ipsissima verba

American  

[ip-sis-si-mah wer-bah, ip-sis-uh-muh vur-buh] / ɪpˈsɪs sɪˌmɑ ˈwɛr bɑ, ɪpˈsɪs ə mə ˈvɜr bə /

adverb

1. with the very words; verbatim.

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noun

1. the very words.

ipsissima verba British  

/ ɪpˈsɪsɪmə ˈvɜːbə /

plural noun

1. the very words; verbatim

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Etymology

Origin of ipsissima verba

First recorded in 1800–10; from Latin ipsissima, neuter plural of ipsissimus “the very same” (superlative of ipse “oneself, the very one”) + verba, plural of verbum “word”; cf. ipso facto ( def. ), verbal ( def. )

Example Sentences

We have the ipsissima verba, the exact words of Jesus.

From Time Magazine Archive

The translations I have given are sometimes paraphrastic, and virtually contain glosses or interpretations which make it necessary to warn the reader against regarding them as in every case Dante's ipsissima verba.

From Dante Six Sermons by Wicksteed, Philip H.

I cannot of course always, or even often, vouch for the ipsissima verba; and some few explanatory sentences I have been obliged to add.

From The Eclipse of Faith Or, A Visit To A Religious Sceptic by Rogers, Henry

I have not by me the ipsissima verba; nor can I get them now, as I am very far from Doctors' Commons.

From The Bertrams by Trollope, Anthony

It might be wholly in vain to fall back upon the ipsissima verba of the revelation made by the sailor's friend.

From The Testimony of the Rocks or, Geology in Its Bearings on the Two Theologies, Natural and Revealed by Miller, Hugh