Animus fortis timorem vincit.

• animus = mind, spirit, courage, or soul, depending on context
• fortis = brave, strong, or courageous
• timorem = fear
• vincit = conquers, defeats, or overcomes

So the sentence means something like A brave spirit conquers fear or A courageous mind overcomes fear.

In Latin, the subject is usually in the nominative case. Animus is nominative singular, so it is the subject: the brave spirit/mind.

Also, vincit is a singular verb, so it matches a singular subject like animus.

Because timorem is in the accusative case, which is the case commonly used for the direct object in Latin.

The verb vincit means conquers or overcomes, and the thing being conquered is fear, so timorem is the direct object.

Fortis is the form that agrees with animus.

Here is why:

• animus is masculine
• animus is singular
• animus is nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

For this adjective, the nominative singular masculine/feminine form is fortis.

By contrast:

• fortem would be accusative singular
• forte would be neuter nominative/accusative singular, or sometimes an adverb in other contexts

In Latin, word order is much more flexible than in English because the endings show the grammatical roles.

So both of these could work:

• Animus fortis timorem vincit
• Fortis animus timorem vincit

Both mean essentially the same thing: A brave spirit conquers fear.

The chosen order may reflect style, emphasis, or rhythm rather than a strict grammar rule.

Latin verbs already include the subject information in their endings.

Vincit means:

• he conquers
• she conquers
• it conquers

The noun animus tells us what the subject is, so in smoother English we usually translate it as conquers with the full subject: A brave spirit conquers fear.

Vincit is:

• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood
• third person singular

So it means he/she/it conquers, is conquering, or sometimes more generally conquers.

The dictionary form is vinco, vincere, vici, victum, meaning to conquer, to defeat, or to overcome.

Vincit is one conjugated form from that verb.

Not exactly. Animus has a wider range of meanings than the English word mind.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• mind
• spirit
• courage
• heart
• temper
• soul

In this sentence, because it is described as fortis and is overcoming timorem, spirit or courageous mind works especially well.

Latin has no word for a/an or the.

So animus fortis could mean:

• a brave spirit
• the brave spirit

The context decides which is better. In a general moral statement like this, English usually prefers a brave spirit conquers fear.

Yes. Because the endings show the grammar, Latin allows several word orders. For example:

• Animus fortis timorem vincit
• Timorem animus fortis vincit
• Fortis animus timorem vincit

These all basically mean A brave spirit conquers fear, though the emphasis may shift:

• putting timorem earlier can emphasize fear
• putting fortis earlier can emphasize brave

A common classroom pronunciation would be roughly:

AH-nee-moos FOR-tees tee-MO-rem WIN-keet

In restored classical pronunciation:

• v sounds like English w
• c before i is always hard, like k

So vincit sounds more like WIN-kit than VIN-sit.

Timor is the nominative form, the form you would see in a dictionary entry.

But in this sentence, fear is the direct object of conquers, so it must be in the accusative:

• nominative: timor
• accusative: timorem

That -em ending is a very common sign of a third-declension accusative singular noun.

Yes, completely.

It has:

• a subject: animus
• a modifier of the subject: fortis
• a direct object: timorem
• a finite verb: vincit

That is a full, grammatical Latin sentence.