�Cockalorum�

The moment that I saw this word I knew that it had Latin origins.  We, the English, are so used to meeting Latin in our language � �Mutatis mutandis; caveat emptor; spaghetti al dente� and other similar legal phrases, that we recognise them instantly.

However, English has not always been a major World Language.

Centuries ago, Greek and Latin were the dominant languages.  They both competed in the World Language Cup Final, with a narrow win for Greece 1 Iota: Rome Nil.

Unfortunately, England was eliminated in the First Round, losing to Malta (Melita) on a Penalty shoot-out.

It was the Roman, Julius Caesar, who brought Latin, (and ice-cream) to the British Isles, with his rallying cry: �Vini, Vidi, Vici!� which translates as �I came, I saw, I conquered�.  The Spanish adopted this and altered it to: �I came, I saw, I congad�.

�Cock al orum� is the anglicised version of the phrase �Quogue al orum�, which was shouted by Roman publicans in taverns (tavernas) at closing time.  The phrase translates as: �Also at the hour�, or more  colloquially: �Now is the hour�.

It exists in French as �Alors!�; in Italian as �Allora!�; and in Spanish as �Ahora!�

Initially, Julius Caesar ruled England with an iron hand, but after he underwent the drastic Chinese �One Chopstick Diet�, his health began to fail and he lost power.

The English originally retained the first word of the phrase, �Quocque al orum� because they thought that it sounded educated, similar to �Quadrangle�, �Qualified�, and �Quorn�.  Then they realised that it sounded slightly vulgar, so the phrase was no longer used.