Latin quote · Law

Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero

“He who speaks of one thing denies the other.”

Legal maxim

Translation

What does “Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero” mean?

Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero translates as “He who speaks of one thing denies the other.”

When a text expressly mentions one case, it implicitly excludes the others it does not mention. Lawyers still use this rule to read contracts and statutes carefully.

Word by word

“Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero” word by word

Latin	English	Grammar
Qui	who, he who	nominative singular masculine of the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod; subject of dicit
dicit	speaks, says	third person singular present active indicative of dico, “to say, to speak”
de	about, of	preposition that takes the ablative
uno	one (thing)	ablative singular, here neuter, of unus, “one”; follows de
negat	denies	third person singular present active indicative of nego, “to deny”
de	about, of	preposition that takes the ablative
altero	the other	ablative singular, here neuter, of alter, “the other (of two)”; follows de

Pronunciation

How to pronounce “Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero”

Classical Latinkwee DEE-kit deh OO-noh NEH-gat deh AL-teh-roh

Church Latinkwee DEE-chit deh OO-noh NEH-gat deh AL-teh-roh

The two systems differ only in the c of dicit: hard k in Classical, ch in Church Latin. Stress falls on the first syllable of dicit, uno, negat and altero.

Origin & context

The story behind it

Word for word the maxim says “who speaks of one, denies of the other”. Unus and alter are best read as neuter, meaning one thing and the other thing. The English translation given here already supplies that sense.

It is a maxim of legal interpretation, a short rule of thumb for reading texts. It is closely related to the better-known expressio unius est exclusio alterius, “the mention of one is the exclusion of the other”, and the two are used for the same idea.

The reasoning is that a drafter who names one case on purpose is taken to have left out the cases not named. Lawyers and judges still apply this kind of reasoning to contracts, wills and statutes, though it is only a guide and gives way to clear evidence of what the drafter meant.

When to use it

How to use “Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero”

Fits an epigraph for a contract-drafting guide, a lecture or essay on statutory interpretation, or a law-school notes page. It suits settings where careful reading of what a text says and leaves out is the point.

Latin: Qui dicit de uno, negat de altero
English: He who speaks of one thing denies the other.
Source: Legal maxim
Era: Legal Latin
Theme: Law

Good to know

Common mistakes

It is a rule for reading texts, not a rule of logic. Naming one thing does not always exclude the others, and courts treat it as a presumption that can be overridden.
Do not read it as a statement about people, as if someone who praises one person condemns another. It concerns the wording of a text.
It is often confused with, or quoted in place of, expressio unius est exclusio alterius. They express the same idea but are different wordings.
Do not change the endings casually: uno and altero are ablatives after de, and swapping them for other cases would make the Latin wrong.

FAQ