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Latin Death Vocabulary

Words in Latin for Death and Dying

By N.S. Gill, About.com

Here are some expressions from Classical Latin dealing with death. In general, the infinitives need to be conjugated.

  • If you want to refer to someone's departure from life, you could use a conjugated version of one of the following phrases:

    • [(de) vita] decedere
    • (ex) vita excedere
    • ex vita abire
    • mortem obire
    • de vita exire
    • de (ex) vita migrare

  • In Latin you can "give up the ghost" by saying:

    • animam edere or efflare
    • extremum vitae spiritum edere

  • Someone who dies before his time dies in these ways:

    • mature decdere
    • subita morte exstingui
    • mors immatura or praematura

  • Committing suicide can be done in a variety of ways. Here are Latin expressions connoting self-inflicted death.

    • mortem sibi consciscere
    • se vita privare
    • vitae finem facere

  • Taking poison for suicide:

    • veneno sibi mortem consciscere
    • poculum mortis exhaurire
    • poculum mortiferem exhaurire

  • Killing someone violently:

    • plagam extremam infligere
    • plagam mortiferam infligere

  • A patriotic Roman death might be described using the following:

    • mortem occumbere pro patria
    • sanguinem suum pro patria effundere
    • vitam profundere pro patria
    • se morti offerre pro salute patriae

Source:
C. Meissner's Latin Phrase Book

Please let me know if I've made an error.

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