Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis
“Time slips away, and we grow old with silent years.”
Ovid, Fasti 6.771
What does “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis” mean?
Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis translates as “Time slips away, and we grow old with silent years.”
Age comes quietly. We do not notice the years passing until they are gone.
“Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Tempora | times, the seasons of time | nominative plural neuter of tempus, temporis, “time”; subject of labuntur |
| labuntur | slip away, glide by | third person plural present indicative of labor, labi, “I slip, glide” (a deponent verb: passive form, active meaning) |
| tacitisque | and with silent | tacitis is ablative plural masculine of tacitus, “silent, unspoken”; the ending -que means “and” and attaches to the word it follows |
| senescimus | we grow old | first person plural present indicative active of senesco, senescere, “I grow old” |
| annis | with years, as the years pass | ablative plural of annus, “year”; ablative of means or manner, with the adjective tacitis |
How to pronounce “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis”
The differences are the c in tacitis (hard k in Classical, ch in Church) and the sc in senescimus (sk-, then sh- before i in Church). The ae/oe sounds do not occur here. The stress falls on the second syllable of labuntur, the third of tacitisque and the third of senescimus.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “the times slip away, and we grow old with silent years”. The verb labor, “to slip or glide”, is also used of flowing water, which gives the line its sense of time running away unnoticed.
It comes from Ovid’s Fasti, an elegiac poem on the Roman calendar that follows the festivals and sacred days month by month. Ovid wrote it in the early first century AD, and the line appears near the end of the sixth book, which covers June.
Later readers took it out of its calendar setting and treated it as a general reflection on ageing. In that form it fits a long classical tradition of poems about the swift passing of time, such as Horace’s “Eheu fugaces”.
How to use “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis”
A fitting caption for a birthday, anniversary or milestone, a line for a card to someone growing older, or a reflective tattoo or desk motto about time passing. It suits a quiet, thoughtful mood rather than a rousing one.
- Latin
- Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis
- English
- Time slips away, and we grow old with silent years.
- Source
- Ovid, Fasti 6.771
- Era
- Classical
- Theme
- Time
Common mistakes
- Do not read tacitis as an adjective for tempora. It agrees with annis, so the silent ones are the years, not the times.
- Tempora is plural, “times” or “seasons”, and the verb labuntur is plural too. Changing it to the singular tempus requires changing the verb to labitur.
- The ending -que in tacitisque is attached to tacitis and means “and”. It is not part of the adjective, so do not drop or alter it when copying the line.
- Some versions on the internet are shortened to Tempora labuntur alone. That loses the second half about growing old.
Questions about “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis”
What does “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis” mean literally?
“The times slip away, and we grow old with silent years.” It says that time passes and we age without noticing it.
Who said “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis”?
The Roman poet Ovid, in his Fasti 6.771, a poem about the Roman calendar written in the early first century AD.
How do you pronounce “Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis”?
Classical: TEM-poh-rah lah-BOON-toor tah-kee-TEES-kweh seh-neh-SKEE-moos AN-nees. In Church Latin, the c sounds like ch.
Is “Tempora labuntur” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes. The full line is correct as it stands. If you want to use only the first two words, “Tempora labuntur” (“time slips away”), it still works as a complete phrase.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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