ipsissima verba

ipsissima verba

From Latin, meaning "the very words." Used especially in legal contexts in reference to quotations from an authoritative text.
1. noun The exact words of some piece of speech or text. The ipsissima verba of the court's ruling has been used as the standard by which all 50 states word their free-speech laws.
2. adverb In exactly the same words; verbatim. When pressed by the tribunal, the senator merely repeated ipsissima verba the statement he made earlier in the week.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • in so many words
  • in so/as many words
  • put (something) into words
  • put into words
  • exchange no more than
  • exchange no more than (an amount of) words
  • have no words for
  • have no words for (someone or something)
  • too (something) for words
  • too for words