regina regit colorem
Latin
Etymology
Literally, “The Queen rules [her own] colour”, or more loosely translated as “the Queen takes her own colour”. From the fact that, in chess, the white Queen always starts the game on the white file d1, and black Queen starts on the black file d8.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈre.ɡi.na ˈre.ɡit ˈko.lo.rem/, [ˈrɛɡɪnä ˈrɛɡɪt̪ ˈkɔɫ̪ɔrɛ̃ˑ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈre.d͡ʒi.na ˈre.d͡ʒit ˈko.lo.rem/, [ˈrɛːd͡ʒinä ˈrɛːd͡ʒit̪ ˈkɔːlorem]
Phrase
rēgīna regit colōrem
- (chess) the Queen in chess, always starts on the colour of its own.