English → Latin
“complain” in Latin
querorto complain, lament, bewail; to be indignantconquerorto complainlāmentorto lament; to bewaildēplōrōto complain about, bemoan; to weep for bitterly, bewail, lament, deploredēfleōto weep over, cry for, lament, deplore; to dull with weeping; to weep abundantly or violently, weep to exhaustionvāgiōto wail in distress
The English word complain itself goes back to Latin plangō, through complangere.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
complain
queri: conqueri: about anything, queri aliquid or de re, also with quod or accusative and infinitive: conqueri aliquid or de re, or with accusative and infinitive: to anybody, cum aliquo (to complain violently): querimoniam habere de re (to make a complaint about anything, etc..): expostulare de re (cum aliquo), of a person to anybody, aliquem cum aliquo (to call a person to an account, to complain of him in words); (the words are found in this connexion and order.) expostulare et queri (with following accusative and infinitive): accusare, incusare aliquem or aliquid (to complain of anybody or anything, accusative also of a judicial complaint: incusare not found in Cic.). OBSERVE: queri ad or apud aliquem (Plaut.) and alicui aliquid (Ov.) are rare.
To utter sorrowful feelings: lamentari: cum fletu et luctu queri (lament, to complain with a loud voice): deplorare: deflere: vagire (to whimper, of young children): to complain of indisposition, etc., de incommoda or adversa valetudine queri: to complain of one’s misfortune to anybody, adversam fortunam conqueri cum aliquo: to complain of pain, dolorem suum alicui impertire: de dolore quodam corporis queri.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for complain?
- The usual Latin words for “complain” are queror, conqueror, lāmentor; also dēplōrō, dēfleō, vāgiō. 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.