What is the Latin word for belief?

The usual Latin words for “belief” are fidēs, opīniō, persuāsiō; also doctrīna, fōrmula, lēx. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“belief” in Latin

fidēsfaith; belief (belief without empirical evidence, direct experience, or observation); reliance (act of relying on or tru opīniōopinion, conjecture, imagination, fancy, belief, expectation; reputation, esteem; report, rumor persuāsiōpersuasion (act of); belief, opinion doctrīnateaching, instruction; learning, erudition; doctrine, theory fōrmulashape, outline; form; beauty; pattern, mould; paradigm lēxthe legal machinery of a state, the law; a law, statute, bill; the laws regarded as a body, the constitution caputthe head (of humans and animals); head; top; summit; point; end; extremity (beginning or end); origin; source; spring; h

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

belief

fides (assured belief): opinio (opinion, view): persuasio (firm conviction).

Creed, formula Christiana: lex Christiana (the latter Ammianus, of a Christian’s “ride of faith”). An article of the belief, caput doctrinae sacrae (caput or articulus fidei, barbarous): locus doctrinae sacrae. The universal belief about a thing, omnium opinio de re. A belief that poison had been administerd by some one, persuasio veneni ab aliquo accepti. According to my belief, ut ego existimo; mea quidem opinione; ut mihi quidem videtur. The common belief that, etc., vulgata opinio, qua creditur, etc. Easy of belief, credulus. Hard of belief, incredulus. Past belief, incredibilis; incredibile quantum, supra quam credibile est. Worthy of belief, fide dignus, fidus, certus, bonus, locuples, luculentus; credibilis; probabilis: unworthy of belief, levis nee satis fidus (e.g., auctor).

In an ecclesiastical sense, fides (belief, faith): doctrina, formula, lex (objectively, doctrine, profession, law), lex Christiana (Ammianus): relirio (religion, generally; as, religio Christiana, Eutropius, Arnobius). Vid :, Krebs, after Muretus, advises the retention of fides Christiana as a technical term. To fight for his belief, pro religionibus suis pugnare (defend it with the sword); pro religionibus suis bellum (or -a) suscipere. Belief in (the existence of) a God, opinio Dei: nobody shall drive me from my belief in the immortality of the soul, nemo me de immortalitate depellet (Cic.): the common belief, that, etc., vulgata opinio qua creditur, etc. (Liv., 40, 29): to have or hold a wrong belief on any subject, non recte credere de re (Cic.): not to deserve any belief (of a thing), fidem or nullam fidem habere.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for belief?: The usual Latin words for “belief” are fidēs, opīniō, persuāsiō; also doctrīna, fōrmula, lēx. 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.