flocci non facio

Latin

Etymology

Literally, “I do not make it to be worth a trifle”. Floccī is the genitive singular of floccus (“wisp, trifle”), acting as a “genitive of value”.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈflok.kiː ˈnoːn ˈfa.ki.oː/, [ˈfɫ̪ɔkːiː ˈnoːn ˈfäkioː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈflot.t͡ʃi ˈnon ˈfa.t͡ʃi.o/, [ˈflɔtː͡ʃi ˈnɔn ˈfäːt͡ʃio]

Phrase

floccī nōn faciō

1. (idiomatic) I don't care; I don't give a damn (about).
   • 106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Letters to Atticus 4.15.4:

     ex quo intellectum est τρισαρειοπαγίτας ambitum, comitia, interregnum, maiestatem, totam denique rem publicam flocci non facere

     From which I understand that the three-times-Areopagites [i.e., vaunted judges] don’t give a damn about bribery, the comitia, the interregnum, lèse majesté, or for that matter the entire commonwealth

References

• “floccus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “~ī nōn faciō” under “floccus” on page 713/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)