LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“cry” in Latin

The English word cry itself goes back to Latin crītāre, through *crītāre.

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

cry v.
Shout out, clamare (general term, to raise one’s voice, also to cry out; e.g., for sale, etc.): conclamare (of several persons, but its meaning the same as that of clamare): proclamare (to cry aloud; but in prose generally used in speaking of the “praeco” or crier): vociferari (to cry violently, passionately, on account of pain, dissatisfaction, anger, and the like): exclamare (to scream): clamorem edere or tollere (to raise a cry): plorare (to bewail, to weep): quiritare (to cry pitiably): vocem intendere (to raise one’s voice, opposed to vocem remittere): to cry out (in a murmuring, threatening manner), fremere (with accusative, or accusative and infinitive; e.g., Arrius ereptum sibi consulatum fremit): clamare de aliqua re (to utter cries about anything). to cry out for anybody, clamare or inclamare aliquem: to cry out after a person, clamore aliquem insequi; clamoribus aliquem consectari: to cry out to anybody for help, vocare aliquem in auxilium: to cry with all one’s might, maxima voce clamare; altum clamorem tollere; or clamitare only: clamando aures alicujus fatigare (after Liv., 9, 20) or obtundere (after Ter., Heaut., 2, 3, 89): tn cry or shout anything into anybody’s ear, aures alicujus personam (Hor., Ep., 1, 1, 7). [Vid: To SHOUT.] To cry out “fire!’ ignem conclamare (Sen., De Ir., 3, 43, 3): they cried out,” robbers!” conclamant latrones.
To complain loudly, gemitus edere: suspirare (to sigh loudly); also ab immo pectore suspirare or suspiria ducere (Ov., Met., 2, 156). [Vid: To SIGH.]
To cry from pain, grief, etc.: plorare (to weep aloud with passionate expression of grief, especially of children; ☞ Sen., Ep., 63, 1: lacrimandum est, non plorandum): lacrimare (to shed tears, whether from joy or sorrow): flere (to weep: between the passionless lacrimare and plorare): ejulare (to wail with cries and sobs): vagire (of young children): lamentari (of a long-continued wailing). To make anybody cry, lacrimas or fletum alicui movere; lacrimas alicui elicere or excutere; aliquem ad fletum adducere; aliquem plorantem facere: he cries for joy like a child, homini cadunt lacrimae, quasi puero, gaudio (Ter., Ad., 4, 1, 20): I cannot help crying, nequeo, quin lacrimem; lacrimas tenere non possum: do not cry! ne lacrima; ne plora: to cry about anything, lacrimare aliquid, or casum alicujus; flere de aliqua re (aliquid is poetical only): to cry one’s eyes out, efflere oculos; lacrimis confici. [Vid: also, To WEEP.]
To proclaim publicly: pronunciare: renunciare (to make known, by crying out, the latter especially at the election of magistrates. Vid: Bremi, Suet., Caes., 41; Schutz, Lex. Cic., sub under the words): praedicare (if by a herald; e.g., a victory, an auction): indicere (to proclaim a solemnity): declarare (to declare publicly): clamitare (to cry out in the streets for sale; e.g., figs, cauneas): to have anything cried, aliquid per praeconem pronunciare, aliquid praeconi, or sub praecone, or praeconis voci subjicere: aliquid per praeconem vendere (e.g., with regard to anything offered for sale). [Vid. PROMULGATE, PROCLAIM.]
To CRY DOWN (to depreciate); de aliquo detrahendi causa dicere: detrahere de aliquo: obtrectare alicui: vituperando affligere aliquid: (verbis) elevare aliquem or aliquid (e.g., alicujus facta or res gestas; alicujus auctoritatem): detrectare aliquid (e.g., anybody’s advantages, alicujus virtutes): alicui infamiam movere; aliquem infamare; aliquem diffamare or aliquem variis rumoribus differre (stronger terms). [SYN. in DECRY.]
To CRY UNTO [Vid: To INVOKE].
To CRY UP: aliquem pleniore ore or utroque pollice laudare; plena manu alicujus laudes in astra tollere: aliquem honorificentissime laudare; dilaudare (to praise beyond measure) [Vid: also, To PRAISE].
To CRY OUT AGAINST, fremere adversus aliquid. For CRY OUT, Vid: beginning of article.
cry s.
Clamor: clamor (e.g., to raise a cry, clamorem edere or tollere): exclamatio: acclamatio (exclamation; acclamatio, also the rhetorical figure, ἐπιφώνημα Quint., 8, 5, 11): pronunciatio: promulgatio (proclamation): praeconium (if by a herald or crier; e.g., proclamation respecting a public sale): vox (the sound of the voice; e.g., vox lugubris, a plaintive cry; also ejulatio: ejulatus): quiritatus (a whimpering cry). To utter a cry of pain or anguish, quiritationem facere or ejulare (if uttered with a plaintive voice): cry of children, vagitus: a cry of joy, clamor et gaudium (Tac. Hist., 2, 70, 3); clamor laetus (Verg., Aen., 3, 524): to receive anybody with a cry of joy, *clamore et gaudio or clamore laeto aliquem excipere: the cry of hounds, latratus canum.
A battle-cry, clamor proelium inchoantium (after Liv., 38, 17); shouting their battle-cry, clamore sublato: to raise the battle-cry, clamorem tollere [☞ not classicum canere; i. e., to give the signal of attack by sound of trumpet]: ☞ baritus (barritus or barditus is spurious) means the battle-cry of the Germani, which Tac., Germ., 3, 2, mistakes for the usual warlike hymn that was sung before the commencement of battle. Vid: Commentators on those passages.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for cry?
The usual Latin words for “cry” are clāmō, conclāmō, prōclāmō; also vōciferor, exclāmō, tollō. 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.