What is the Latin word for club?

The usual Latin words for “club” are clāva, circulus, factiō; also sodālitās, collēgium, clāviger. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“club” in Latin

clāvaa club, cudgel circuluscircle (geometric figure); orbit (circular path); ring; hoop factiōa political faction, a group of people acting together; a company of charioteers; an act of making or doing; a preparati sodālitāsclose association, fellowship, brotherhood; an association, club, society; a group collēgiumcolleagueship, (connection of associates, colleagues, etc.); guild, corporation, company, society, college (concrete def clāvigerclub-bearing fūstisa knobbed stick, a cudgel, staff, club fūstuāriumbeating to death with a cudgel (as a military punishment)Velleiusof or pertaining to the gens Velleia.pecūniamoney; wealth; cash, ready money, liquid wealth

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

club

as means of defence, or weapon, clava: club-bearer, qui clavam gerit (poetically, claviger): fustis (a long piece of wood for thrashing), fustibus tundere, but especially as instrument for corporeal punishment and inflicting death, as military punishment, Plaut., Cic., etc. [Vid: Lex. fustuarium], centurionem fusti percutere, Velleius: decimum quemque fusti necare or ferire, Tac.): baculum nodosum (after Val. Max., 2, 78, who has ictus nodosus, i. e., a stroke with it): baculum cum nodo (after Liv., 1, 18, who has the contrary to it, viz., baculum sine nodo).

Society, circulus (general term, a social circle): factio (a political club or society, forming a party in the state, like that of the Jacobins in Paris, Vid: Trajan, Plin., Ep., 10, 36): globus consensionis (of conspirators): sodalitas: sodalitium (any society of friends or comrades; e.g. at Rome of certain priests to perform some secret worship attended by a feast, Greek ἑταιρεία, which Traj., Plin.., Ep., 10 36 (43), 1, also makes use of in Latin): collegium (a corporation; e.g., of mechanics, tradesmen, etc.): a litterary club, *societas doctorum hominum: coetns, conventus hominum or amicorum (general term for any assembly): consessus (for a given purpose): sessiuncula (o meeting, Cic., Fin., 5, 20, 56, where he joins the words circuli et sessiunculae): acroasis (club of litterary men, where one of the members reads anything aloud to the assembly) [Vid :, aiso. SOCIETY]: member of a club, sodalis (especially for the purpose of feasting. playing. etc.): vir factionis (of political party): socius (for serious purposes): homo ejusdem corporis (Liv., 4, 9): the members of our, his, etc., club, nostri or sui corporis homines (Vid: Liv., 6, 34), or nostri, sui. only (Vid: Liv., 4, 57), *homo de circulo.

Share of a reckoning (especially incurred by feasting, etc.), *sumtus comissationis (not compotationis): to pay for the whole club, *comissationis sumtus facere (PROP.): symbola. e.g., to pay one’s club. *symbolam solvere: *pro hospitio solvere (at an inn).

club v.

conferre ad or in aliquid: pecuniam dare ad aliquid: pecuniam or stipem conferre: collationem facere: in commune, in publicum conferre.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for club?: The usual Latin words for “club” are clāva, circulus, factiō; also sodālitās, collēgium, clāviger. 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.