Latin quote · Love

Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium

“A woman either loves or hates; there is no third option.”

Publilius Syrus, Sententiae

Translation

What does “Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium” mean?

Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium translates as “A woman either loves or hates; there is no third option.”

Strong feelings leave no middle ground. It reflects an ancient (and debatable) view of passion.

Word by word

“Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium” word by word

Latin	English	Grammar
Aut	either	a conjunction; aut … aut means “either … or”, setting up two exclusive options
amat	loves	3rd person singular present indicative active of amo, “I love”
aut	or	second aut of the pair, introducing the other option
odit	hates	3rd person singular of odi, “I hate”; this verb is perfect in form but present in meaning
mulier	woman	nominative singular of mulier, mulieris (f.), “woman”; the subject of both verbs
nil	nothing	short form of nihil; here the subject of est, “nothing is”
est	is	3rd person singular present indicative of sum, “I am”
tertium	a third	nominative neuter singular of tertius, “third”; “a third (thing)”, agreeing with nil

Pronunciation

How to pronounce “Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium”

Classical Latinowt AH-maht owt OH-dit MOO-lee-er neel est TER-tee-oom

Church Latinowt AH-maht owt OH-dit MOO-lee-er neel est TER-tsee-oom

The two systems differ only in tertium: Classical has a hard t (TER-tee-oom), Church Latin has ts (TER-tsee-oom). Aut is said like “owt” in both, and the stress falls on AH in amat and OH in odit.

Origin & context

The story behind it

Word for word the line says “either she loves or she hates, a woman; nothing is a third”. It belongs to the Sententiae, a collection of one-line maxims attributed to Publilius Syrus, a first-century BC writer of mimes.

Syrus was said to have been brought to Italy as a slave and to have won fame on the Roman stage. His lines were collected and later used as school texts, and many of them are short, blunt generalisations like this one.

The line works as a gnomic saying: it states a supposed rule about human nature rather than reporting a single case. Today it is mostly quoted as a historical example of how ancient writers generalised about women, rather than as a statement anyone defends.

When to use it

How to use “Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium”

Best suited to a discussion of ancient attitudes to gender, or a close reading of Roman maxims and their rhetoric. It is not a good choice for a tattoo or motto, since it makes a sweeping claim about women that many readers will find offensive.

Latin: Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium
English: A woman either loves or hates; there is no third option.
Source: Publilius Syrus, Sententiae
Era: Classical
Theme: Love

Good to know

Common mistakes

It is not a neutral truth: it is one ancient writer’s generalisation, and a debatable one, so present it as a historical view.
Do not read aut … aut as “and … and”. It means “either … or”, an exclusive choice between two options.
Odit looks like a past tense because odi is a perfect-form verb, but it means “hates” in the present, not “hated”.
Nil is simply a short form of nihil, “nothing”, not a separate word.

FAQ

Questions about “Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium”

What does “Aut amat aut odit mulier, nil est tertium” mean literally?

“Either she loves or she hates, a woman; there is nothing third.” In smoother English: a woman either loves or hates, with no middle ground.

Who said “Aut amat aut odit mulier”?

It comes from the Sententiae attributed to Publilius Syrus, a Roman mime writer of the first century BC.

How do you pronounce “Aut amat aut odit mulier”?

In Classical Latin: owt AH-maht owt OH-dit MOO-lee-er. In Church Latin it sounds almost the same; only tertium changes, to TER-tsee-oom.

Is “Aut amat aut odit mulier” a good tattoo quote?

The Latin is correct, but the meaning is a sweeping and contested claim about women. Many people would read it as sexist, so think about how it will be taken.

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