Latin Words in English

Interested in increasing your vocabulary? Here are some English words from Latin directly or from Latin via French or Spanish. These words are thought to have come from newspaper articles from around 1923. One of the words on the list, mattoid, does not appear to be used any longer, so it is not included.

1. acumen - ability to make good judgments
2. agenda - list of things to be done
3. altruism - selfless concern for others

1. ambiguous - having a double meaning
2. aplomb (Fr.) - self-confidence
3. atrocity - cruel act
4. avarice - greed
5. bibulous - excessively fond of drinking alcohol
6. celibate - abstaining from sex or marriage
7. chivalrous (Fr.) - gallant
8. condign - worthy, appropriate
9. conglomerate - parts put together to form a unit while remaining separate identities
10. crepuscular - pertaining to twilight
11. cull - select from a variety of sources
12. debilitate - weaken
13. dirigible - capable of being guided
14. facsimile - exact copy
15. ferrous - made of iron
16. flux - in the process of flowing
17. futile - in vain
18. garrulity - loquaciousness
19. impecunious - poor
20. incalculable - too great to be counted
21. incommunicado (Sp.) - not in communication with others
22. indefatigability - tireless
23. insipid - lacking flavor
24. introspection - looking within at one's mental or emotional state
25. languid - slow, relaxed
26. lucubration - meditation
27. malfeasance (Fr.) - wrongdoing

1. modicum - small amount
2. moribund - near death
3. mundane - wordly as opposed to spiritual
4. naive - exhibiting lack of experience
5. obeisance - respect
6. obvious - clear (from the Latin for "in the way")
7. parvenu - celebrity from obscure origins
8. perpetuate - preserve
9. perturb - make anxious
10. plausible - probable

1. precarious - uncertain
2. puerile - childishly silly
3. pulchritude - beauty
4. pusillanimity - showing a lack of courage
5. rapport - close relationship
6. rapprochement (Fr.) - establishment of a harmonious relationship
7. recalcitrant - obstinate
8. renegade - a rebellious person
9. reprisal - retaliation
10. sacrosanct - very important or holy and not to be messed with
11. simulacrum - image
12. stipend - fixed allowance
13. stultify - make appear foolish, cause to loose enthusiasm
14. succumb - fail to resist
15. taunt (Fr.) - provoke
16. tentative - provisional
17. turpitude - depravity
18. ubiquity - found everywhere

Source: "Learn a Word Every Day" by Lillian B. Lawler. The Classical Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5. (Feb., 1923), pp. 299-301.

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Latin Words and Expressions in English

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Also see these articles on words and word derivations:

• On Translating Latin Into English
  Whether you want to translate a short English phrase into Latin or a Latin phrase into English, you can not just plug the words into a dictionary and expect an accurate result. You can't with most modern languages, but the lack of a one-to-one correspondence is even greater for Latin and English.

• Latin Religious Words in English
  If you want to say that the prospects are bleak, you could say "it doesn't augur well." Augur is used as a verb in this English sentence, with no particular religious connotation. In ancient Rome, an augur was a religious figure who observed natural phenomena, like the presence and location to left or right of birds, to determine whether the prospects were good or bad for a proposed venture. Find out about more such words.