seize the day en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Calque of Latin carpe diem, originally meaning "enjoy the day", literally "pluck (or harvest) the day", from a poem by the ancient poet Horace. In Latin, it was common to use carpo (“to pluck something, pick off”) metaphorically to express enjoying a period of time. The use of seize is a traditional mistranslation originating from a confusion with cape, singular imperative of capio (“to seize something, grab”).
Meanings
- (idiomatic) To enjoy the present and not worry about the future; to live for the moment.
- (idiomatic) To make the most of today by achieving fulfillment in a philosophical or spiritual sense.
-
(idiomatic) To attack the day's efforts with vigor and purpose.
IN toasting the beginning of a new relationship between China and the United States in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing twenty years ago, I quoted from a poem in which Mao Zedong exhorted his followers to work for the victory of communism: "So many deeds cry out to be done always urgently. The world rolls on. Time passes. Seize the day. Seize the hour." Today, as we celebrate the defeat of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and the defeat of aggression in the Persian Gulf, many deeds remain to be done abroad and at home. We must seize the moment to win victory for peace and freedom in the world.
1992, Richard Nixon, “The Real World”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 13–14:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| seized the day | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| seized the day | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| seizes the day | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| seizing the day | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Relateds
yesterday is gone · you only go around once · you only live once · YOLO · stop and smell the roses · tomorrow never comes
Synonyms
carpe diem (live for the moment) · gather rosebuds (live for the moment)
Translations (19)
pt aproveita o momento (enjoy the present) · nl pluk de dag (enjoy the present) · sv fånga dagen (enjoy the present) · pt carpe diem (enjoy the present) · pl chwytaj dzień (enjoy the present) · tr günü yakala (enjoy the present) · ru лови́ моме́нт (enjoy the present) · pt colhe o dia (enjoy the present) · de nutze den Tag (enjoy the present) · hu élj a mának (enjoy the present) · es aprovechar el día (enjoy the present) · cmn 花開堪折直須折 /花开堪折直须折 (enjoy the present) · fi tartu hetkeen (enjoy the present) · no gripe dagen (enjoy the present) · is gríptu daginn (enjoy the present) · la carpe diem (enjoy the present) · fr carpe diem (enjoy the present) · fr cueillir le jour (enjoy the present) · it cogliere l'attimo (enjoy the present)