English → Latin
“costly” in Latin
sūmptuōsusVery expensive or costly; sumptuous; lavish, wasteful, extravagantpretiōsusvaluable, precious; expensive, costlycārusdear, beloved; costly, expensive, valuedlavōto wash, bathe; to wet, moistenmagnificusgreat, noble, distinguished, eminent, august; splendid, rich, fine, costly, sumptuous, magnificentsplendidussplendid, bright, glittering; distinguished, noble, illustriousēgregiusdistinguished, excellent, eminent; illustrious, honorableeximiusselect, choice; special, particular, exceptional, remarkable, extraordinary; exemptpulcherbeautiful, fair, pretty; noble, honorable, excellentiūcunduspleasant, agreeable, delightful, pleasing, delicious
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
costly
sumptuosus (requiring a great outlay; banquets, games, etc.): pretiosus: magni pretii: multorum numorum (that has cost much money, as utensils, goods, a library, etc.): carus (dear, general term): lautus (exquisite, choice; of utensils, furniture, banquets, etc.): magnificus (lordly, magnificent; e.g., furniture, games, banquets, etc.): splendidus (splendid): egregius: eximius (excellent in its kind): pulcherrimus (very fine): jucundissimus: suavissimus: dulcissimus (especially of what pleases the senses). Costly apparel, vestes majoris pretii or pretiosae (Cic.): a costily present, donum eximium, magnificum; munus magnificum, praeclarum (Cic.): to prepare a costily banquet, convivium opipare apparare (Cic.): to furnish a house in a costily manner, domum opipare instruere (Plaut., Bacch., 3, 1, 6): in a costily manner, sumtuose: pretiose: egregie: to dress in a very costily manner, vestibus pretiosis uti.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for costly?
- The usual Latin words for “costly” are sūmptuōsus, pretiōsus, cārus; also lavō, magnificus, splendidus. 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.