English → Latin
“construe” in Latin
explānōto flatten or spread out; to explainiungōto join, unite, fasten, yoke, harness, attach; esp. of the hand: to clasp, join; of a treaty or agreement: to join, unit
The English word construe itself goes back to Latin struō, through construo.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
construe
interpretari aliquid: explanare (general terms): “to construe anything favorably, unfavorably,” etc., [Vid: “put a good, bad, etc., construction on,” under CONSTRUCTION].
In the technical sense of construing Latin, etc., *verba ita inter se jungere, ut nostra loquendi consuetudo fert. “To be construed with” = to be followed by, etc., jungi or conjungi cum etc. (e.g., hoc verbum conjungitur cum ablativo: ☞ not construitur).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for construe?
- The usual Latin words for “construe” are explānō, iungō. 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.