ultima ratio

== English == === Etymology === From Latin [Term?]. === Noun === ultima ratio (uncountable) (law) legal philosophy under which penal redress to crime should only be used as a measure of last resort == Italian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from Latin ultima ratiō, from the phrase ultima ratiō rēgum (“last resort of the kings”) that King Louis XIV of France had cast 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): /ˈul.ti.ma ˈrat.t͡sjo/ Rhymes: -attsjo Hyphenation: ùl‧ti‧ma‧rà‧tio === Noun === ultima ratio f (invariable) (uncommon) last resort Synonym: extrema ratio === Further reading === ultima ratio in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana