extrema ratio

== Italian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from Latin extrēma ratiō, a variant of ultima ratiō, from the phrase ultima ratiō rēgum (“last resort of the kings”) that King Louis XIV of France had inscribed on the cannons made in 1650, and the similar one, ultima ratiō rēgis (“last resort of the king”), put by King Frederick II of Prussia on cannons after 1742, both almost certainly inspired by Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer Pedro Calderón de la Barca, who, in one of his works of comedy, defined artillery as ultima razón de Reyes (“last resort of kings”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /eksˈtrɛ.ma ˈrat.t͡sjo/ Rhymes: -attsjo Hyphenation: ex‧trè‧ma‧rà‧tio === Noun === extrema ratio f (invariable) last resort Synonyms: (uncommon) ultima ratio, ultima spiaggia === Further reading === extrema ratio in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana