English → Latin
“ask” in Latin
interrogōto ask, question, inquire, interrogate, to seek information from; to put a formal question to (in making a stipulation);rogōto ask, enquire; to request; to beg, solicit, pray to (someone) for (something) (with two accusatives)invītōto invite, summon; to lure; to challengevocōto call, summon, beckon (with one's voice); to name, designate; to bring or put (into a state or condition)indicōto indicate, point out; show, manifest, discover; to declare; to reveal, betray, uncoverposcōto beg, to demand, to request, to desire; to demand for punishment, to ask the surrender of; to call someonepostulōto demand, ask, request, desire; to pretend, claim; to prosecute, accuse, impeach, sueflāgitōto demand, require; to entreat or solicit; to accusequaerōto seek, look for; to ask, question, seek or search for a thing, inquire, query, interrogate; to strive for; endeavor; sexquīrōto seek or seek out, search for or hunt up; to inquire into
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
ask
interrogare, rogare aliquem, or (less frequently) de aliquo: anybody about anything, aliquem aliquid (or less commonly de re: both general terms, to ask for the purpose of getting an answer from anybody, or learning his opinion): sciscitari ex aliquo (to ask urgently; often from curiosity, with inquisitiveness, eagerness, or in an artful manner): quaerere, exquirere, requirere ex or ab aliquo (to ask connectedly and accurately, to question for the purpose of arriving at certainty. Quaerere is the proper word of a judge questioning an accused person): percunctari de or ex aliquo (to desire to know everything exactly: hence the proper wordfor asking the price of goods, v. Gell., 9, 4, p. near the beginning: whether, utrum; if or whether anything, ecquid or quid, not si quid). To ask in a captious manner, captiose interrogare: to ask anybody for advice, consulere aliquem: to ask one’s way, rogare viam (†); exquirere iter. I had no occasion to ask that, hoc mihi non fuit quaerendum.
Request: rogare: petere (general term for asking, whether as a request or a demand; in the middle, therefore, between poscere and orare, but somewhat nearer to a request: petere mostly refers to the object, rogare to the person: hence petere aliquid ab aliquo: rogare aliquem aliquid.) To ask almost with tears, omnibus precibus, paene lacrimis etiam obsecrare aliquem: to ask anybody’s life, petere vitam (innocenti): to ask anything as a matter of right, aliquid jure quodam suo postulare. To be able to ask anything as (a matter of) right, aliquid jure quodam suo postulare posse: justam postulandi causam habere.
Invite: invitare: vocare: to dinner, aliquem ad cenam vocare or invitare: to one’s house, aliquem domum suam invitare.
Demand such a price: indicare (opposed to promittere, to offer so much). To ask 100 sesterces, indicare centum numis (or nummis).
Require: poscere: postulare: flagitare. Mostly by genitive or adjective with esse: this asks prudence, est prudentis [causa, res, tempus poscit; cum res postulabit: quaetempus et necessitas flagitat).
To ask pardon, Vid: PARDON.
To ask leave, veniam petere.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for ask?
- The usual Latin words for “ask” are interrogō, rogō, invītō; also vocō, indicō, poscō. 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.