ne plus ultra

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY
January 28, 2024
 
 
 
ne plus ultra

 
noun | nay-plus-UL-truh
 
What It Means
 
Ne plus ultra refers to the highest point of development or success that something may achieve; it is a synonym of acme.
 
// The company’s latest electric car is being hailed as the ne plus ultra of automotive achievement.
 
Examples of NE PLUS ULTRA
 
"Vanilla is earthy. It’s ethereal. It’s exotic. It’s indispensable in some recipes and, when added to others on a whim, seems essential. … The ne plus ultra of flavoring." — Dorie Greenspan, Food52.com, 25 Feb. 2022
 

Did You Know?
 
It is the height, the zenith, the ultimate, the crown, the pinnacle. It is the peak, the summit, the crest, the high-water mark. All these expressions, of course, mean "the highest point attainable." But ne plus ultra may top them all when it comes to expressing in a sophisticated way that something is the pink of perfection. It is said that the term's predecessor, non plus ultra, was inscribed on the Pillars of Heracles at the Strait of Gibraltar, which marked the western end of the classical world. The phrase served as a warning: "(Let there) not (be) more (sailing) beyond." The New Latin version ne plus ultra, meaning "(go) no more beyond," found its way into English in the early 1600s.