English → Latin
“bard” in Latin
bardusstupid, oafish, dull of apprehensionvātēsseer, soothsayer, diviner, prophet, prophetess; poet, poetess, bard; oraclepoētapoetdēnotōto mark; to observe; to indicate
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
bard
bardus: vates: the song of the bards, bardorum or vatum carmen. ☞ BARD PROP. means “a Druidical poet”, but is also used for “a poet” in general; but in the latter sense should betranslated vates, and not poeta, for poeta is a technical expression, and denotes a poet only as an artist; whereas vates is an old Latin and religious expression, and denoting a poet as a sacred person. Vid: Döderlein’s Hand-book, p. 31.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for bard?
- The usual Latin words for “bard” are bardus, vātēs, poēta; also dēnotō. 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.