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
28. modicum - small amount

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

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