Bryan Garner's Usage Tip: sine die

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Smarter words.

sine die

sine die (= without a day being fixed) is used to indicate that no date has been set for resumption. The phrase is OFFICIALESE for “indefinitely.” E.g.: “The court adjourned sine die.” Appointment of Iredell, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 400, 400 (1790) (term notation). Sine die is used exclusively in reference to adjournment taken with no date set for resumption of the proceedings or meeting. A linguist complains that the phrase is “horribly mispronounced to the point where the first part sounds like the trigonometric function and the second like a synonym for ‘perish.’ ” Mario Pei, Words in Sheep’s Clothing 83 (1969). But /si-ni di-ee/ has long been established as the usual English-language pronunciation. Even so, /see-nay dee-ay/ is common in British English.

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