laudator temporis acti

Definition

Noun (singular; plural: laudatores temporis acti): - A person who praises past times: "laudator temporis acti" refers to someone who habitually extols or glorifies the past, often in contrast to the present, and frequently with nostalgic fondness for their own earlier life or bygone eras.

Usage Examples

• (A person who praises past times, especially in a nostalgic manner.)
• (Someone who idealizes the past.)

Advanced Usage

• As a literary or rhetorical term: This phrase is borrowed directly from Latin and is often used in formal or academic writing to describe a character or viewpoint that romanticizes history.
  • In his essay, the author dismisses his critics as mere laudatores temporis acti who refuse to accept progress. (Critics who unreasonably praise the past.)

Variants and Related Words

• Laudator (n): a person who praises or extols (from Latin , to praise). This word is rare in modern English but appears in formal contexts.
  • He was a great laudator of classical music. (A person who praises it highly.)
• Temporis acti (Latin phrase): "of times past"; not used independently in English.

Synonyms

• Nostalgist: a person who feels or expresses nostalgia for the past.
• Traditionalist: someone who upholds or advocates for past customs and values.
• Antiquarian: a person who studies or collects old things, sometimes with excessive admiration.

Related Idioms

• The good old days: a common phrase used by a to refer to a past period they consider better.
  • Every laudator temporis acti speaks fondly of the good old days. (A nostalgic reference to a past time.)
• Nostalgia isn't what it used to be: a humorous saying that ironically plays on the idea of praising the past.
  • A true laudator temporis acti might claim that nostalgia isn't what it used to be. (A witty remark on the tendency to idealize the past.)