''Amicus usque ad aras'' is a Latin phrase usually translated into English as "a friend as far as to the altar", "a life-long partner" or "a friend to the very end". The plural of ''amicus'' is ''amici'' leading to a separate usage of ''amici usque ad aras''. A song of the same name dates to the defunct

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Greek organization Phi Theta Psi in 1864. The tune used comes from the traditional song "

Annie Lisle "Annie Lisle" is an 1857 ballad by Boston, Massachusetts songwriter H. S. Thompson, first published by Moulton & Clark of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and later by Oliver Ditson & Co. It is about the death of a young maiden, by what some have spe ...

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1852. The fraternity has over ninety chapters at accredited four-year colleges and uni ...

fraternity's song "Amici" includes the phrase "amici usque ad aras" and appears to be based on the Yale tune. The phrase also appears in the fraternity of

Alpha Chi Rho Alpha Chi Rho (), commonly known as Crows, Crow, or AXP, is an American men's collegiate fraternity founded on June 4, 1895, at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, by the Reverend Paul Ziegler, his son Carl Ziegler, and Carl's friends Wi ...

's song "Amici" and the anthem song of 'Le Bourdon' of the 'Deltsch Studenten Corps' "Our Strong Bands".

In popular culture

This phrase has also been used by two members of the K-pop group

ATEEZ Ateez (; stylised in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by KQ Entertainment. The group consists of eight members: Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. They debuted on October 24, 2018, with the extende ...

. Choi San and Jung Woo-young use this phrase to show the special relationship that they have. Both of them like to describe each other as 'soulmates', 'alter ego' and each others' half of the other. They also have a matching tattoo with this phrase on their right thigh which was initially done in secrecy until they revealed about it to the public.

References

Latin words and phrases {{Latin-vocab-stub