English → Latin
“cancer” in Latin
The English word cancer itself goes back to Latin cancer.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
cancer
a crab-fish, cancer, genitive cancri: also the sign of the summer solstice: the sun is going through the sign of Cancer, sol Cancri signum transit.
A virulent sore, canceroma, atis, or carcinoma, atis (καρκίνωμα).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for cancer?
- The usual Latin words for “cancer” are cancer, cancĕrōma, carcinōma. 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.