LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum

lupus in fābulā

lupus in fābulā
Classical[ɫʊ.pʊ.sĩːˈfaː.bʊ.ɫaː]Ecclesiastical[ˈluː.pus ˈin ˈfaː.bu.la]

Meaning

  1. idiomatictalk of the devil, speak of the devil and he shall appear
    Puta dē nescioquō loquēbāris et subitō venit is, dīcis tū, "lupus in fābulā!"Say, you were talking about somebody or other, and all of a sudden that person comes, then you say: "talk of the devil!"Pompeius, Commentum in Artis Donati partem tertiam in Heinrich Keil, Grammatici Latini 5.311.31K
    Dē Varrōne loquēbāmur. Lupus in fābulā: vēnit enim ad mē [...]We were talking about Varro the other day. Speak of the devil: he arrived at my place …68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 13.33.1

Origins

Literally, “wolf in the story”.

Quick answers

What does lupus in fābulā mean in Latin?
lupus in fābulā, a proverb, means “talk of the devil, speak of the devil and he shall appear”.
How do you pronounce lupus in fābulā?
In classical Latin, [ɫʊ.pʊ.sĩːˈfaː.bʊ.ɫaː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈluː.pus ˈin ˈfaː.bu.la].