What is the Latin word for action?

The usual Latin words for “action” are āctiō, līs, causa; also dīcō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“action” in Latin

āctiōaction; a doing or performing, behavior; public function, civil act; suit, process, action līslawsuit, action; contention, strife, quarrel causacause, reason; case, claim, contention; cause, judicial process, lawsuit dīcōto say, talk, speak, utter, mention; to declare, state; to tell

The English word action itself goes back to Latin agō, through āctiō.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

action

thing done. Vid: ACTIVE. Acting, actio (doing, anything done): actus. To be in action, in actu esse (Sen.).

Action, in law. Actio (the legal proceedings; the trial): lis (the actual trial or contest): causa (the grounds of it; each party’s case): res (the subject of it; the whole case): dica (Greek, only of a civil cause before a Greek court). A civil action, causa privata. A criminal action, causa publica (for an offence against the state; causa capitalis, if the penalty is death). To BRING AN ACTION AGAINST ANYBODY (1) generally: lege agere cum aliquo (not in aliquem): actionem alicui intendere; formulam alicui intendere (to prefer a written accusation against him); judicio experiri cum aliquo; judicio persecui aliquem; on account of anything, (lege) agere alicujus rei or de re; judicio or legibus experiri de re; against anything, lege agere in or adversus aliquid. (2) In civil causes: aliquem in jus vocare (to call him before a court): dicam aicui scribere, subscribere, or impingere (to prefer a written accusation, with name of accuser, defendant, etc., before a Greek court) (3) In criminal causes, delationem nominis postulare in aliquem (PROP., to ask permission of the judge to deliver in the name of the accused person; then to accuse generally): nomen alicujus ad judicem or judices deferre: judicium postulare in aliquem: aliquem in judicium adducere; aliquem in jus educere; aliquem ducere or educere (to bring him before a court): periculum alicui creare or facessere (to put him in peril): aliquem reum agere or facere (to make him an accused person): aliquem (reum) citare (to cite him before acourt): aliquem accusare (to accuse him formally). For anything, nomen alicujus deferre de re: deferre aliquem alicuijus rei (also with ad jadices): aliquem reum alicujus rei citare or agere; aliquem judicio alicujus rei, or only aliquem alicujus rei arcessere; aliquem reum alicujus rei postulare; and postulare aliquem alicujus rei or de re. To bring an action against anybody for damages, aliquem judicio recuperatoriopersequi. (Vid: RECUPERATOR). I hate an action, i. e., ground of action, habeo actionem; est actio in aliquem. An action lies against anybody, actio competit in aliquem. To show a man how he must bring his action, actionem alicui demonstrare.

Of an orator, including both voice and gesture, actio.

Battle. Vid :

Of a play, actio (an incident in it; or its incidents): argumentum fabulae (its general subject). A play abounding in action, fabula actuosa: deficient in action, parum actuosa.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for action?: The usual Latin words for “action” are āctiō, līs, causa; also dīcō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.