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.

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Use These Latin Words in English Conversations

By N.S. Gill

1. acumen - ability to make good judgments
2. agenda - list of things to be done
3. altruism - selfless concern for others
4. ambiguous - having a double meaning
5. aplomb (Fr.) - self-confidence
6. atrocity - cruel act
7. avarice - greed
8. bibulous - excessively fond of drinking alcohol
9. celibate - abstaining from sex or marriage
10. chivalrous (Fr.) - gallant
11. condign - worthy, appropriate
12. conglomerate - parts put together to form a unit while remaining separate identities
13. crepuscular - pertaining to twilight
14. cull - select from a variety of sources
15. debilitate - weaken
16. dirigible - capable of being guided
17. facsimile - exact copy
18. ferrous - made of iron
19. flux - in the process of flowing
20. futile - in vain
21. garrulity - loquaciousness
22. impecunious - poor
23. incalculable - too great to be counted
24. incommunicado (Sp.) - not in communication with others
25. indefatigability - tireless
26. insipid - lacking flavor
27. introspection - looking within at one's mental or emotional state
28. languid - slow, relaxed
29. lucubration - meditation
30. malfeasance (Fr.) - wrongdoing
31. modicum - small amount
32. moribund - near death
33. mundane - worldly as opposed to spiritual
34. naive - exhibiting lack of experience
35. obeisance - respect
36. obvious - clear (from the Latin for "in the way")
37. parvenu - celebrity from obscure origins
38. perpetuate - preserve
39. perturb - make anxious
40. plausible - probable
41. precarious - uncertain
42. puerile - childishly silly
43. pulchritude - beauty
44. pusillanimity - showing a lack of courage
45. rapport - close relationship
46. rapprochement (Fr.) - establishment of a harmonious relationship
47. recalcitrant - obstinate
48. renegade - a rebellious person
49. reprisal - retaliation
50. sacrosanct - very important or holy and not to be messed with
51. simulacrum - image
52. stipend - fixed allowance
53. stultify - make appear foolish, cause to loose enthusiasm
54. succumb - fail to resist
55. taunt (Fr.) - provoke
56. tentative - provisional
57. turpitude - depravity
58. 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.