English → Latin
“answer” in Latin
respondeōto reply, answer, respond; to offer or present in return; to measure upedōto eatreddōto give back, return, restore; to give up, hand over, deliver, render, provide, assign; to surrender, relinquish, deliverescrībōto write back in reply; (of emperors or lawyers) to answer in writing a petition or legal question; to give a rescript oconcinōto sing, chant etc. together; to agree or harmonizecongruōto come, unite, combine, run or meet together with someone; to coincide or correspond with someone or something; agree wconveniōto convene, assemble, gather, meet or come together; to accost, to call on; to sue, to let be summoned to courtprosperusprosperous, successful; favourable, propitiousbonusgood, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant; right; usefulrespōnsiōanswer, reply, response; refutation
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
answer
respondere, to anything, ad aliquid or alicui rei (PROP., by word of mouth: opposed to rescribere; then by word of mouth, or by letter): responsum dare, edere, reddere (give an answer): rescribere, to anything, ad aliquid or alicui rei (to give a written answer to a written question): excipere aliquem or alicujus sermonem (to take up the discourse it can only imply that an answer is given to the preceding one). To answer an objection, referre: reponere: respondere contra aliquid: id quod opponitur refutare: respondere de jure: responsitare (to answer legal questions whenever applied to: of jurists): respondere: se defendere: se porgare (to answer an accusation: criminibus respondere). To answer a question or questions, respondere ad interrogata (rogata) or ad ea, quae: quaesita sunt: not to answer, non respondere: tacere: obmutescere: to answer nothing, nullum responsum dare: nullum verbum respondere: omnino nihil respondere: to answer boldly, fiercely, etc., fortiter, audacter, ferociter respondere: to answer courteously (by letter), rescribere humanissime. It is easy to answer this, hujus rei facilis et promta est responsio.
To answer anybody again, respondere alicui: obloqui alicui: par pari respondere (to [give?] him as good as he brings, Plaut.).
To answer (= be accountable) for anything, rationem reddere alicujus rei or de aliqua re.
To answer for (= be surety for) anybody or anything, intercedere pro aliquo (also intercedere peconiam pro aliquo: to be his surety by consenting to forfeit a sum of money if he does not perform the thing in question): praestare aliquem, aliquid or de re (to be surety, to answer for, in a wider sense): spondere, fidem interponere, pro aliquo: vadem tieri ejus sistendi (to answer for anybody’s appearance): praedem fieri pro aliquo and alicujus rei: obsidem alicujus rei fieri: also vadem se dare alicui pro aliquo. [SYN. in SURETY.] I will answer for it, that, praestabo with accusative and infinitive.
To answer to one’s name, ad nomen respondere; vocatum (participle) respondere.
Correspond to, suit with, respondere alicui rei, or absolutely: ex altera parte alicui rei respondere (to be its counterpart): concinere: congruere: convenire. [SYN. in AGREE.] To answer men’s expectations, opinioni bominum respondere. The event does not answer his expectations, eventus alicui non respondet ad spem; res longe aliter, ac quis ratus erat (or speraverat), evenit. There is no Latin word which answers more nearly to the Greek ἡδονή than voluptas: nullum verbum inveniri potest, quod magis idem declarat Latine, quod Graece ἡδονή, quam declarat voluptas. To answer the demands or claims of one’s creditors, creditoribus satisfacere: creditores absolvere or dimittere (Gierig, Plin., Ep., 2, 4. 2). To answer anybody’s expectation, exspectationem alicujus explere; respondere alicujus exspectationi (opposed to decipere alicujus exspectationem, not to answer, etc.).
To answer for (= serve for) anything, pro aliqua re esse or esse posse: alicui rei or ad aliquam rem utile esse (of being useful for a purpose). Sometimes usui esse ad aliquid idoneum esse ad aliquid, or bonum esse alicui rei or ad aliquid.
To succeed well, prospere cedere, prospere, or bene, or pulchre procedere; prosperesuccedere, or succedere only.
Answer like an echo, resonare (gloria virtuti resonat tamquam imago, Cic.).
A ship does not answer to the helm, non habilis est gubernaculo (Velleius): impatiens est gubernaculi (Curt.).
= to succeed, respondere (e.g., aliquid .... quod non ubique fortasse, sed saepius tamen etiam respondeat, Cels., praefatio). Vid: SUCCEED.
answer s.
responsio: responsum (general term, the former, in Quint., a refutation; the latter, also the answer of an oracle): defensio: excusatio: purgatio (reply to a charge): oraculum: sors oraculi (oracular response): rescriptum (written reply of a prince: Silver Age). An answer given to one’s self to a question put by one’s self (of an orator), sibi ipsi responsio, subjectio (ἀνθυποφορά). Answer to an objection that might be made, anteoccupatio: praesumtio (πρόληψις). Sharp, witty answers, acute responsa.
To give an answer. Vid: TO ANSWER. To receive an answer, responsum ferre, auferre. I receive an answer to my letter, meis litteris respondetur or rescribitur. I got for answer, responsum mihi est; responsum datum est. To bring back an answer, responsum referre, renunciare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for answer?
- The usual Latin words for “answer” are respondeō, edō, reddō; also rescrībō, concinō, congruō. 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.