Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur
“The unborn child is treated as already born.”
Legal maxim derived from Roman law
What does “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur” mean?
Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur translates as “The unborn child is treated as already born.”
In law, a child still in the womb is regarded as born whenever this benefits the child, for example in inheritance. The principle still shapes the rights of the unborn in many civil-law systems.
“Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Nasciturus | about to be born, the unborn child | nominative singular masculine of the future active participle of nascor, “I am born”; used here as a noun meaning “one who is going to be born” |
| pro | as, in place of | preposition taking the ablative; “pro iam nato” means “in place of one already born” |
| iam | already | adverb, “now, already” |
| nato | born, one who has been born | ablative singular masculine of the perfect participle of nascor, “I am born”; used as a noun, “a person already born” |
| habetur | is held, is treated | third person singular present passive indicative of habeo, “I have, I consider” |
How to pronounce “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur”
The main differences are in nasciturus, where the classical sc is “sk” and the church sc before i is “sh”, and in habetur, where classical e sounds like “ay” and church e like “eh”. Stress falls on -TU- in nasciturus and on -BE- in habetur.
The story behind it
Word for word the maxim says “the one about to be born is held as already born”. It is a legal fiction: the law treats the child in the womb as a person in a specific, limited way.
The idea summarises rules found in Roman law and preserved in Justinian’s Digest, the sixth-century compilation of Roman legal writings. The full form of the maxim adds “whenever its interests are concerned” (quotiens de commodis eius agitur), which limits the fiction to cases that benefit the child.
The principle lives on in civil-law systems, where it is typically applied to inheritance and similar questions of rights, and it is still quoted in family-law and inheritance-law teaching.
How to use “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur”
Best suited to law-school notes, a family-law or inheritance-law study guide, or an essay on the legal status of the unborn child. It is a technical legal maxim, so it fits academic and legal writing better than a personal motto or caption.
- Latin
- Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur
- English
- The unborn child is treated as already born.
- Source
- Legal maxim derived from Roman law
- Era
- Legal Latin
- Theme
- Law
Common mistakes
- It does not say that an unborn child has every right of a born person. The full maxim limits the rule to cases where the child’s interests are at stake.
- Nasciturus is a future participle (“about to be born”), not a plain adjective, so it is not the same as natus (“born”).
- Keep habetur in the passive. Changing it to habet (“he has”) turns the sentence into something else.
- It is a later legal summary of Roman rules, not a sentence quoted word for word from a Roman author.
Questions about “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur”
What does “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur” mean literally?
“The one about to be born is held as already born.” It is a legal fiction that treats the child in the womb as born when that benefits the child.
Where does “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur” come from?
It is a legal maxim derived from rules in Roman law, preserved in Justinian’s Digest. The maxim itself is a later summary, not a quotation from one Roman text.
What is the full form of the maxim?
The full form adds “quotiens de commodis eius agitur”, meaning “whenever its interests are concerned”. This limits the rule to situations that benefit the child.
How do you pronounce “Nasciturus pro iam nato habetur”?
In Classical Latin: nas-kih-TOO-roos proh YAHM NAH-toh hah-BAY-toor. In Church Latin the sc in nasciturus becomes “sh”.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
Related Latin quotes
One Latin line. Every Monday.
A quote, its translation and the story behind it, free in your inbox.