Ibis redibis nunquam per bella peribis


Ibis redibis nunquam per bella peribis is a Latin phrase, often used to illustrate the meaning of syntactic ambiguity to students of either Latin or linguistics. Traditionally, it is attributed to the oracles of Dodona. The phrase is thought to have been uttered to a general consulting the oracle about his fate in an upcoming battle. The sentence is crafted in a way that without punctuation, it can be interpreted in two significantly different ways.

Meanings and translation

Meaning "you will go, you will return, never in war will you perish". The other possibility is the exact opposite in meaning:
That is: "you will go, you will never return, in war you will perish".

Greek parallel

A Greek parallel expression with the same meaning is also current: ἤξεις ἀφήξεις, οὐ θνήξεις ἐν πολέμῳ. While Greek authorities have in the past assumed this was the original Dodona oracle, no ancient instance of the expression is attested, and a future form corresponding to the rhyming θνήξεις is first attested from the reign of Nero. The Greek expression is therefore likeliest a modern back-translation from the Latin.

Contemporary usage

To say that something is an ibis redibis, usually in the context of legal documents, is to say that its wording is confusing or ambiguous.