: take full advantage of present opportunities. This sentiment is found not only in classical literature but in much of English literature as well (see “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may” and “Had we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, Lady, were no crime.”)

Enjoy the present and don’t worry about the future, as in It’s a beautiful day, so forget tomorrow’s test—carpe diem! Latin for “seize the day,” an aphorism found in the Roman writer Horace’s Odes, this phrase has been used in English since the early 1800s.