What is the Latin word for bear?

The usual Latin words for “bear” are ursus, ursa, Arctus; also acanthus, ursīnus, helix. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“bear” in Latin

ursusa bear ursaa she-bear; female bear Arctusthe Ursa Major constellation; the Ursa Minor constellation; both the Ursa Major and the Ursa Minor acanthusA plant known as bear's-foot (Helleborus foetidus).; A thorny evergreen tree.ursīnusbear; ursine helixa kind of ivy; a kind of willow; a whorl, a small ornament on the capital of Corinthian columns septentriōnēsnominative/accusative/vocative plural of septentriō; the northern regions, the north (as a quarter of the heavens)sustineōto hold up or upright, uphold, support, sustain; to keep up, bear up, tolerate; to hold or keep back or in, stay, check,ferōto bear; to carry; to support, hold up; to suffer, tolerate, endure, bear baiulōto carry a burden

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

bear

ursus; ursa (of or belonging to bears, ursinus): ursa; arctos (the constellation): the Great Bear, Ursa Major; Helice: the Lesser Bear, Ursa Minor; parvula Cynosura (Vid: Cic., Acad., 2, 20, 66): the bears conjointly, Septentriones (hence in Vitr. the Great Bear is Septentrio Major; the less, Septentrio Minor).

Bear’s foot, acanthus (a plant): bear’s-grease, adeps ursinus: bear-warden, ursi magister (Liv., 37, 41). Fig. (=rough, unpolished), incultus: agrestis (unmannerly): ferus: immansuetus (wild, not tamed) (The words are found in this connection and order), ferus agrestisque: asper (rough).

bear

sustinere (to hold up so as to keep from sinking or falling): ferre (to bear as a burden): bajulare (to carry a load, as a porter): portare (to transport from one place to another, whether for one’s self or far others): gerere: gestare (in a general sense, as vestem; annulum): indutum esse aliqua re; indui aliqua re; amictum esse aliqua re, toga, pallio. etc., ornatum esse aliqua re (to bear as a badge; e.g., a gold chain, aureo torque: shield and spear, scuto teloque); cinctum or succinctum esse aliqua re (to be girded with: gladio): to be borne through the city in a palanquin, lectica ferri, portari, gestari, vehi per urbem: to bear to the grave, funere efferre, efferre: bear arms against one, arma ferre contra aliquem: to bear one upon the shoulders, bajulare aliquem: the ice bears, aqua satis conglaciata est.

Carry away, ferre, auferre, abducere, rapere: of a victory, etc., deportare, reportare, consequi, adipisci: bear the bell, palmam ferre.

Bring, afferre, adducere, advehere; referre, deferre.

To bear sway, dominari regnare, imperium exercere: to bear affection to one, amare aliquem: bear one good-will, animo esse in aliquem benevolo, alicui favere: bear one company, comitari; deducere: I bear the name of Alexander, est mihi nomen Alexandro (or Alexander, rarely Alexandri): bear one hatred, odisse aliquem, infensum esse alicui: bear witness, testimonium dicere, testimonium perhibere: bear in mind, memoria habere, tenere.

Bear up, support, sustinere, sustentare.

Endure, tolerare, sustinere, pati, perpeti, perferre: able to bear hunger and cold, inediae et algoris patiens: unable to bear, impatiens (with genitive): to be able to bear neither cold nor heat, neque frigora, neque aestus facile tolerare.

Suffer, undergo, pati, affectum esse aliqua re, premi aliqua re.

Suffer, allow, pati, sinere, ferre: I will not bear it at all, non feram, non patiar, non sinam (in connection, Cic., Cat., 1, 5, 10): the thing will not bear delay, res dilationem non patitur, res differri non potest.

Bear with; as, you must bear with your father, mos gerendus est patri: a friend’s vices, peccatis amici indulgfire: necessity, dare necessitati veniam: to bear with one’s sorrow, dolori parcere: we must bear with one another’s faults, nobis inter nos nostra vitia toleranda.

Produce, yield, ferre; afferre (of trees); efferre (of the soil): to bear fruit, ferre fruges, afferre fructum: to bear, v. n., ferre fruges (also merely ferre), afferre fructum (efferre, especially of the field): the tree bears, arbor fert; not every year, arbor non continuis annis fructum affert: the field bears ten-fold, ager effert or efficit cum decimo.

Give birth to, parere, eniti, (with effort and pain): to bear children to one, liberos ex aliquo parere, eniti: of a place, patriam esse alicujus, ferre aliquem.

To bear a part in a thing, partem alicujus rei sustinere, alicui rei interesse.

Be answerable for: to bear the risk, periculum in se recipere, rem aliquam sui periculi facere: the loss, praestare damnum: the charges, sumtus toierare, suppeditare.

To bear, behave, himself, se gerere; agere, facere: as any one, pro aliquo se gerere; in a thing, in re: to bear one’s self as a friend, amice agere: prudently, prudenter se gerere: to bear himself worthy of his ancestors, dignum se praebere majoribus.

To bear through, carry out, ad finem perducere; absolvere.

To bear off, avertere, defendere.

To bear down, prosternere, proturbare; figuratively, deprimere, frangere, opprimere, obruere: bear back, repellere, propulsare: bear on, promovere, impellere.

Bear up against, obniti; resistere.

To bear out. securum praestare; culpam alicujus rei demovere ab aliquo, aliquem defendere de aliqua re.

To bring to bear, ad effectum adducere.

To bear, tend, tendere, cursum dirigere.

To bear upon, premere, urgere, incumbere, inniti.

To bear out, stand out, jut out, prominere, procurrere.

To bear up against misfortunes, malis non cedere: constantem esse in malis: do not succumb to misfortunes, but bear up against them manfully, tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito (Hor.).

To bear off, vela dirigere ad aliquem locum: navem or cursum dirigere aliquo: he bore off for the port to which he was bound, cursum direxit, quo tendebat.

To bear away the prize, palmam referre.

To bear witness, testem esse; testimonium dicere; pro testimonio dicere; testari; tostilicari: to bear false witness, falsum testimonium dicere or praebere: the very words bear witness to the fact, ejus rei ipsa verba testimonio sunt.

To bear company, esse cum aliquo; aliquem comitari; alicui comitem se addere, or adjungere: those that are like each other, bear each other company; or, birds of a feather flock together, pares cum paribus, veteri proverbio, facillime congregantur (Cic., Cat. Maj., 3, in.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for bear?: The usual Latin words for “bear” are ursus, ursa, Arctus; also acanthus, ursīnus, helix. 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.